Where to find the best frozen cocktails in Manchester this summer
Think frozen Vimto daiquiris, Pornstar martinis, Aperol Spritz and margaritas by the bucketload - plus some interesting curveballs you might not expect.
You can’t beat a summer’s day here in Manchester, when the sunshine glints off the skyscrapers and people pour out of pubs and bars.
There’s nothing like a heatwave to get your in the mood for an ice-cold drink – and we honestly can’t think of anything more cooling than a frozen bev, which is why we’ve put together this go-to-guide to help you find the best that Manchester has to offer.
Yes, in previous years, some of us cocktail enthusiasts may have been a bit snobby about frozen drinks – but after a few years locked in our houses, we’ve all deserved a little bit of silliness and fun, and these drinks absolutely deliver.
From boozy smoothies, to alcoholic slushies, frozen martinis, Irish coffees and even Snakebite, keep reading to discover where to go to sip on some of the best icy bevs the city has to offer.
Smithfield Social – Frozen Aperol Spritz
Image: The Manc Group
The ultimate summer cocktail, but make it frozen. Smithfield Social has taken the classic Italian aperitivo favourite to a new level for 2022, turning it into an ice-cold slushie that’s perfect for the summer. Low ABV and full of flavour, it might just be the best frozen cocktail we’ve seen (so far) this summer.
Sicilian NQ – Frozen watermelon margaritas
Image: Sicilian NQ
Hidden down a little backstreet in the Northern Quarter, Sicilian NQ is easy enough to miss – but don’t you dare. The tiny bar and kitchen has just launched a new range of frozen margaritas, all priced at just £5 during happy hour, which runs Monday to Thursday, 12pm to 5pm. Enjoy them in three flavours: classic, Sicilian and watermelon.
Ramona
The banana + pandan frozen margarita. / Image: Ramona
The frozen pineapple and ginger margarita. / Image: Ramona
If you’re after something a little bit wilder, head to converted MOT garage Ramona for your frozen cocktail fix and a big fat Detroit slice. Yes, they do frozen margarltas, and, yes, you can opt to get them bottomless, but be adventurous – the banana + pandan is a certified house favourite, and pineapple + ginger is well worth a look-in too.
Ah Vimto, you’ll always have a special place in Manchester’s heart. Drunk hot, cold, and now frozen with a couple of shots of rum thrown in for good measure, there’s never a bad time to enjoy this fruity cordial. First manufactured here as a health tonic in 1908, it’s still giving us life all these years later.
Crazy Pedro’s – Frozen boozy Twistas
All frozen margs at Crazy Pedros get more than a double shot of their house tequila (El Tequileño Blanco). / Image: Crazy Pedro’s
Crazy Pedro’s takes its frozen cocktails seriously, serving them up in five different flavours. From a frozen Twista ice lolly-flavoured cocktail to frozen Pornstar Martinis, Woo Woos, and both classic and strawberry margaritas, there’s plenty of choice to keep you going. Oh, and they’re all available on the bottomless brunch too.
Pico’s, Mackie Mayor – Frozen margaritas
Image: Eat Picos
Pico’s are not fair weather frozen cocktail fans – far from it. You can find them slinging out frozen margaritas with a chilli salt rim all year round both at Manchester’s Mackie Mayor and at Altrincham’s Market House, alongside the best nachos and tacos you will find in the city centre.
Font – Vimto daiquiri slushies
We all know that Font has the best-value cocktails in all of Manchester (yes that really is a £3 Blue Hawaiian), and they really step it up in the summer.
They have a section of the menu dedicated to boozy slushies – you can grab a frozen margarita or a frozen daiquiri, in either strawberry or Vimto flavour.
Smooch – Frozen strawberry daiquiris
Image: The Manc Eats
Altrincham bubble tea shop Smooch hasn’t been open that long, but it’s already become quite the favourite with local kids. Following requests from the Trafford town’s parents for an ‘adult’ version, they’ve recently launched a new boozy menu featuring frozen strawberry daiquiris and pina colada bubble teas.
