Manchester

Napoleon’s in Manchester – Where Revolution is Reserved for the Roulette Table

It’s not just the location close to Manchester city centre that makes the Brooklyn so sought after - here’s a look at some of its highlights.

The Manc The Manc - 12th July 2021

Manchester has always been one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the UK, and now it’s been officially named as one of the hottest in the world – or at least, one of its hotels has. 

The Brooklyn Hotel has only been open a matter of weeks but it’s listed in the top 1% of hotels on Trip Advisor and makes an exclusive list of the best 25 new hotels in the world. 

Situated on the trendy Portland Street, Brooklyn Hotel has already been attracting lots of positive attention despite the fact it only re-opened its doors on 17 May and has been trading for just over 27 weeks. 

It’s not just the location close to Manchester city centre that makes the Brooklyn so sought after – here’s a look at some of its highlights.

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Tapping Into Hot Trends

One of the biggest attractions at Brooklyn Hotel is what you’ll find in the basement: Napoleon’s Casino and Restaurant. 

But this is no dingy gambling parlour tucked away in the dark depths; Napoleon’s is a glamorous space where diners can enjoy a sumptuous dinner while overlooking the huge range of casino tables. 

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You don’t need to book dinner to head to Napoleon’s for some fun. The high-class cocktail bar is the perfect way to start the evening before taking your pick of the many gaming tables including poker, blackjack and roulette. There are also the latest slots and a heated terrace area where guests can smoke while taking a break from the action. 

Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/7EbGkOm8pWM

No other hotel in Manchester has a casino facility, and Brooklyn taps right into the heart of current trends. 2020 created an insatiable appetite for online entertainment and gaming, and casinos have rocketed in popularity. The diversity of what’s on offer is pivotal to its success; gone are the days of the basic table games and roulette tables with the surge of so many new variations of roulette available online. Players can now find many versions of their favourite games, and if they head to Napoleon’s, they’ll be able to play while soaking up the real-life atmosphere of a land casino. 

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A Bite of the Big Apple

The global pandemic has made it more difficult for people to travel but as the name suggests, the Brooklyn brings a slice of Brooklyn, New York to the UK. It may not be easy to travel to the Big Apple right now, but you can still enjoy a nibble on its sights and sounds. 

The hotel channels the über-cool New York scene with yellow cabs and a big projector showing American classics in an amphitheatre just off the lobby. Panoramic views across the skyline may not give quite the same cityscape as New York, but enjoy the cocktails and order a plate of brownies, and pretty soon you’ll be having too much fun to care!

The supersized rooms are similarly luxurious with floor to ceiling windows which are reminiscent of an American loft. Ten of the first-floor bedrooms have an outside terrace where you can relax with a coffee while gazing out over Portland Street and the Village. 

Surrounded by all the coolest gadgets you can imagine inside your room – including a Smeg fridge and Kitsch vintage radio – the Brooklyn Hotel delivers comfort and relaxation in the most exuberant way possible. 

If you’d like to find out more, check out sa gaming.

Manchester

A Polish vodka and dumpling festival is coming to Manchester

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Independent Polish restaurant Platzki is bringing back its famous vodka and pierogi festival to Manchester this week, and we couldn’t be more excited for some hearty dumpling fare.

Notorious for its top-tier filled pierogi, which are made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savoury or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water, Platzki is already something of a go-to for fine Polish food in Manchester.

But now, traditional European dumpling fans have another reason to get themselves down as the restaurant will be focusing almost entirely on pierogi for two days this week.

Platzki’s famous pierogi. / Image: The Manc Eats
Image: Platzki

Taking place across Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 October from 3pm until sell-out (or at 9pm, whichever comes first), diners will have the chance to try Platzki’s perfect homemade pierogi in a range of mouth-watering flavours.

There will be plenty of different fillings to try, including some brand new vegetarian pierogi for non-meat eaters.

That’s not all, either. There’ll also be a midweek vodka tipple on standby as Platzki shows off its huge range of favourite Polish vodkas.

Think salted caramel vodka, strawberry vodka, golden black cherry vodka, hazelnut vodka and delicious cherry-chocolate vodka, all of which are (as we know too well from experience) dangerously drinkable.

Each day, the team will be making hundreds of pierogi for local dumpling lovers to sample.

Karkówka roasted pork neck with spinach egg noodles. / Image: The Manc Eats
Karkówka roasted pork neck with spinach egg noodles. / Image: The Manc Eats

Elsewhere, they will also be serving up some of their favourite dishes from the menu including a hearty sausage stew with freshly-baked bread, and melt-in-the-mouth karkówka roasted pork neck with spinach egg noodles.

Read more: Inside Platzki, the city-centre Polish restaurant with an ever-evolving menu

A fixture in the city since 2018, Platzki has built up a reputation for serving an interesting list of Polish vodka and wine alongside traditional dishes like dumplings, pork neck and meatballs.

It has a gorgeous plant-filled restaurant and a bright terrace that backs onto the Great Northern Warehouse, giving diners views over the Great Northern Square as they dig into some of the best Polish food in the city.

To find out more about this week’s dumpling festival, follow Platzki on Instagram here.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

Manchester

A bar in Manchester is throwing a 2000s-themed Myspace party

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

A Manchester gaming bar is throwing a 2000s-themed Myspace party this week, taking it back to a time when studded belts were all the rage and angsty bands like Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, and Taking Back Sunday ruled the airwaves.

Staff at Pixel Bar are getting ready to relive their Myspace Scene kid days with a free-to-enter ‘Myspace social’, which will take place on Tuesday 4 October at the Northern Quarter gaming bar.

Promising a night full of emo, pop punk and scene classics, if you regularly find yourself listening back to old Brand New songs and fingering packets of blue-black hair dye in Boots, this is probably a party for you.

Throughout the night Pixel Bar will be running a 40% industry discount on food and drink for partygoers, as well as hosting games of beer pong and giant Jenga.

Dressing up is not mandatory but it is encouraged, and its bar staff will be going all out in their best emo and Scene kid get-ups – so expect to see a lot of kohl eyeliner, sweeping fringes, and maybe even a few pairs of fingerless gloves.

Sharing the news of the upcoming party on social media, Pixel Bar wrote: “We’re officially bringing Myspace back!

“Head down next Tuesday for our Myspace special. Mega industry discount with 40% off food and drink!

“@camthedj is spinning all the Scene/Emo tracks bringing back the emo fringe.”

Image: Pixel Bar
Image: Pixel Bar

Read more: A new gaming bar with Pokemon cocktails is opening in Manchester

Originally hailing from Leeds, Pixel Bar opened its second site in Manchester at the end of 2021 and became an instant hit with the city’s gaming community.

Selling 18 different gaming-themed cocktails, with choices like ‘Jigglypuff’, ‘Princess Perch’ and the ‘Yoshi’s Island Iced Tea’, plus a selection of ‘magic potion’ shots promising do deliver ‘full health’ and ‘stamina’, it has quickly become a haven for gamers.

The bar also has a signature cocktail called ‘Who’s that Pokemon?’ – a combination of vodka, lemon juice, soda and your choice of flavoured syrup.

Elsewhere, you’ll find the newest PlayStation 5, Xbox X Series, and Nintendo platforms, arcade games, high-spec PCs and a downstairs club room playing early 00s pop punk until the early hours.

To find out more, follow Pixel Bar on Instagram here.

Feature image – Pixel Bar

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