In a day and age where even the most bog-standard of takeaway coffees costs more than £3, and where you have to think very carefully about if you can afford to stick your radiator on, the Bearded Feeder at Piccadilly Gardens is a rare beast.
A staple of the Piccadilly Street Food Markets, this stall is somewhere you can still get a filling lunch for a fiver – and you’ll get some pretty solid Star Wars puns on the side.
The Bearded Feeder has a solid reputation amongst Mancs, thanks in no small party to its quality meaty burgers (100% beef, 100% pork, 100% Sith, they say. Told you they liked a Star Wards pun).
The family-run business has a mouth-watering menu that includes pulled pork, ‘Force-pushed’ burgers, and chicken wings, with prices for mains starting at a mere £5.
Pound-for-pound, there aren’t many places matching that value and quality.
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Despite so many huge players in Manchester’s burger scene – Burgerism, Almost Famous, Slap & Pickle, Hawksmoor, to name a few – The Bearded Feeder is a name that pops up every time we ask people for their burger recommendations.
It’s founded and operated by Scott Andrew, a man who is quite literally a bearded feeder, and who has kept his prices affordable despite the insane costs of operating any sort of business in 2023.
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The Exogarth platter from The Bearded Feeder burger stall at Piccadilly Gardens in ManchesterThe Bearded Feeder at Piccadilly GardensThe Bearded Feeder’s Wookiee burger at Piccadilly Gardens
His dishes include the Vader hot dog, the Chosen One burger, and the Wampa loaded mac and cheese.
The Wookiee burger features a smashed beef burger patty with cheese, topped with pulled pork and barbecue sauce, and it’s a burger about the size of the Death Star itself. It’s also only £7, or £10 as a meal deal.
The Exogorth is bigger still, a tray heaped with all of the Bearded Feeder’s best bits.
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There’s pulled pork, belly bites, mac and cheese, and two chicken wings, topped with jalapenos and crispy onions.
It’s one of the top-rated burger joints in the entire city, with people reviewing it as ‘the best burger I have ever eaten’ and ‘heaven’.
You’ll be Skywalkering on air after you’ve eaten this one…
A$AP Rocky announces huge Manchester gig on new world tour
Daisy Jackson
A$AP Rocky is heading out on a massive world tour, and is including a gig here in Manchester.
The rapper, producer, actor and entrepreneur has just announced his upcoming 2026 tour, the Don’t Be Dumb World Tour, with a whopping 42 dates across the globe.
This will be fans’ first chance to hear his latest album and first release in eight years, Don’t Be Dumb, live.
The huge A$AP Rocky tour kicks off this May in the USA, before heading across to Europe in July.
That leg will include a gig at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Saturday 5 September, one of only three UK shows on the tour.
The announcement has come hot on the heels of the release of his fourth album last week, which Billboard has said ‘not only rewards patience but adds new wrinkles to the rapper’s approach — an evolved relationship with melody and a wiser lyrical slant’.
It became Spotify’s most pre-saved hip-hop album, with one million saves even before its release.
As well as his music career, A$AP Rocky has starred in films including the Golden Globe-winning If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, and has cemented himself as a fashion icon with his work as co-chair of the 2025 Met Gala.
He’s also been announced as the creative director for Ray-Ban, and was appointed as Chanel’s new house ambassador.
General sale for the Don’t Be Dumb World Tour will go live at 9am on Tuesday 27 January HERE.
There’ll be artist pre-sales, a Mastercard pre-sale, and various VIP packages available too.
New police hub to be set up in Piccadilly Gardens to help reduce anti-social behaviour
Emily Sergeant
A new police hub is set to be established in Piccadilly Gardens.
In case you missed it, it was announced last week that council tax in Greater Manchester could be increased to help fund improvements to policing, and that a consultation on it has been launched – with local residents urged to have their say.
The police precept helps Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to build on a range of improvements, including the speed of answering 999 and 101 calls, road and transport safety across Manchester city centre, and bringing more sex offenders to justice, among many other things.
Greater Manchester council tax is set to be increased again to help fund improvements to policing, and a consultation is now live. 🏘️🚔📝
But on top of this, Mayor Andy Burnham has also pledged to deliver a new police hub in Piccadilly Gardens as part of a wider drive to improve policing.
GMCA says its ‘top priority’ is to build strong communities where people feel safe, and it is Mayor Andy Burnham and his Deputy Mayors’ responsibility to enable GMP to be an ‘effective and efficient’ police force.
Local leaders say their ambition for 2026 is to maintain a ‘high-performing’ police service by tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, and protecting residents and businesses along the way – and part of this ambition is to increase police visibility in Piccadilly Gardens, which is a much-maligned part of the city centre, by launching a new ‘prominent’ police hub.
The increase in the police precept is also being touted to help increase ‘hot spot policing tactics’ in town centres and other key locations to help drive down theft and other violent retail crimes.
A new police hub is to be set up in Piccadilly Gardens to help reduce anti-social behaviour / Credit: Gerald England (via Geograph) | Rawpixel
“We need GMP to be properly funded if it is to continue to deliver an effective and responsive service for people in Greater Manchester,” commented Mayor Andy Burnham. “The cost of running a modern police force is going up and this is at a time when our city region has become the fastest-growing economy in the UK, with visitor numbers increasing year after year.
“So much is happening here and that includes a number of major and complex incidents over the past year, including a terrorist attack. These incidents added significant pressure to police resources.
“We recognise the ongoing impact of the rising cost of living and do not take the decision to increase the precept lightly. But right now, this increase is our only option to ensure GMP can continue delivering an effective police service that ensures that people feel safe in their own communities.”
Daisy Jackson -
13th October 2023 
