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
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Family-friendly LGBTQ+ festival returns to Manchester Pride 2026
Danny Jones
Exactly what it says on the tin, Proud Fest returns to Manchester for 2026, promising plenty of fun for all ages away from the main hustle and bustle this summer.
Best part of all? It’s completely FREE.
Taking place in the heart of the city centre, it offers a viable alternative to many who want to avoid the major crowds that flock to Gay Village’s Pride party every year.
Just the second year that this LGBTQIA+ festival has been set up, making its colourful debut in 2025, there’ll be everything from live music, games and other interactive opportunities for all ages, arts and crafts, plus workshops and plenty more; there’s something for everyone here.
Championing “entertainment, family-friendly activities, music, creativity, and plenty of Pride spirit”, the 2026 edition of Proud Fest is set to be one of the biggest ever.
Based around Great Northern Warehouse just off Deansgate and Peter Street, it’s set to be hosted by drag queen ‘Aida H Dee’, as well as Sara Gosney-Hughes, best-known for her travel expertise and work as a broadcaster and producer at nearby station Hits Radio.
With both calling Manchester home, alongside lots of other organisers behind the free festivities, you can expect plenty of hometown passion and pride – pun very much intended.
Set up in partnership with Proud 2 b Parents (P2bP), mums, dads and more will also be able to enjoy the official Pride parade from a viewing area in the dedicated Community Hall, where they’ll get a perfect spot to watch the floats and performers go down the strip.
Canal Street is already gearing up for those sublime, sun-soaked evenings at the end of August.
Speaking ahead of the latest iteration of the annual festival, Founder and CEO of P2bP, Matt Taylor-Roberts, told us in a statement: “Proud Fest is about creating the spaces many of us wished existed when we first became parents.
“It’s a celebration of LGBTQ+ families in all their diversity and a reminder that every family deserves to feel seen, supported and celebrated.”
At its core, this is about creating a safe and friendly option for families to still feel connected to the queer community and play their part in the wider celebrations.
You can grab your completely complimentary tickets right HERE.
And if you’re looking for other great days out for the family in Manchester this summer, there’s another free event happening at Circle Square earlier in the month.
Featured Images — Proud 2 be Parents (supplied via Brazen PR)
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Manc architects submit plans to demolish 1970s office block and make way for new residential area
Danny Jones
A Manchester-based architects has submitted promising proposals to demolish an old 1970s-era office block and make way for a brand new residential community in Stockport.
The vision seems fairly ambitious and lofty – pun intended – but the potential outcome could be stunning.
Ollier Smurthwaite (OS) Architects are the local practice behind the new housing plans, which will not only provide nearly 300 new homes but also bring part of the Stopfordian skyline down; it’s not often you hear of things getting lower when so much of Greater Manchester just keeps building up.
Sharing the first proper glimpse at what they hope the redeveloped corner of the busy A6 main road will look like, many have been pleased to see familiar red brick and a traditional feel as opposed to more glass towers.
Writing a lengthy caption alongside the social media post, the OS state, “We are preparing a planning application for the St Christopher’s site in Stockport.
“Located at the prominent junction of Wellington Road South and Longshut Lane, the proposal aims to transform the prominent corner by demolishing the existing 10-storey 1970s office block to make way for a new residential community.
“The proposals are for a modern ‘mansion’ block with taller ceilings, more windows, better communal areas and private gardens.”
It remains to be seen at what price point these apartments will be available for.
Promising a total of 278 ‘new dwellings’, the scheme will crucially see the height of the existing plot lowered to fall in line with other neighbouring properties, as St Christopher’s House currently sits well above the nearby terraces and its metropolitan style does stand out against the surrounding brickwork.
The early reception to the proposed plans looks to be largely positive, too, with one user commenting online, “A very nice looking building with character. More of these please”; another went so far as to add, “These are the sort of modern buildings that will become grade listed.”
It’s also worth showcasing what exactly these blueprints look like when they’re brought to life, such as another development over in Longsight:
Render vs Reality. We recently completed our Daisy Bank scheme in Longsight Manchester for 72 new homes. The scheme takes contextual references from Dalton Ellis Hall & Victoria Park Christian Fellowship in the adjacent conservation area.@createstreets@archi_tradition… pic.twitter.com/DasRUtaylh
Safe to say that seeing what businesses trying to regenerate boroughs actually deliver compared to their initial mock-ups is always useful.
The award-winning firm goes on to add that “the building will be deliberately stepped back from the pavement to create a planted tree-lined avenue”, which will also revolve around a central courtyard and residents’ gardens, with ground-floor flats benefitting from private patios.
CGIs of shared communal roof terraces also give the designs that added modern look, with few other places in the vicinity offering this kind of space. It could be a welcome addition to the region that is already going through plenty of change at the minute.
Another big construction scheme is the one being carried out by Capital and Centric over the new Weir Mill district, which could be transformational for the town centre.
Georgina Pellant -
6th October 2022 
