Longstanding West Didsbury vegetarian haunt Greensis opening a second restaurant in Sale, its owners have revealed.
The restaurant’s co-owners, celebrity TV chef Simon Rimmer and Simon Connolly, shared the news to social media over the weekend – posting images of their new site in Sale and of them celebrating the new opening over a glass of fizz.
Sharing the news to Twitter, celebrity chef Rimmer wrote: “so yesterday @SimonConnolly9 and I signed the lease on a new site for @greensveggie – 31 years since we opened site 1….site 3 coming 2053!”
Not a veggie but most likeable chef must go to @simonrim and the most patient chef must go to @SimonConolly9 good luck guys
A fixture in the south Manchester suburb for over three decades, Greens vegetarian restaurant was a trailblazer in its time – and remains so today, as the oldest surviving veggie restaurant in Manchester.
The pair initially met as co-workers in another Didsbury eatery (neither was the chef – one was a waiter, the other worked front-of-house), but after opening Greens neither looked back.
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They have been proudly ‘terrifying carnivores’ ever since, according to the tongue-in-cheek restaurant strapline.
Their new Greens restaurant will open in Stanley Square, joining the likes of Sale Foodhall, southern Italian pasta kitchen Sugo and newcomer Petisco, as part of the old sixties shopping precinct’s ambitious new regeneration project.
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Their new Greens restaurant will open in Stanley Square / Image: Greens
Details are yet to be revealed on the opening date and menu, but it’s likely the kitchen will follow a similar format to create menus similar to those at the existing restaurant on Lapwing Lane.
Greens first began life in 1990 when now-celebrity TV chef Simon Rimmer and his friend, Simon Connolly, set their sites on the Lapwing Lane cafe during an afternoon spent ‘putting the world to rights over a Nepalese curry and a beverage or two.’
It has since become a staple for veggies and vegans across Manchester, with many people travelling just to dine at the restaurant.
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After all, there might be lots of vegan restaurants in Manchester nowadays but there still aren’t that many places dedicated to serving veggies – a group that feels very strongly about good cheese, for one.
Image: Greens
When the pair first launched Greens in the nineties, they championed what they called ‘magpie cuisine’.
In the restaurant’s own words, this meant “shamelessly stealing from cultures across the world to develop dishes that are defined not by a negative absence of meat, but by the positive inclusion of fantastic ingredients and flavours that happen to be purely vegetarian.”
Things have moved on since then, both in the restaurant and across the city. To be vegetarian-only is no longer a shocking concept and the options for plant-based meat alternatives are much greater than it was thirty years ago.
As such, to neglect vegetarians – and, even more noticeably, vegans – in Manchester is to be very much behind the times nowadays.
Greens cater to both very well. A sample a la carte menu is packed with the ultimate veggie indulgence, cheese (feta, halloumi, burrata, gorgonzola all appear), but there’s also plenty of plant protein for vegans, like tofu, falafel and red lentils.
Stand-out dishes for us include the veggie black pudding, mustard mayo, (£4.50 and ve), deep-fried oyster mushrooms, pancakes, spring onion, cucumber, plum sauce (£7.25, or available as a main for £13, ve), and the burrata, salted caramel pecan vinaigrette, pomegranate (£8.50).
As for desserts, think chocolate and avocado mousse with poached pear (ve), sticky toffee pudding (ve), and a white chocolate cheesecake served with blueberries and vanilla syrup.
That said, all is yet to be revealed at the new site – and there could well be a new menu landing there when it opens too.
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Whether you’re a ‘confirmed meat eater’ like Simon Rimmer, or dedicated to a plant-based diet, there’s a lot to get excited about here – that’s for certain.
To keep up with further updates, make sure to follow Greens on Instagram here.
A Greater Manchester campaigner is calling on the government to get rid of VAT on energy bills
Danny Jones
With the colder months now well and truly upon us, a local campaigner is calling on the UK government to scrap VAT on energy bills across the country.
The nation is still in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, and besides grocery shopping, business rates and eating out still climbing, one of the biggest hits to the wallet continues to be at home, thanks to the cost of gas and electricity.
With that in mind, and as we approach the ever-challenging festive period when purse strings feel tighter than ever, industry expert and Bolton-born entrepreneur Corin Dalby is making a fresh push for crucial aid and urging Brits to put digital pen to paper.