Tucked under the Mancunian Way at the Hatch street food village, you’ll find Kong’s latest export slinging out half-pint cups filled with frozen margaritas, alongside their cracking new sandwich menu. We think a crisp butty and a frozen marg in the Hatch garden sound just the thing.
Junior Jackson’s – Frozen snakebite and Irish coffees
Image: Junior Jackson’s
The little brother to popular Manchester dive bar Bunny’s, Junior’s can be found in a basement on the Northern Quarter’s Oldham Street slinging out a plethora of frozen bevvies.
Frozen snakebite and frozen Irish coffees both sound incredible to us, but if you just want something fruity you can also get frozen daiquiris here in three different flavours – strawberry, pina colada and passion fruit. Oh, and you can get them all down at Bunny’s too.
7Sins – Frozen cocktail sharers
Image: The Manc Eats
Think frozen cocktails, but supersized for the whole group. Stevenson Square bar 7Sins has gone the whole hog this summer with some new frozen sharers, including the Passionbowl (essentially a giant jug of Pornstar martini) and Super Bramble (gin, lemon and blackcurrant).
The Garratt – Frozen pornstar martinis and daiquiris
Image: The Garratt
At just £5 each or two for £8, these are some of the cheapest frozen cocktails to be found in the city centre. Head down to popular Princess Street boozer The Garratt, a long-time favourite of Manchester’s skaters and students alike, for a rotating selection of ice-cold drinks, game of pool and an easy-to-land spot in the sun.
Lock 91 – Frozen daiquiris
Image: The Manc Group
With a gorgeous little beer garden hidden away from view, Lock 91 is another place to put on your frozen cocktail list on a sunny day. The house frozen strawberry daiquiri here is made from scratch, fresh to order.
Herd NQ – Frozen pornstar martinis
Image: Herd NQ
This little Northern Quarter steakhouse is delivering the goods on the frozen cocktail front, with frozen Pornstar martinis and three different boozy slushies on offer. Think a ‘pineapple express’ boozy smoothie with mango and spiced rum, a ‘watermelon sugar’ version, or a ‘frozen berry blast’ with added gin and apple.
Have we missed one? Let us know over on Instagram by dropping a message to @themanceats.
Feature image – Ramona
Food & Drink
The old fire station in Salford that’s now home to a bakery, brewery and bar
Daisy Jackson
A former fire station in Salford has been turned into a bustling base for some of the North West’s finest baking and brewing talents.
The Old Fire Station, right beside the University of Salford, is now operating as a bakery, brewery, bar, cafe and restaurant.
That means pastries, bread, pizzas and even beers are made within a few feet of where you’ll be eating and drinking them.
The space is beautiful, still boasting those gigantic red fire station doors and the traditional ceramic tiles that would have been here when the space was still home to fire engines instead of bread mixers.
Around half of the pastries coming out of the bakery, headed up by Erick Molero Delgado (his CV includes top bakeries across the USA and Europe), are completely vegan – not that you can tell from looking at their glossy, laminated layers and extravagant fillings.
We’re talking perfectly cubed laminated brioche with sweet maple flavours, mini pizzettes with olives and tomatoes dotted inside a pastry wall, and striped pain suisse stuffed with nuts and chocolate.
Then there are the not-very-vegan-at-all pastries, like a spandaeur, which is like a croissant and pastel de nata hybrid, and thick slices of Basque cheesecake.
There are new signature ‘Salford bagels’ too developed by assistant head baker Scott Shannon, which are a fusion of North American, German and Jewish styles, fermented for up to 48 hours with a crisp outer shell and a chewy centre.
A spandaeur pastry and a pain suisseHeirloom tomato bruschetta on sourdoughThe bakery line-upThe ‘Salford Bagel’ with smoked salmon
We had ours stuffed with smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers and raved about it all the way home.
