The best food and drink stalls at Manchester Christmas Markets 2021
Think Biscoff cookie pies, giant carvery roast boxes from the Yorkshire wrap legends at Porky Pig, giant truffles disguised as Christmas puddings and more.
Gluhwein, Bavarian beer, and bratwursts of all flavours have returned to Manchester today as the city’s Christmas markets reopened, following a year’s hiatus.
Cheese-filled, spicy, classic, and white German sausages can be seen (and smelt) grilling over hot coals in all corners of the city, and you can’t move for innumerable wooden huts selling all the classic wintry drinks you might expect – from mulled wine and hot, boozy cider, to steaming mugs of Italian Vin Boule, Nordic Glocc and French Vin Chaud.
But alongside the classics, there are also some new and intriguing additions this year we haven’t seen before – like Biscoff cookie pies, giant carvery roast boxes from the Yorkshire wrap legends at Porky Pig, and ‘Manchester’s legendary Hot Blobs’, which we’re told are a mix of sweet white wine, sugar, lemon, and hot water.
Keep reading to discover all of the best food and drink stalls at Manchester’s Christmas markets this year.
Piccadilly Gardens is the home of this year’s Christmas markets
Piccadilly Gardens
This year, it’s finally Piccadilly Gardens’ time to shine. The forever-controversial public space has become the home of the Manchester Christmas Markets for 2021 – and council bosses have gone all out, installing two huge, covered bars alongside a live music stage and numerous street food huts.
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Alongside the usual food and drink suspects, you’ll find not one but two vegan bratwurst stalls – Manchester’s vegan restaurant Vertigo, and newcomer Panc – battling it out for the plant-based crown, plus Korean potato hot dogs rolled in sugar, glasses of shimmering prosecco and steaming mugs of hot Vimto.
Elsewhere, you’ll find a mouthwatering Chrimbo chicken brioche burger loaded with gravy, bacon, and cranberry from The Dirty Chicken Co (£8), S’mores churros sandwiches (£6.50) from Loop Churros, and hot roast pork rolls loaded with stuffing and apple sauce (£6.50).
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Cathedral Gardens
The first Christmas markets to open this year, the offering here is pretty simple with a collection of bars selling mulled wine and cider, and wooden huts selling dutch mini pancakes, sugar waffles and more.
Zara’s Cupcakes stall by the Corn Exchange is selling cupcakes loaded with Jammy Dodgers, golden pretzels, pick and mix sweeties and more.
The Corn Exchange
Jammy Dodger-loaded cupcakes, Nutella-topped confections, and more covered with pick and mix sweeties, chocolate Oreos, and golden pretzels can be found at Zara’s Cupcakes market stall, priced at £3.50 each or £13 for four. There are also cake jars, old-school puds, and cake mix-making kits to be found here.
At the Corn Exchange, there’s also a pie stall from The Crusty Pie Company selling every filling variation you can think of – from pork and black pudding to Hunstmans pies, chicken and leek, wild boar and mushroom, turkey and cranberry, and chicken and chestnut stuffing pies.
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You can find some great gourmet sausage rolls here, too, as well as bags of traditional pork scratchings from £2.
The Crusty Pie Company is selling every filling variation you can think of – plus gourmet sausage rolls and traditional bags of pork scratchings.
Exchange Square
The go-to stall here at Exchange Square has to be Porky Pig, the home of the Yorkshire pudding wrap and battered pigs in blankets. Wraps are served carvery-style, so you can pick your meat from choices like chicken, beef, gammon and pork, then opt for stuffing, gravy, and veg separately.
This year, the Porky Pig team has also introduced some new options too – bringing across its popular giant roast dinner carvery boxes and bangers and mash. Look out for the ‘Yorkshire Rose’, a giant swirly Cumberland sausage-loaded Yorkshire pudding topped with gravy.
Porky Pig is selling giant roast carvery boxes for the very first time at its stall on Exchange Square Porky Pig is also selling its iconic Yorkshire wraps filled with a full Sunday dinner
Elsewhere, you’ll find chargrilled grill wraps, curries, and Indian street food at TKK Food Experience; parmesan and truffle fries at the Dutch Fries Company; Dutch mini pancakes and sugar waffles; and German bratwurst, Christmas punch, and Bavarian cherry beer at the German Windmill Bar.
There are also piles of flavoured Turkish delight, plus caramel cider (£5), classic English mulled wine (£5), and non-alcoholic ginger and honey with orange juice and cranberry (£5) to be discovered here.
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The go-to stall at Exchange Square has to be Porky Pig, the home of the Yorkshire pudding wrap and battered pigs in blankets
Market Street
There’s not much to report food-wise, with the majority of stalls focusing on selling gifts and other trinkets. We did spy a massive stall selling pick and mix, though, for those who haven’t yet got over the closure of Woolworth’s.