Sharing the petition link on social media – which has been taken up by more than 42,000 people online – Dalby is asking others who believe domestic residents deserve a much-needed let-off to sign the Change.org document and help scrap VAT on energy bills in the UK.
Introducing himself and the idea in the description beneath the petition, the Greater Manchester native writes: “My name is Corin Dalby, and last year I successfully campaigned for hospices in the UK to receive an extra £100 million of government funding, with the support of 37,254 signatures.
“Now I’m calling on the Government to axe the 5% VAT we are all forced to pay on our energy bills.”
Dalby, 56, is the co-founder and CEO of non-profit energy company, Box Power CIC (community interest company), and has seen significant money from FCA fines go towards palliative care facilities since December last year.
Pointing out that the current energy secretary and former Prime Ministerial candidate, Ed Miliband, has previously hinted that his party would be open to this possibility, he goes on to add: “It’s vital that we hold them to this, to bring some much-needed relief to millions of households.”
While the initial goal aligned with the hope of getting enough signatures to put this bill forward in time for the most recent Labour budget (revealed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Wednesday, 26 November), the initiative could still provide vital support this winter – especially for those worst off.
As mentioned, the 2025 autumn statement has now been shared publicly following some early leaks, and despite including positives like a lift on minimum wage, as well as benefit increases, there have been much bigger reactions to aspects such as the hits being taken by pensioners and more.
The 2025 autumn budget has been largely underpinned by raising taxes by an estimated £26 billion.
If anything, the announcement has made the plea from Dalby and those in agreement more poignant than ever – and there are, indeed, plenty of people in his camp.
Sharing his most recent update back in October on social media, Corin said: “Overjoyed to see 20,000 signatures in just 3 hours.
“Scrapping the 5% VAT will directly save every hospice [an area he’s already successfully advocated for in the past], house and care home in the country, so who will help us to knock this out of the park and help the most vulnerable in our country and quickly smash 100,000?
“If you wish to help make a difference, please support this petition by just adding your name and [circulating] to like-minded contacts and repost this if possible.”
If you agree with the petition, you can sign via the official Change.org link right HERE.
Exciting new CGIs released of Greater Manchester town’s first train station in 60 years
Emily Sergeant
Some new CGIs of a train station set to be built in a Greater Manchester town that’s been without one for 60 years have been released.
It’s been a whopping six decades, but the residents of Golborne will soon be able to hop on a train out of there, because a planning application to connect the Greater Manchester town, in the Wigan borough, was approved by Wigan Council back in May after it was submitted back in November of last year.
This means connectivity is finally one step closer to becoming reality.
Alongside the CGIs, a flythrough video of the new £32m rail station set to be built next year has also been revealed.
Following strong public support in a 2024 consultation, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) will be working in partnership with Wigan Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to deliver the major project.
A new flythrough video reveals plans for a £32m rail station in Golborne – reconnecting the town to the network for the first time in 60+ years.
Construction starts next year, first trains by 2027.
Golborne-based engineering firm Murphy has been appointed to develop the station designs, taking into account the feedback from the local community.
A full business case is set to be submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT) in early 2026, and then, subject to approval, construction work is expected to start in the summer.
In case you didn’t know, Golborne currently has no direct bus, train, or tram services to Manchester, while the wider area is the largest and most-populous area in Greater Manchester not connected to the rail network.
According to approved plans, the new accessible two-platform station will feature improved car parking and better walking and cycling links to the town centre, as well as also enable ‘seamless connections’ and support Greater Manchester’s vision for a fully integrated Bee Network by 2030.
Exciting new CGIs of a Greater Manchester town’s first train station in 60 years have been released / Credit: TfGM
Mayor Andy Burnham says this is ‘the next major milestone’ for Golborne train station.
“The latest designs showcasing the transformation that’s on the way, with a station right at the heart of this community,” he commented.
“Golborne will play a vital role in our ambitious plans to make travel across Greater Manchester easier, greener, simpler, and more connected. This forms part of our plans to expand the Bee Network, with 64 stations joining by 2028 and a further 32 by 2030.
Georgina Pellant -
17th January 2022 
