A raft of exciting new independent traders have been added to Deliveroo’s platform this month – and we’re pleased to see that some of our absolute favourites have made the list.
From Sopranos-themed hoagie slingers Bada Bing to modern Chinese takeaway heroes Salt and Pepper, there are some ace new additions to liven up your next lazy takeaway night.
Whether you’re after old school cakes loaded with custard or a proper pie delivering to your door, we’ve broken down our favourite new indie additions below to save you from endlessly (and hungrily) scrolling through.
Keep reading for some new takeaway inspiration.
Salt & Pepper – Manchester
Run by brother and sister Cash and Chloe Yung, Salt & Pepper has become one of the most popular takeaways in Manchester over the past few years. From chicken strips and wings to shredded beef, king prawns and tofu, everything here gets the Cantonese salt and pepper treatment. Order yours with salt and pepper chips, jasmine rice or mini flatbreads.
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Bada Bing – Manchester
These two-fisted Sopranos-inspired hoagies are already legendary in Manchester, despite the fact that founders Meg and Sam have been running the business for less than a year. Stuffed to the brim with meats, cheeses, homemade pickles and sauces, no one can accuse them of being stingy with the fillings here. There’s also regularly changing specials, with an option for vegans and veggies always on the menu.
Yara – Chorlton
Lebanese restaurant Yara took over the former Cask & Kiln site in Chorlton in July last year. Since then, they’ve proven very popular with locals for their delicious marinated meat dishes, with the homemade hummus also getting a special shout out. Already well established in Altrincham, Cheadle and Stockport, the restaurant’s made a great addition to Chorlton.
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Seoul Chikin – Moston
Inspired by the vibrant flavours of Seoul street food, Moston’s Seoul Chikin mixes punchy Korean sauces with juicy triple-breaded chicken fillets – all cooked freshly to order. With a mix of K wings and K burgers on offer, in classic Korean style kimchi can be found in spades stuffed into a number of Seoul Chikin’s burgers to add that extra spicy, fermented tang to proceedings.
Oriental City – Manchester
Serving a mix of cuisines ranging from Cantonese to Sichuan and Chinese, the menu here at Oriental City is pretty vast spanning curry, seafood, noodles and more. Chef’s specials include deep-fried duck, chicken and prawn dishes as well as Hong Kong-style char sui and crispy shredded meats in Cantonese sauce.
Little Dessert Shop – Cheetham Hill
With a huge selection of waffles, pancakes, milk cakes, cookie dough and more, if you want a good-looking dessert then the Little Dessert Shop in Cheetham Hill is absolutely the spot. Absolutely indulgence is guaranteed, no matter what you’re after they’ve probably got it. From sundaes to cheesecake, brownies, bakes, patisserie and school favourites like cornflake tarts and retro sprinkles, we’re obsessed.
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NaNa’s Cafe & Grill – Sale
From sharing platters to fry ups, wraps, wings and burgers, NaNa’s in Sale can carry you through from morning til night with their all-day menu. Flame-grilled chicken features heavily here, with the option to order different portion sizes with drinks and sides packaged in. There’s also some tasty-looking smash burgers on the menu.
The Merlin – Alderley Edge
Swanky Alderley Edge venue The Merlin is another new indie addition to Deliveroo this month, offering a mixture of small plates, rotisserie and classics, alongside pizzas, burgers and desserts, Bringing its full restaurant experience to you at home, tuck into the likes of deep-fried brie; king prawn, crab and chorizo linguine; and buttermilk chicken, bacon and somerset brie pie for the ultimate treat night in.
Havana Burgers & Shakes – Oldham
Dogs n Dough
American as it comes, Dogs n Dough offers exactly what it says on the tin. If you want loaded hot dogs and pizzas, you cannot go wrong here. A longstanding favourite in the city, choices include the likes of their ‘Hawaiin’ and ‘Chilli Cheese’ dogs alongside classic pizzas, burgers and a huge dirty fries selection that essentially loads all those toppings onto a big fat portion of chips. Cheeky.
Oldham’s burger and shakes joint is a great go-to for a quick scran, dishing up flame-grilled chicken burgers and wings, wraps and more. There are some great family deals here on buckets too, with prices starting from just £14.
Bollywood Spice – Ashton
For lovers of a good Indian takeaway, Bollywood Spice is one to put on your list. Here you’ll find Balti dishes from northern Pakistan, Indian tandoori and special shashlik kebabs served alongside a selection of popular British-style curries. There’s also a full donner section for those who just can’t get enough.
Feature image – Salt & Pepper
News
Bolton has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2024
Emily Sergeant
Bolton has officially been named Greater Manchester Town of Culture for 2024.
Taking over the reins from Stockport – which held the title in 2023, and recently hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close – it’s now the turn of the north-western Greater Manchester borough of Bolton.
Bolton has long been celebrated as hub of culture and creative activity within our region.
The area has notably produced some big-name stars in the arts, entertainment, comedy, and sporting spheres over the years, as well as having seen significant new residential and commercial developments popping up in recent times, and a blossoming food, drink, hospitality, and nightlife scene that continues to prove popular.
The Bolton Food and Drink Festival, IRONMAN, Bolton Film Festival, and Put Big Light On are all big annual events in the borough.
Bolton has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2024 / Credit: Bolton Food & Drink Festival (via Facebook)
And now, the town has got itself a fancy title to prove it – and along with that, a whopping £50,000 grant to support a year-long programme of events.