With a big focus on beer and wine, Exchange street is dominated by bars selling all the usual suspects – sausages included
Exchange Street
With a big focus on beer and wine, Exchange street is dominated by bars selling all the usual suspects – plus Baileys, boozy coffees, gin and tonics, and other spirit mixers.
Prestwich restaurant Triple B also has a stall down here selling bagels stuffed with fried camembert or hot salt beef, plus turkey Reuben bagels and French dip sandwiches – a must if you’ve never tried them before.
You’ll also find some cute little preserves from the Cherry Tree, The Cocktail Co. selling bottled hot and cold cocktail gift sets (bottles from £5, gift sets from £15), a burrito stall called Wrap Up, flavoured rums made in Bath by Beckford’s, and German bratwursts down by Zara
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St Ann’s Square has a big bar, pizza, 1/2 meter long bratwurst and more The biggest bratwurst at the Manchester Christmas markets
St Ann’s Square
Head to St Ann’s Square for square pizzas, 1/2 meter long bratwurst rolls (£6), and a stall from Manchester fried chicken legends Yard and Coop selling festive trays of fried chicken and chips (£10) alongside some brand new chicken tender and buffalo sauce po boys (£7).
Think Christmas dinner in a tray, combining buttermilk fried chicken tenders, fries, cranberry ketchup, and chicken gravy (£10), or. there’s a salt and pepper twist that comes garnished with seaweed (£10).
Square pizzas in St Ann’s Square can be ordered with a choice of different toppings
Elsewhere, you’ll find square pizza, reams of German bratwurst and salami pre-packaged to take home; a Spanish kitchen selling tapas and nibbles like serrano ham, manchego, Catalan fuet, and Spanish chorizo; and sweet treats like apple strudel and kaiserschmarrn (scrambled pancakes) down by the church.
Oh, and don’t forget the Lotus Biscoff cookie pies and giant truffles disguised as Christmas puddings over at Gingerbread House Confections – they look incredible and can easily be heated up at home in the microwave.
An Italian stall selling meats and cheeses at the bottom of King street
King Street
The wonderful Italian cheese and meat stall that sits on the border of King street and Deansgate has returned for 2021, we’re happy to confirm, selling everything from taleggio and coor da Sardegna, to salame chighiale, casereccia piccante, and more.
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You can also get your go-to bratwurst here, with a choice of cheese sausage (£5) or white sausage (£5) available.
The Grumpy Mule gin bar is on hand selling a selection of juniper-laced spirits from the likes of Malfy, Thomas Dakin, Tanqueray, and Gin Mare, as well as boozy hot chocolates, mulled wines, and everything else you might expect.
There’s also a provencal stall selling French favourites like garlic mushrooms (£6), garlic chicken(£6.50), and mustard chicken (£6.50) alongside garlic potatoes or rice; and a Sicilian street food stall flogging sourdough pizza slices, various stuffed balls of arancini, and a coppo misto (a selection of fried specialities like arancine, panzerotto, panelle and crostini).
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Manchester
Inside Manchester Town Hall as more scaffolding comes down and reopening date confirmed
Daisy Jackson
The Manchester Town Hall at long last has a path to completion, and as the scaffolding around this landmark building creeps down, the council has shared a glimpse at the work that’s happening inside.
The Grade I-listed building has been hidden behind scaffolding and white sheets for more than five years, with its once-in-a-century regeneration delayed by a number of factors.
But now, at long last, Manchester City Council has confirmed a completion date for the project, with work on the Manchester Town Hall set to complete in spring 2027.
Those of us wandering through town or attending the Manchester Christmas Markets in recent months will have noticed the scaffolding around the beautiful structure slowly unveiling its beautiful facade.
First came the clock tower, then down came the huge temporary roof (which had been keeping the building watertight while roofing works were carried out), and now there’s movement around the sides of the town hall too.
Inside, an army of skilled workers have been carefully restoring and repairing this heritage building, safeguarding it for future generations.
In images shared by the council, we can see the ornate ceilings, intricate stonework, and grand hallways of the Manchester Town Hall for the first time in years.
And addressing the ‘unique challenges’ faced during the restoration, the report has laid out a ‘more certain’ completion date of spring 2027 and a budget increase of an additional £95 million – taking the overall project budget to £524.8 million.
The Manchester Town Hall project has faced challenges since it began in 2020, including the Covid pandemic, a volatile economic climate, and construction industry rising costs.
The council’s report also said that there’s been a shortage of ‘specialist labour capacity in the supply chain, issues with the supply of materials (which under strict heritage rules need to closely match those used in the original construction) and ongoing discovery of further construction challenges, all of which unavoidably cause delays and associated costs’.