Erick says: “Our new menu is a true labour of love by the whole team – from early ideas and experiments right through to the final bake.
“If someone has an idea, we run with it. That creative freedom is priceless. It keeps the work exciting, and it means our customers have the opportunity to get something fresh every time they visit.”
As for the beers, they’re all made on site too – on the opposite side of The Old Fire Station is Lark Hill Brewery, headed up by Jack Dixon, who’s able to experiment and explore new flavours in this top-spec microbrewery.
Jack Dixon in the Lark Hill BreweryLaminated briocheThe Old Fire Station bakers at work
There are experimental beers, sometimes made in collaboration with researchers at the University, as well as true-to-style classics like a New England Pale Ale and the Lark Helles, a fresh take on a classic German lager.
Jack said: “Having the autonomy to design and brew what I want, without limits, is rare and exciting,.
“It means every beer we pour here has a story and a personality. We’re proud to bring something new to Salford’s craft scene.”
This summer, they’re launching New York-style pizzas, made on slow-fermented, hand-stretched pizza dough.
And very little goes to waste here – the trimmed-off croissant pastry is now being turned into their own croissant loaf, which they’re whipping into French toast for the brunch menu.
Everything at The Old Fire Station is crafted with talent and love, and you can really taste it.
Lord Mayor of Manchester opens crucial new community kitchen in Blackley
Danny Jones
The Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Carbine Grimshaw, has opened an upgraded community kitchen in the heart of Blackley.
Recently refurbished and officially unveiled last week, the uplifting new space, based out of the GM ward’s Higher Blackley Community Centre (HBCC), aims to be a key outlet and amenity for the area.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony, which took place on Thursday, 17 July, was attended by local councillors, centre staff, as well as local community members and volunteers.
Christened with a commemorative plaque celebrating the completion of the important renovation, the work has been carried out by North West-based perimeter physical security specialists, ATG Access.
A wholesome moment with the Lord Mayor.
Having sat virtually untouched since the 1960s, the kitchen space was long overdue for some TLC, and now it has been reopened as a modern, purpose-built and community-driven facility.
Speaking at the event, the Lord Mayor said: “The work that has been done here is fantastic, especially the social value aspect of it. It’s clear to see it’s far more than just a community centre; it’s the hub of the community. The support it provides to so many people is remarkable.
“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of the unsung heroes behind it all, from centre manager Kate and her dedicated team, to the board of trustees and all the volunteers. It’s a shining example of what community spirit can achieve, and I’d love to see it replicated right across Manchester.”
The kitchen itself is now kitted out with entirely new units, fresh flooring and splashback surfaces, as well as large appliances including a big range cooker, American-style fridge freezer and commercial dishwasher – all donated by ATG and its supply chain partners, Van Leeuwen and Welding Engineering.
But it isn’t just a place to cook; the sizeable room will host workshops, events, meet-ups and various other activities, from toddler groups to adult learning programmes, as well as offering services to various classes and groups.
BeforeAfter
In just its first week of being put to use, the kitchen has already helped provide meals for 11 families who would otherwise have gone without – nothing short of brilliant news for the district.
As for ATG, Managing Director, Richard Ellis, went on to say: “From our first visit, it was clear this was a place where we could make a real impact. The building was well-used and worn, but the people and the work being done there were inspiring.
“We felt a responsibility to help and were delighted to do so, getting ‘hands on’ through our volunteering programme.”
Finally, HBCC Manager Kate Shannon added: “It’s been a huge lift for the community. The new kitchen means we can do more, support more people, and take pride in our space again. It’s been a real team effort, and we’re so grateful to ATG.”
Well done to everyone involved in bringing the Higher Blackley Community Centre Kitchen to life.
Well done to everyone involved in bringing the Higher Blackley Community Centre Kitchen to life.
Georgina Pellant -
11th July 2022 
