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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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
The Manchester charity that’s championing the community one step at a time
Thomas Melia
There’s a Manchester-based charity which is helping uplift and champion communities throughout the city centre and wider Greater Manchester region.
Us Mancs certainly know a thing or two about community, whether it’s our influential music scene, football clubs, our hospitality scene and so on, but Forever Manchester takes this to the next level.
This charity has been consistently funding and supporting community initiatives throughout Greater Manchester by helping people achieve the extraordinary, all while maintaining plenty of local pride.
Forever Manchester was born from a mission to support the people and places that make Greater Manchester magic, and is all about making sure the community is at the forefront of everything they do.
Credit: Forever Manchester
The community-first charity has invested over £65 million into local communities and awarded £517,968 to over 100 different community groups.
This isn’t a new charity either, Forever Manchester has been deep in our city’s culture for quite some time since launching in 1989, most notably commissioning local poet Tony Walsh’s ‘This is the Place’.
The piece was originally published in 2012 before finding a very special place in our hearts back in 2017 when Walsh performed the poem at a vigil for the Manchester Arena attack.
This love letter to Manchester has not only gone on to become a part of the city’s history but also reaffirmed this organisation’s place throughout communities in the region.
Credit: Supplied
Now, the community-minded charity is ready to make a mark in 2025 with a whole host of initiatives, including a Forever Manchester lottery, pub quizzes, comedy nights and disco bingo.
Anyone looking to find out more information about this community-first charity and see some examples of the work it does can visit Forever Manchester’s official website.
Remember, this is a city that looks after its own – that’s the kind of energy we want to see you keeping up all year long.
And, if you have a soft spot for a tote bag or wall art prints, look no further than Forever Manchester’s shop, where every purchase directly contributes to community activities in Greater Manchester HERE.
Billie Eilish at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Billie Eilish is ready to take over Co-op Live for four nights of tear-jerking, heart-wrenching, belly-aching hits right here in Manchester.
Ms. ‘Ocean Eyes’ herself is coming to Manchester this month, and we’re on hand with all the info you need so you don’t have to ‘Guess’ anything on the day of your show.
Billie Eilish has cemented her position in the music industry as one of the leading hitmakers, and at only 23 years old, this artist has won nine Grammy Awards and racked up three UK number-one singles.
The American star has been grafting since her early teens, dropping her first ever EP, don’t smile at me, in 2017 at only 16 years old and has reached height after height ever since.
Billie Eilish gig guide
Billie Eilish is playing at Co-op Live in Manchester on 19, 20, 22 and 23 July.Credit: Press shot (supplied)
Her latest album ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’, which is also the name of the tour, is Eilish’s third studio album and it’s stacked with bangers like ‘Birds of a Feather’, ‘Lunch’ and ‘Wildflower’, just to name a few.
Are there tickets left for Billie Eilish tickets in Manchester?
Anyone after tickets to any of the upcoming Billie Eilish gigs in Manchester might be in for a ‘not-so-lovely’ surprise, as you can expect, as most general tickets are sold out.
However, anyone who’s missed out on tickets for Billie’s FOUR-gig run in Manchester can still take a look at a variety of premium ticket packages.
You can grab your ‘Birds of a Feather’ and a ticket or two for the Saturday, 19 July show HERE.
Pack your ‘Lunch’ and put on your best outfit because there are exclusive tickets for the Sunday, 20 July gig HERE.
Your friends will be calling you ‘The Greatest’ when you let them know about the premium tickets still left for Tuesday, 22 July right HERE.
Finally, grab ‘L’amour De Ma Vie’ and sing your heart out with a range of hospitality tickets to choose from on Wednesday, 23 July HERE. And breathe…
Billie Eilish setlist
Chihiro
Lunch
NDA
Therefore I Am
Wildflower
when the party’s over
The Diner
ilomilo
bad guy
The Greatest
Your Power
Skinny
TV
bury a friend
Oxytocin
Guess
everything i wanted
lovely / Blue / ocean eyes (Medley)
L’amour De Ma Vie
What Was I Made For?
Happier Than Ever
Birds of a Feather
What are the stage times for Billie Eilish in Manchester?
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning concertgoers can be safe knowing ‘when the party’s over’ it won’t be well into the early hours.
Doors for ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ tour are scheduled for 6pm with support acts Syd and Magdalena Bay on hand to soundtrack your evening and leave you feeling ‘Happier Than Ever’ before Billie at 8pm.
The first act, Syd, is known for co-founding influential R’n’B band, The Internet (big fans, by the way), and has just dropped a new solo single ‘Die For This’ ahead of her Billie Eilish tour stint.
How to get to Co-op Live
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre until 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
The ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour’ will mark Billie Eilish’s first ever Co-op Live appearance.Credit: William Drumm (supplied)
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.
Getting there by car and parking
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue,e but this must be pre-booked ahead of time and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide come event day – though estimates will vary, obviously:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes via the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.