One of Manchester’s favourite food halls has just been named the best in the whole of the UK, beating competition from the likes of London, Bristol and Sheffield.
Praised for its ‘exceptional’ food, Mackie Mayor – housed in an 1858 Grade II-listed building that was once a part of the bustling Smithfield Market area – was name-checked by global travel site, Big 7 Travel, and hospitality specialists Enjoy Travel.
Originally used as a meat market, the building ran into disrepair during the 1970s before reopening as a food hall in 2017.
Today, it is home to some heavenly food traders including Mexican foodies Pico’s, New Wave Ramen, Honest Crust sourdough pizza, Tender Cow, Chilli B Thai and Mumma’s Fried Chicken.
Tommy Fury recently popped into Tender Cow at Picturedrome (owned and run by the same team as Mackie Mayor) for a celebratory burger post-fight. / Image: Tender Cow
Eagle St Coffee is the newest trader at Mackie Mayor, taking over from Lancashire-based Atkinson’s Coffee who moved out in January 2023. / Image: Eagle St Coffee
On top of that, it also houses the Reserve wine shop, BlackJack Brewtap’s award-winning beer and cider shop Jack in the Box, and Eagle Street Coffee – the latter a relatively new addition after Mackie’s longstanding coffee trader Atkinsons Coffee closed its cafe in January.
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Also appearing on the list in top 10 positions are Manchester food halls Altrincham Market House (no surprise really considering it is run by the same team as Mackie Mayor) and Society in fourth and eighth place. Eataly in London, meanwhile, scooped second place.
Liverpool’s Baltic Market ranked at number 5, with Sheffield’s Cutlery Works coming in at third place.
In order to create the ranking, venues were rated on a number of factors including their range of cuisines, selection of vendors, unique and special events, and overall atmosphere.
Mackie Mayor is described as “one of Mancheester’s most popular spots”, “crammed full of top-notch food and drink vendors […] with space for at least 500 people”.
However, the list also name-checks former food traders Fin fish bar and Baohouse. neither of which feature at Mackie Mayor any longer.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Manchester
Radcliffe FC shake off interest in coaching duo as they reject official approach for their managers
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester team Radcliffe FC have shooed off suitors for their first team coaches after receiving and rejecting an offer for their pair of managers.
In a word, it was a big, fat, definitive NO.
Joint Radcliffe bosses, Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley, have lifted the National League North side into seventh after 19 games, currently outperforming virtually all of their nearby rivals and other regional sides in the division.
With the likes of fellow local outfit Curzon Ashton sat in ninth, their former employers Chester FC in 11th, not to mention Chorley, Buxton, Macclesfield FC and Southport sliding into the bottom half, it’s clear that other clubs are hoping they can have a similarly positive effect on their position in the table.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that Boro’s board have no intention of letting their gaffers go, and it looks as though the duo have no interest either.
Sharing a short but emphatic statement online, the club wrote: “We can confirm that an approach has been made regarding Managers Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley, and wish to make clear that this approach has been formally rejected.
“Both Managers remain fully committed to their current roles, and we hold Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley in the highest regard, valuing the incredible ongoing work they continue to deliver.
“As such, no discussions or negotiations will be entered into, and no further comment will be made at this time.”
Johnson and Morley previously made waves when they together helped Salford City gain promotion to the National League for the first time before eventually departing in 2018.
To put it simply, they’ve told the as-yet-undisclosed would-be poachers to ‘do one’, and the fans certainly seemed to enjoy it.
Wasn’t too hard to resist if they rejected it so quickly 🤣
As you can see, besides some speculation that the call might have come from the aforementioned Chester in hopes of them returning home, even Shakers fans themselves are apparently insisting that the club in question is Bury FC, who are currently in the West Division of the Northern Premier League.
The fact that Johnson is said to be a Bury fan himself has certainly added some fuel to the fire, but it appears as though they’ll be staying put – at least for now.
Nevertheless, there’s clearly plenty of admiration for the work they’re doing at Stainton Park; one user commented: “Keep Johnno and Morley. They are top guys. We have [Bobby] Grant at Marine, who is doing fine. Shows what a good job these guys are doing.”
Do you reckon they’ll stick around for the foreseeable, Boro fans?
Speaking of ‘The Seals’ over in Cheshire, you can see the highlights from the away victory against Radcliffe FC down below, and if not.
Special mention for that goal by Michael Afuye at 3:14.
Featured Images — Ingy The Wingy (via Flickr/Wikimedia Commons)
Manchester
The nominees for the Critics’ Choice award at the 2026 BRITs in Manchester have been revealed
Danny Jones
With the upcoming BRITs ceremony coming to Manchester, we’re more all over the nominations than ever, especially now that the Critics’ Choice nominees for 2026 have been confirmed.
2023 was the annual Chanel ‘Metiers D’Art’ show, 2024 was the MTV EMAs, and next summer will see the BRITs; gosh, Manchester really is in vogue, isn’t it?
Commenting on the nomination, he told the BRITs: “Ya beauty! Tapadh leibh [‘thank you’ in Gaelic] for recognising my work for this award, you legends! Even though I’m Scottish and Irish before I’m British, I appreciate the BRITs critics for this recognition.
“I really care about and believe in this music, and it makes my world brighter every time it reaches someone else. Hopefully, this nomination means some more beautiful people might find something in this wee album. ‘Mon the gays!”
Rose Gray
Next up in the nods is London’s Rose Gray – a solo star who has developed a cult following thanks to songs like ‘ATTENTION!’, ‘Wet & Wild’, ‘Angel of Satisfaction’ and more.
Also the long-time partner and childhood sweetheart of Babygirl, Iron Claw and The King’s Man actor, Harris Dickinson, Gray has been riding a particular wave of popularity over the past year or so, especially after the release of her A Little Louder, Please (Deluxe) double album this past October.
She said in a statement: “I’m so excited for this nomination! This moment feels like a special reminder of how far this journey has carried me and what a crazy year it’s been. One year ago, I was manifesting so hard for my album to travel, to find its people, to really get its light. And it did. Releasing this record has genuinely changed my life…”
Lastly, in at number three is the 20-year-old singer-songwriter, Sienna Spiro, whose soulful voice sounds like one with much more life experience and years of emotion under its belt; it’s no wonder that she’s resonated with multiple generations, let alone been recognised by the panel.
With big theatrical ballads like ‘Die On This Hill’, ‘You Stole The Show’, as well as heavily-streamed songs like ‘MAYBE.’, ‘BACK TO BLONDE’ and more in her impressive and fast-growing discography, we know she’ll go far even if she doesn’t win – you can bank on that.
She added: “So beyond honoured and grateful to be nominated for this year’s Critics’ Choice BRIT Award! To think I started releasing music last year, I would never have expected this at all. Thank you so much!”
Having looked again at the list of people who’ve been both shortlisted and those who have gone on to win it, trust us, you’ll want to be paying attention to this one…
For context:
Past BRITs Critics’ Choice / Rising Star winners and nominees
2008 – Adele (Duffy, Foals)
2009 – Florence + The Machine (Little Boots, White Lies)
2010 – Ellie Goulding (Delphic, Marina and the Diamonds)
2011 – Jessie J (James Blake, The Vaccines)
2012 – Emeli Sandé (Michael Kiwanuka, Maverick Sabre)
So yeah, it’s fair to say that anyone even in the running for this accolade tends to go on to do even more bigger and better things than they already have.
Tickets to be at the 2026 BRIT Awards at Co-op Live in person for whoever picks up the Critics’ Choice gong, as well as all the other categories, are live now.
Georgina Pellant -
16th March 2023 
