News

A Stranger Things-themed bottomless brunch is coming to Manchester

Join the Hellfire club this weekend with 90-minutes of upside down cocktails

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 26th July 2022

A Stranger Things-themed bottomless brunch is coming to Manchester this weekend, bringing the hit TV show to life with themed drinks, 80’s fashion and a solid all-vinyl soundtrack.

Fans of the Netflix favourite can step into the world of Stranger Things with Joyce’s fairy lights on the walls, Jonathan’s vinyl collection for the classic tracks and even the Hawkins high 80’s fashion on all members of staff – with customers invited to get involved too.

With a select number of ‘golden tickets’ on offer, those who act fast can 90 minutes of non-stop Stranger Things-themed cocktails and a brunch dish of their choice for just £15 per head.

For those who don’t manage to get their hands on one of these, the brunch will be priced at £30 per person.

Image: Rendition MCR

Hosted by cocktail bar and kitchen Rendition, drinks on offer as part of this one-off Stranger Things-themed brunch will include a special Stranger Things-inspired upside-down cocktail.

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This limited edition cocktail, comprised of Beefeater gin, dry vermouth, grenadine, lemon juice, cranberry and elderflower, will be served literally upside down in a substantial feat of drinks engineering.

Further drinks on offer from Rendition’s theatrical-style cocktail menu, meanwhile, will include Red Hot Fun, made up of Ciroc red berry, cranberry and chilli, and The Dance, which consists of vanilla vodka, strawberry and bubblegum. 

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Image: Rendition MCR

As for food, guests will be able to choose a dish each from the new brunch menu, which features a host of tried and tested favourites including homemade guacamole on toast with red onion and coriander, 8oz rump steak and eggs, eggs benedict and eggs florentine, all paired with bottomless booze. 

Diners can currently head to Rendition’s website and sign up to be sent a golden ticket for £15 each, ahead of this Saturday’s brunch. Please note that tables will need to be booked in advance to use the discount. 

Read more: The family-run Prestwich bagel shop with queues out the door

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The brunch takes place this Saturday 30 July from 10am to 2pm at Rendition on Deansgate. To find out more about book, click here.

Feature image – Rendition MCR

News

Beloved plant-based independent street food business Herbivorous is set to close imminently

Danny Jones Danny Jones Herbivorous shutting down Manchester Sheffield York

We hate writing this, but we have news of yet another local hospitality closure as beloved Manchester-born and pioneering plant-based brand Herbivorous has confirmed they’ll soon be calling it a day.

If you can hear us sighing through the screen, apologies – we’re just getting really fed up of saying farewell to our favourites, so god knows how rubbish those involved feel.

This comes in the same week that fellow animal-free food vendors and Manc icons Desert Island Dumplings announced they will also be saying goodbye in a matter of months.

Unfortunately, in the case of Herbivorous, we’ve got mere weeks before their sites across the North shut for good. Just gutting.

As you can see, the team behind the multi-location vegan street food specialists began by writing: “It’s a long one so stay with me… It seems you can’t open social media at the moment without reading about another hospitality business closing down.

“Throughout 8 years of Herbivorous years we’ve come up against many challenges from Covid 5 years ago to watching all the big vegan brands from London and beyond come to Manchester and largely disappear again to the closure of Hatch our busiest site, but with continually increasing costs its becoming really difficult to maintain a thriving business.”

Herbivorous started out life back in 2016 as a cult hit at the old outdoor food, drink and entertainment hub centring around a ‘container village’, the first of its kind in the city and soon to reopen under new owners and a new name.

Since then, co-founders Robyn and Damian have gone on to expand not just to one permanent site over in Withington but with outposts in Sheffield and York, having gained a strong reputation with stalls and pop-ups all over.

Their hospitality story might not have the ending we personally would hope for, but it’s been a brilliant one for so many foodie fans – us lot included.

Nevertheless, they go on to add in the emotional statement that external pressures such as a recent bereavement and their own ever-growing family have also contributed to the decision which, despite being an understandably hard one, “feel like the right time.”

“We are so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come from spending long days slinging duck wraps from our green vintage horse box at festivals to three Herbi locations across the North of England”, they continue, “and with that we’ve also met so many fantastic people!”

“Whether you worked for us at a few festivals over [the] summer or for years at our restaurant, we just wanted to say and massive thank you! The memories will stay with us forever and, of course, how can we not mention our fabulous customers!

“Thank you all so much for choosing Herbivorous over the years. Those of you who had our food at Festivals and then found us at one of our permanent locations, those of you who came back week after week to Hatch, Spark, Withington and beyond.”

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They signed off by detailing their final business days, with their Sheffield Kommune spot having already shut for refurbishment; meanwhile, their spot in SPARK York will be wrapping up on Saturday, 19 April.

As for their flagship brick-and-mortar venue here in Greater Manchester, Herbivorous Withington will be shutting on Friday, 25 April.

Once again, there’s nothing we can say other than thank you for years of delicious food, that we’re guttted to see you go, and that everyone at The Manc Group wishes you the best whatever comes next.

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

Featured Images — The Manc Eats

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AJ Tracey is playing a VERY intimate gig in Manchester next month

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

London rapper and respected grime artist AJ Tracey is ‘live and direct’ once again, announcing a whole host of UK dates, one of which is a rather intimate gig right here in Manchester.

It’s official: one of UK rap’s leading gents is getting back on the road and he’s showing a ‘Little More Love’ to lots of cities, including Manchester.

In a post on the UK star’s socials, AJ Tracey trades his music persona for that of a sports pundit as he announces the dates for his upcoming tour while impersonating an F1 commentator.  

Anyone looking to attend Tracey’s ‘Not Even A Tour’ can catch the star up and down the country on his over 20-date tour with a stop in Manchester as soon as this month.

The rapper has reached phenomenal heights since dropping the unforgettable ‘Ladbroke Grove’ in 2019 and is heading out across the nation to make sure everyone knows about it.

Get ready to spit bars left and right as this rapper’s discography is stacked with serious tunes like ‘Dinner Guest’, ‘West Ten’, ‘Thiago Silva’ and more.

More recently, he collaborated with Walsall’s finest Jorja Smith for a flirty garage beat also known as ‘Crush’ with the video being the two artists talking it out in a good old fashioned caff.

The latest collaboration with Smith marks the start of a new era for Mr. Live and direct as it fell in line with the announcement of his third studio album.

Titled Don’t Die Before You’re Dead, we’re sure he’ll be “building a vibe” wherever he goes and probably previewing a few exclusive tracks from his upcoming project too.

Wait until you hear where he’s playing too…

AJ Tracey is playing a VERY intitmate gig in Manchester this month.
Credit: @AJTracey on Instagram

This gig may come as quite a surprise for any hardcore fans of the ‘Ladbroke Grove’ star as the venue in which he’s performing is definitely intimate only, holding just over 250 guests.

This rap giant is bringing his unbelievable beats to none other than the legendary small-cap city centre live music venue, The Deaf Institute, at the end of this month.

It’s safe to say you won’t get many more chances, if any, to see him in such a tight-knit space again.

AJ Tracey is bringing ‘Not Even A Tour’ to Deaf Institute in Manchester on 30 April, with tickets on sale Friday 4 April from 12 noon.

You can get ready to grab yours HERE.

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

Featured Images — John Lubbock (via Wikimedia Commons)/Audio North

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