A new Mediterranean grill restaurant has just opened in the Northern Quarter, bringing an exciting mixture of smoky charcoaled meats and ancient wines to the former Solita burger site.
Called Pupa Restaurant, it celebrates a full range of European flavours: serving up plates of grilled halloumi, mixed meats, and whole grilled fish alongside a list of carefully chosen wines, many made by its owner’s uncles back home in Albania.
Opened by Armando Pupa, a 27-year-old chef who has worked for a number of different restaurants in and around the city, the eponymous site boasts its very own signature wine list with a choice of four different vintages: Puls i Arte i Beratit, Serina red, Dodona red and Serina rose.
Each comes with its own recommended pairing. The Puls i Arte i Beratit is a white, perfect with raw and grilled seafood or white meat, whilst the Dodona red, a blend of three different grapes, pairs best with ham, grilled chicken and red meat.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Elsewhere, a more extensive list of wines sit alongside solid selection of classic and signature cocktails, beers and softs – but the main draw here has to be vintages, all imported from a family winery of the same name in Berat, Albania.
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On the menu, you’ll find a sizeable grill section with various marinated skewers, tender lamb cutlets, premium cuts of steak, and plump king prawns slathered in spiced garlic and herb butter, with sides like chips, salad and rice all served separately.
Elsewhere, a list of light starters including calamari, mixed olives, and homemade croquettes stuffed with cheese and bacon promise to set your meal up perfectly, before you finish off with desserts like creme brulee, cheesecake, salted caramel mousse and chocolate cake.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Alongside a list of flavourful Mediterranean plates, diners will also find a list of towering dirty burgers and a mammoth sharing platters, featuring melt-in-the-mouth meats that have been marinated for hours before going on top of the restaurant’s specially-built charcoal grill.
Sitting just off the beaten track of the Northern Quarter, just one row behind the ever-busy Thomas Street. under the stewardship of its new owner Pupa is breathing new life into a site that has sat empty for years.
With huge boards of Spanish chorizo, chicken and lamb skewers, chicken wings, Mediterranean rice, Greek salad, and blackened veg sure to tempt large groups of diners in, it’s certainly bringing something a little bit different to this corner of the city.
Image: The Manc Eats
Whilst it has already been open for a month, this Friday 7 October, the restaurant is hosting a launch party to meet its new Northern Quarter neighbours.
From 5pm, Pupa will open for a knees up that will see the team handing out complimentary glasses of prosecco on arrival alongside an array of tempting Mediterannean plates and desserts.
Staff will also be handing out vouchers for 10% off food and drink that will be valid for use until the end of November.
Pupa is open seven days a week from 5-10pm Monday to Wednesday and 12-10pm Thursday to Sunday. To find out more and book, visit the restaurant’s website here.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
News
Government sets out multi-million-pound plan to move UK away from animal testing in science
Emily Sergeant
A £22m push to ramp up the UK’s move away from animal testing in science is set to bring together cutting-edge tech and research.
The latest figures show there were 2.54 million animal testing procedures in Great Britain in 2025, which is down 3.8% on 2024, but with a further update due to be released later this year, the Government is now moving to ‘capitalise’ on that momentum with funding to shift the nation onto alternative testing options.
A dedicated national research hub and nine new high-tech projects are planned to develop ‘better ways’ to test medicines on human biology rather than animals.
According to the Government, this means treatments for conditions like cancer and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) could be developed ‘faster’ and ‘more precisely’ to not only help patients but crucially also move science away from traditional animal testing.
At the heart of the plans is a new Pre-clinical Translational Models Hub – based in Cambridge and backed by £20 million in Government funding, which will work to build and share models of human tissue, grown from NHS patients, to test new treatments.
The new hub will accelerate the development of testing on ‘organoids’ – tiny, simplified versions of a human gut, tumour or brain, using cells donated by patients.
From beating heart cells in a dish to AI that can predict how drugs move through the body, exciting alternatives to animal testing are transforming medical research.
We're investing £22m to help scientists develop the next generation of life-saving treatments. pic.twitter.com/1EWRQvwySa
— Dept. for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (@biztradegovuk) August 12, 2026
Because these ‘organoids’ retain crucial features of a patient’s own biology, they will help researchers learn how a real person may respond to a drug and provide additional insights that can complement information that is currently obtained from animals.
Scientists will then be able to use these cutting-edge techniques in their own labs to work out which medicines are worth pursuing.
Overall, it’s hoped that the move will slash the time it takes to get ‘potentially life-changing’ treatments to market.
Alongside the funding for the new Hub, nine cutting-edge projects aimed at identifying new methods of animal-free scientific testing – from beating heart cells in a dish, to lab-grown human ear models, and AI that predicts how medicines move through the body – are being funded.
Sadly, many of these still rely on testing on dogs and monkeys, as it stands.
“This marks another significant step forward in the UK’s move away from animal testing in science and research,” commented Science Minister Chris McDonald.
“This is all about backing our world-leading researchers and innovators to improve lives, giving them the tools they need to deliver more effective treatments for horrendous diseases like cancer, while also preventing the need for animal testing wherever possible.
“It’s also a boost for our life sciences sector, fuelling opportunities for new investment and new jobs, and ensuring Britain is better off.”
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
6th October 2022 
