News

A massive Spanish food tour is coming to Manchester next month

Beers, tapas and high-end tasting menus at some of Manchester's best Spanish and Central American restaurants

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 12th April 2023

A huge foodie tour celebrating the wonders of Spanish and South American food is returning to Manchester next month.

Organised as part of a country-wide celebration by Spanish brewery Estrella Galicia, the festival will bring some of the UK’s most talented chefs together for a flavourful mix of tapas tours, foodie masterclasses and high-end tasting menus.

The month-long celebration of Spanish food, Gastronomy Month, will be taking place for a third year running this May.

Hosted across Manchester, London, Cardiff, Brighton and Newcastle, locals in each city will have the option to take part in the ultimate Spanish food tour with selected restaurants offering their best-selling tapas plates with a pint of Estrella Galicia on the side.

Former Masterchef and Great British Menu contestant Caroline Martins will host a special tasting menu at her current home inside Ancoats’ Blossom Street Social, mixing traditional Spanish dishes with influences from her home country of Brazil in Central America on 21 May.

ADVERTISEMENT
A tapas spread at La Bandera. / Image: La Bandera
SAMPA Bistro at Blossom Street Social. / Image: The Manc Eats

An official Estrella Galicia Chef Ambassador for 2022, Martins has made quite a name for herself since arriving in Manchester – appearing on the Great British Menu earlier this year and wowing local diners in Ancoats with her Alice in Wonderland-style food.

Read more: The walking trail around Manchester where you can see the beautiful spring blossom in full bloom

ADVERTISEMENT

Known for serving weird and wonderful creations like edible ‘beef fat’ candles, marshmallows topped with tongue-numbing Jambu flowers and desserts disguised as poisonous mushrooms, Caroline has become something of a local sensation since moving to Manchester in 2020.

Elsewhere during the run of the festival month, local tapas favourite La Bandera will also get involved – serving a special Beer and Bite menu where guests can enjoy an Estrella Galicia beer paired with a delicious tapas dish.

Read more: Bolton could be getting a swingers club with its very own sex dungeon

ADVERTISEMENT

Estrella Galicia offers a wide variety of drinks here in the UK including Estrella Galicia Cerveza Lager, 0,0%, Gluten-free, 1906 Reserva Especial and 1906 Black Coupage.     

To find out more and book tickets, click here.

Featured image – La Bandera

News

This Manchester suburb has just been named one of the UK’s ‘happiest’ places to live in 2024

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia Didsbury named one of the best places to live in the UK

An annual poll has named the Manchester suburb of Didsbury spot among 70 locations said to be the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.

Greater Manchester has got lots to say for itself, especially with its diverse and unique cultural landscapes, as well as various vibrant communities, so it comes as no surprise that one of our beautiful suburbs has been voted in a list of the UK’s happiest places to live for this year.

The survey included submissions from 5,000 people and there’s a lot of love being shown to the neighbouring areas of Yorkshire like Doncaster, Bingley, and Harrogate – the lattermost placed in second in the entire country.

But, ranking 62nd out of a possible 70 places, the distinct and vibrant area of Didsbury has been noticed by Furniturebox as one of the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.

Credit: The Manc Group

The results took into consideration good state schools, affordable housing, as well as accessibility to pubs, bars, restaurants, independent shops, retailers and more.

With multiple parks, walking destinations, and top-notch travel links with Bee Network trams and buses easily taking you back into the city centre and out to other boroughs, East, West and Didsbury Village all remain some of the most sought-after areas in the region.

There’s a whole host of indie retailers to enjoy, especially on the likes of the main high street and Burton Road, which effectively serves as its own cultural district, home to vintage clothing shops like Steranko, tailored styling opticians Fox Brothers and much more.

Burton Rd also boasts countless fantastic food and drink spots like The Great Kathmandu, SANTÉ, Volta and Proove Pizza, just to name a few; we’ve spent plenty of time just on this stretch of Didsbury alone.

If you’ve spent even a little time in Dids, you’ll know there’s plenty going on and it’s certainly one our happiest places in all of Greater Manchester and therefore the UK.

You can also enjoy the famous ‘Didsbury Dozen’ right on your doorstep.

Read more:

Elsewhere, and somewhat unsurprisingly, Shakespeare’s ever-romanticised hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon once again reigned supreme at the top of this list.

That being said, it’s refreshing to see that these locations weren’t entirely related to wealth and similar factors, the survey took affordability into careful consideration.

Cheshire was destined for success with its cracking views and grand properties, as the North West county made waves for the region managing to place in fifth position, holding up against Falmouth in Cornwall which placed in sixth.

Although not nabbing that all-important top spot, Didsbury is carrying the flag for 0161 and showing what all know to be true: Northerners do it best.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images – The Manc Group

News

A Greater Manchester town could be set to get a train station for the first time in 60 years

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

It’s been a whopping six decades, but the residents of one local town could soon be able to hop on a train out of there.

That’s because a planning application for a brand-new £32 million station in Golborne – which would connect the Greater Manchester town, in the Wigan borough, to the rail network for the first time in more than 60 years – has been submitted to Wigan Council, meaning connectivity is finally one step closer to becoming reality.

In case you didn’t know, Golborne currently has no direct bus, train, or tram services to Manchester, and Leigh is the biggest town in England without a rail station, while the wider area is the largest and most-populous area in Greater Manchester not connected to the rail network.

The milestone aims to boost access to jobs and opportunities for people in the town and the wider Wigan borough.

According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the Golborne station scheme forms part of a wider ambition to bring eight commuter lines into the Bee Network by 2028 – of which “significant investment” has been put into.

The application includes plans for a new accessible two-platform rail station, including step-free access throughout with a footbridge across the tracks and lifts to both platforms, a new hourly service between Wigan and Manchester Victoria, and onwards to Stalybridge, an improved town centre car park, and also new walking and cycling links to the town centre.

The submitting of the proposals comes after nearly 3,000 people had their say on the station earlier this year, with more than 90% of respondents supporting the plans.

A CGI of what the proposed new Golborne station could look like, if plans are approved / Credit: TfGM

If the plans are approved by Wigan Council, work on the site should begin in 2026, according to TfGM, with the new station scheduled to open in 2027.

Mayor Andy Burnham called the submitting of the proposals a “transformative step” for the region.

“It has taken a huge effort to get us to this point,” he explained. “But we have finally reached a major milestone on the journey to reconnect Golborne to the rail network for the first time in over 60 years.

Read more:

“The proposal is based on extremely sound evidence and huge progress has been made with a planning application being submitted and overwhelming support from local residents.”

Featured Image – TfGM

More News

Police issue statement after remains of young baby found in Salford field

News

Police issue statement after remains of young baby found in Salford field

Pep stay at Man City for one more year new deal

News

Pep Guardiola agrees new contract to stay at Manchester City for at least one more year

Boroughs

‘Shocking’ images taken with AI camera of drivers using mobiles and not wearing seatbelts released

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches