A local restaurant in south Manchester has slammed ‘really unfair’ customers who pulled a no-show on Christmas day itself.
Family-run Indian restaurant Khandoker, in Didsbury, has said that it faced a disgraceful 30 no shows on Monday 25 December.
That’s 30 diners who failed to show up for their reserved table and failed to notify the restaurant that they weren’t coming.
Khandoker said in a frustrated post on Facebook that it was particularly unfair on the staff who were away from their own families to work serving people on Christmas day.
They also stressed that to skip out on a reservation creates a large amount of food waste and overall financial loss for local businesses.
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The Kingsway restaurant has also said that the no shows will be banned from dining there in the future.
They wrote: “Over 30 No shows on Christmas Day is really unfair on all our hospitality staff who had to show up early and be away from there families to prepare for a busy day!
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“It also creates a lot of food waste and overall loss for the restaurant trade. Please be respectful and call up if you can’t make it.
“The no shows will be banned from the restaurant in future. Not a great start to Christmas.”
Khandoker said it had taken deposits for all tables but hadn’t charged people for their full Christmas dinner upfront, which they thought ‘was fair at the time’.
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The business has been flooded with messages of support from customers.
One person said: “That’s disgusting. I think in future you should take full payment by the beginning of Dec. The majority of place are doing this nowadays.”
Another wrote: “Totally disrespectful to both foh and boh staff.”
Someone else commented: “Disgraceful! You were very fair only taking deposits but they didn’t show any appreciation on the day so you know what to do next time.
“It’s ignorant people like this who make things hard for the rest of us but I completely understand why businesses charge the full amount upfront because of cases like this!
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“Those places could have been filled if they’d given you enough notice! Hope everybody had a good day regardless.”
Inside Manchester’s new padel club with a Pot Kettle Black cafe and courtside cocktail bar
Daisy Jackson
Padel is the fastest-growing sport in the world, and it’s really picking up speed in Manchester now too with another city centre club opening this month.
The Pollen Club is a little different to the others, in that it’s fully undercover and protected from Manchester’s less-than-favourable weather.
And another thing that makes it a must-visit is the cafe attached to it – a third site for the beloved Pot Kettle Black.
The Pollen Club and Pot Kettle Black have both taken over a prominent city centre spot just off Deansgate, at the foot of the recently-opened Treehouse Hotel.
There are two state-of-the-art padel courts inside, with a mezzanine terrace for enjoy Pot Kettle Black’s offerings.
In summer, there are plans to launch a bar downstairs too, where you can sip spritzes courtside from loungers and swing seats.
The exciting new Manchester padel club will host pop up events, DJ takeovers and an extended evening food offering.
Pot Kettle Black are part of the new padel clubInside Manchester’s new padel club, The Pollen ClubPot Kettle Black are part of the new padel club
And even if you’re not heading inside The Pollen Club, Pot Kettle Black has a grab-and-go hatch facing onto Blackfriars Street, making their delicious coffees, sandwiches and pastries (from their own bakery Half Dozen Other) even more accessible.
Commenting on the opening of the new site, Pot Kettle Black co-owner, Mark Flanagan said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have opened our third Pot Kettle Black site at The Padel Club. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team.
“After ten years in the city we’ve been enjoying seeing some familiar faces stopping by for a coffee and we can’t wait to get started on our programme of summer events!”
Insomnia Cookies is giving away FREE cookies to anyone with these two names
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s late-night sweet treat spot Insomnia Cookies is dishing out freebies this week… but there’s a catch.
You have to be called one of two specific names to get one.
With the long bank holiday weekend upon us, those in-the-know will also have noticed that this Sunday isn’t just Easter Sunday, it also happens to be 4/20… and that means Insomnia Cookies is back with its ‘blazing’ £4.20 deal, giving you the chance to bag a box of four warm cookies while saving nearly £7 at the same time.
But even better still, if you happen to have either the first or middle name ‘Mary’ or ‘Jane’, then you can also get yourself a warm tasty cookie for free.
To mark both 4/20, and celebrate the launch of its newest strain of mouthwatering cookie, the Mary Jane, anyone called Mary or Jane can pop into either of Insomnia Cookies’ two Manchester city centre sites – Cross Street and University Green – show their valid ID with their name on, and walk alway with a cookie free of charge.
If you want to try the new Mary Jane cookie, then this limited-edition special is made up of a cookies n cream dough base, packed with rainbow sprinkles.
The freebie deal has been running all week, and you have up until 3am on Monday 21 April to take advantage of it.
Customers will be limited to one free cookie per day.
Insomnia Cookies is giving away free cookies to anyone with these two names / Credit: Insomnia Cookies UK
If you aren’t lucky enough to be called one of those two names though, then thankfully you can still make some great savings on a classic four-pack of cookies over the spring bank holiday weekend, and for every four-pack sold, £1 will be donated to Groundwork – a charity helping make Manchester greener for nature and for local people.
“We’re calling for Marys and Janes to join us to live the high life with free cookies all week,” commented Millie Ralston, Head of Marketing at Insomnia Cookies.
Daisy Jackson -
27th December 2023 