Inside the Manchester Town Hall. Credit: Supplied
On top of that, three of the contractors working on the regeneration have gone into administration in the last six months alone.
Despite that, most of the external work is now complete, with work now focussing on the interiors.
When it reopens next year, Manchester Town Hall will have a free public attraction The Town Hall Story, which will bring its fascinating history to life.
Before then, a series of hard hat tours are being planned to welcome Mancs inside the building.
Deputy Council Leader Cllr Garry Bridges said: “This project to safeguard Manchester Town Hall and create unprecedented public access is the biggest heritage project the country has seen for many years. Only the restoration of the Houses of Parliament will surpass it in scale.
“A project of this size is extraordinarily complicated and has had to navigate a stream of challenges – from a global pandemic to high inflation in the construction industry and the hidden issues within the building’s historic fabric.
Scaffolding around the Manchester Town Hall is slowly coming down. Credit: Supplied
“Like everyone, we have been frustrated by the increased time and cost involved. But if we had not acted decisively to invest in the future of this Victorian masterpiece, many parts of which were reaching the end of their natural lifespans, we would have seen it become unusable and obsolete.
“We’re glad that we’re now on a confident path to completion in spring 2027, in time for the 150th anniversary of its original opening. The results of the project will be there for people to appreciate and enjoy for the next 100 years.
“Manchester people are beginning to see the benefits of the expanded Albert Square, at the heart of the city’s best ever Christmas, and there will be many more events to come in a public square to rival the best in Europe.
“When town halls like ours were built in the 19th Century, most Mancunians were excluded from them. But we want to give the building back to the people – inviting them to a new free visitor attraction and to share in a cultural programme around its reopening.
“Now we have a date for completion we can begin to look forward with excitement.”
The Cut and Craft are hosting a bottomless Boxing Day brunch this year
Danny Jones
This holiday season, The Cut and Craft are hosting an extra lavish take on their usual bottomless brunch on Boxing Day.
Suddenly, we’re looking forward to 26 December maybe even more than our mam’s Christmas dinner…
Yes, the much-loved steak and seafood restaurant is already well-known for one of the best bottomless brunches in Manchester, not to mention evening meals, but they always elevate things even further over the festive period.
Promising top ingredients, the best booze labels you could ask for, as well as stunning service in an even more stunning room, you can’t go wrong if you’re looking to make the most of your toasts this Boxing Day – and don’t worry, vegetarians: there are some great options for you, too.
Typically held over a long weekend, The Cut and Craft bank holiday bottomless brunch will be held for the last time this year on the final Friday of 2025. You couldn’t ask for more perfect timing than that.
The group have transformed the beautiful room in the heart of the city into what they’ve dubbed “a scene straight out of Miracle on 34th Street.
Adorned with grand wreaths, the reliable warmth of twinkling fairy lights, stockings hanging in front of the fire in ‘The Gossip Room’, plus Santa guarding the wine cellar, the only thing more inviting than the space is the menu.
Besides the usual 90 minutes of non-stop Moët & Chandon champagne, as well as DJs, live entertainment and dancers, the food offerings include flat iron steak and chips served on a hot stone with a grilled tomato and signature salt.
If you prefer something to steer away from the red meat/have already had plenty over Christmas, you can go for grilled seabass with Duchess potatoes, gremolata, hazelnut and cauliflower sauce, OR opt for the halloumi fajitas packed with roasted peppers and onions, guacamole, salsa and chive sour cream.
You can even load these up even further with the addition of free-range British chicken breast, rump steak (if you change your mind on the day), and even king prawns.
We’re almost drooling just thinking about all this – as are our mates from The Hoot after confirming the same promotion is available at their equally gorgeous sites over in Leeds.
Veggie options are Cut & Craft’s ‘Redefine Flank Steak & Chips’ (tender flank-style cut of plant-based steak), or spicy cauliflower wings, served with broad beans, English garden peas, buckwheat, baby gem, baby spinach, broccoli couscous, toasted cashews, pistachio crumb, and maple-mustard dressing.
Once again, all of this can be tweaked here and there by the exceptional waiting staff; for instance, if you’d rather wine than champers, you can always swap the bubbly for Whispering Angel Rosé, which will be served straight from their limitless fountain.
Guests who fancy visiting Cut and Craft for Boxing Day 2025 can choose between a bar table with unlimited Whispering Angel drinks only from just £55, or go all out with a restaurant table and a dish from the set brunch menu starting from £75.
The full Moët fizz upgrade package will set you back £100, if you’re really looking to indulge yourself this year, and who could blame you? It’s a long, old winter, after all.
If you’re interested in securing your seat at 38-42 Mosley St, bookings are available from 1pm onwards, and you can reserve your table right HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
12th November 2021 