In case you’re unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about, it’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region – with Bury the inaugural title-holder 2020 and holding onto it into 2021 due to the COVID pandemic, and then followed by Stalybridge in 2022, and Stockport in 2023 – and it celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Bolton’s programme will have three parts, according to Bolton Council.
The town has taken over the reins from Stockport, which held the title in 2023 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons | The Octagon Theatre
The first is a taster programme packed full of cultural activities delivered in Bolton and its various districts, and then following on from that, there’ll be a grants programme designed to help support Bolton’s smaller cultural organisations, freelancers, and artists.
The grand finale will be the Bolton Gala – which is set to take place next March, and is gearing up to be a celebratory event jointly-organised by all cultural partners, and co-designed by residents too.
Bolton Council says it will be working with cultural organisations, creative practitioners, and residents to “strengthen partnerships” that’ll deliver a collective approach to creative programming, and Councillors hope to build on assets such as the town’s legendary Octagon Theatre, the newly-refurbished Bolton Central Library and Museum, and the Bolton Albert Halls too.
GMCA has awarded the town a £50,000 grant to support a year-long programme of events throughout the year / Credit: Paul Hayes (via Bolton Food & Drink Festival on Facebook)
“It’s fantastic that Bolton has been announced as the latest Greater Manchester Town of Culture,” Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, commented as the town took the title this week.
“Bolton already has some outstanding cultural venues and eventsm from the Octagon Theatre and the Bolton Albert Hall, to the famous Bolton Food and Drink Festival and the Bolton Film Festival, and Town of Culture will celebrate these existing venues and events, but will also shine a light on the smaller venues and events that are happening across the town.
“I look forward to visiting Bolton to join their cultural celebrations.”
Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Nick Peel, says he’s “thrilled” about the town’s new title, and added: “Bolton certainly has a promising future, and will be a great place to live, work, study, visit and invest in the future.”
Featured Image – Bolton Food & Drink Festival (via Facebook)
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Huge beer festival responds after attendees label it ‘Manchester Wonka experience’
Daisy Jackson
A massive beer and cider festival that took place in Manchester last weekend has addressed fall-out on social media after some attendees slammed it as the ‘weirdest most dysfunctional festival ever‘.
People have said that the International Brewing and Cider Festival had a ‘strange atmosphere’ due to there being ‘no one there’, had a limited selection of drinks, and was generally ‘a bloody awful evening’.
Some people have even gone so far as to compare it to the now-infamous Wonka Experience.
But the festival has now hit back at these harsh reviews online, saying that there were more than 400 different types of beer and cider available, with around 800 attendees over the weekend.
In a statement, they apologised for a ‘less than perfect experience’.
The International Brewing and Cider Festival – a not-for-profit trade organisation – stressed that ‘early teething troubles’ were ironed out as the event progressed through its four sessions.
As well as inviting breweries from around the world to serve up beers under one roof in one of Manchester’s coolest venues, the beer festival had 19 food and drink traders, and a programme of live music and DJs.
Despite only receiving a couple of actual complaints directly, the festival has been hit with criticism on social media.
Visitors to the beer festival at Depot Mayfield had shared photos of a mostly-empty venue at points over the weekend, with many saying it was ‘freezing’ inside.
One person wrote: “I went with a mate and we left after an hour. The venue was so freezing that the beer itself was too cold to enjoy.”
Someone else said: “This was by a country mile the worst event (not just beer event) I’ve ever attended. Truly horrific.”
The International Brewing and Cider Festival, a beer festival in Mancheser, has been hit with complaints. Credit: X, @SimonR
A detailed tale of the experience on Reddit, which said the International Brewing and Cider Festival was a ‘contender for Manchester’s Wonka experience’.
They said that they were ‘greeted by an extremely rude person’ and then struggled to order a beer, with several beers on the list unavailable and ended up with ‘a plastic cup of foam’.
The person said: “It was still early at this point so I expected it to get a bit busy but it never did combined with some depressing music and freezing cold temperatures the atmosphere was strange.”
Someone else said on X: “It was a massive scam. Willy Wonka type scam. No one there. Beers not great. It absolutely was not worth £40. The keg bar was closed, the cask bar closed at 8:30, the only decent beer available was from the few independent brewers who had decided to stick around (half had left). No atmosphere as no one there. Just awful.”
Another person said: “I don’t think I’ve been to a worse organised event. The term ‘Couldn’t organise a pi55 up in a brewery’ was made for this festival.
“Mid session there were less than 100 people. The signs on the cask and keg were too small to read at any distance. People pouring on the bar had no knowledge of any of the beers & no info in the app.
“For the entry fee of £20 to drink out of plastic, beer costing ‘town prices’, & some of the brewers had packed up and left hours before the end, left me feeling like I’d been ripped off.”
A spokesperson for the International Brewing & Cider Festival said: “We are very sorry that some people had a less than perfect experience – this was our first Festival and when you start something new, there will be learnings.
“We are a not-for-profit trade organisation representing the value chain, supplying the brewing and beverage industry.
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The International Brewing and Cider Festival, a beer festival in Mancheser, has been hit with complaints. Credit: X, @SimonRThe International Brewing and Cider Festival, a beer festival in Mancheser, has been hit with complaints. Credit: Reddit, u/Luc1dJay
“As the organiser of the oldest international brewing and cider awards in the world, we held the Awards in Manchester this year and wanted to bring the entries from around the world to the public in the city.
“We adapted throughout the two days, ironing out some early teething troubles to deliver a better model as the event progressed.”
But now that Indy Man Beer Con has announced it won’t be returning for 2024, there’s definitely room in Manchester for a new beer festival.
Let’s it comes back to the city again and next time, is a roaring success.