A new Vietnamese-style restaurant is due to open in the former Blackhouse Grill site later this autumn.
Called Namii Kitchen & Cocktails, it will take over the space in Manchester city centre this autumn – opening just behind Piccadilly Gardens bus station on New York Street.
Now Namii is moving in, bringing the building back to life after over a year of it sitting empty.
Featuring authentic pan Asian cuisine with a heavy Vietnamese influence, the new Manchester restaurant will serve traditional favourites such as Vietnam’s national dish, Pho, Bahn Mi and summer rolls.
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Opening for breakfast and brunch from 10am daily, its mid-morning offering will also include Asian twists on brunch classics like an Eggs Royale with a honeyed miso dressing.
Namii Kitchen & Cocktails features authentic pan Asian cuisine with a heavy Vietnamese influence / Credit: Namii
On the drinks side of things, Namii is promising to deliver an innovative cocktail menu inspired by Vietnamese mythology and folklore.
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One drink called The Horse of Iron combines Roku gin, ginkgo kernel and wasabi syrup – drawing on an ancient legend that tells of a horse belonging to Saint Giong that spit fire from its mouth to defeat invaders, then flew away into the sky.
The restaurant and bar will also offer an extensive wine and sake selection alongside its signature cocktail menu, as well as teaming up for monthly residencies with respected spirit and wine brands.
Namii Kitchen & Cocktails will host four ticketed events each month as part of the residencies from sensory tastings to tasting menus with paired drinks.
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Entertainment-wise, guests can look forward to a variety of live music and DJ’s every Friday and Saturday evening throughout the holiday period, as well as a planned scotch whisky event that is due to take place in January.
The venue has been working to eliminate packaging waste and overall reduce its carbon footprint, collaborating with brands including ecoSPIRITS to ensure that sustainability is at the core of its drinks menu.
The restaurant has revealed its opening date on social media as Saturday, 6 November 2021 / Credit: Namii
Owner and Managing Director Terence Lee, said of the opening: “We can’t wait to open our doors in Manchester.
“The city has established itself as one of the UK’s most exciting food destinations over the past decade and we’re thrilled to be able to add to the line-up.”
Sales and Marketing Manager John Clossick added: “Namii Kitchen & Cocktails is a new, bold concept, blending authentic Vietnamese food, flavours and technique with modern service, style and setting.
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“Food is the centre of so many social occasions, and we want the restaurant to be somewhere friends can get together and catch up over a great dining experience.”
The restaurant has revealed its opening date on social media as Satuday, 6 November 2021 – announcing that bookings are open now.
To keep up with news about Namii ahead of its opening, you can follow the restaurant on Instagram here or email the team directly.
Featured Image – Namii
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A local Manchester run club is holding two special running routes to see the total eclipse
Danny Jones
With the highly anticipated total eclipse fast approaching, people not just here in Greater Manchester but all over the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are gearing up to try and watch it – but this native running club are doing it a bit differently.
Eclipses occur once every 12-18 months, but this is set to be the biggest since 1999.
The moon is set to cover approximately 96-98% of the sun this coming Wednesday, 12 August, 2026, and rather than try to watch it from a window at home or drive to somewhere with supposedly ‘the best view’, local sports club Manchester Road Runners are turning it into their latest one-off event.
Sharing details online, the free-to-join local organisation, which boasts thousands of members on Facebook and various other platforms, will be timing things to make sure they catch the phenomenon.
Writing in the accompanying caption, the Road Runners say: “We’ve pulled some strings and have a very special event taking place on August 12th, a solar eclipse! Come run with us under a darkened sun next Wednesday from The Wharf at 18:30, with peak moon coverage expected at around 19:10.”
Better still, they’re also teaming up with their trail running spin-off club for an even more scenic twist on the evening excursion.
“If you prefer to experience your solar phenomena under the wide open skies”, they go on to write, “our friends over at Trail Division will be holding a hike/run off road, meet at Piccadilly Station at 18:00 to get shady in the great outdoors.”
Fortunately, they have issued an important disclaimer, going on to remind runners that “while beautiful and majestic, the sun should NEVER be directly looked at in the face unprotected”, signing off by adding, “Respect the sun, respect your peepers, stay ocularly safe out there.”
If you’ve never come across MRR before, they’re probably the biggest run club in the entire Greater Manchester region and their social-first jogs, intervals, track sessions and more revolve around meeting back up with your mates for a wholesome pint and a chat.
For many, it’s the biggest and the best in the city.
As for the eclipse run, it’s set to be a very magical variation on their usual Wednesday evening meets.
Quite rightly, they also point out in the post that you can actually buy certain glasses to view eclipses on these rare occasions, with search traffic often ramping up in and around these events.
Meanwhile, the Trail Division branch is yet to confirm the route for their run/hike, but it will most likely remain in the nearby North West vicinity; keep your eyes peeled on their social media pages (linked above) for more information and other upcoming trail events.
Speaking of trail runs, there’s a pretty beautiful albeit challenging one coming up next month…
Stunning vistas, walkers welcome, and multiple distances available.🏃♂️🥾
And the best part? It's less than 90 minutes away from Manchester. 🏞️
Oasis promoters drop biggest Knebworth hint yet after securing license around key date
Danny Jones
Not that we’re the type to get carried away, but we’ll confess that our curiosity, interest and general levels of anticipation have been piqued, as Oasis’ main promoters have recently renewed the license to host events at the infamous Knebworth.
My word, is this it? Like the reunion, is it ACTUALLY going to happen?…
We’re sure the raw, uncontrollable excitement will come should it be fully confirmed, but for now, all we know is that our colleagues in music media, SJM Concerts, have renewed the land in and around Knebworth Park and House for live entertainment once again.
Moreover, the company have also done so on a rather fitting date decades on from the original and legendary outdoor gigs.
As can be found on the planning application section of the North Hertfordshire Council website – the county in which the storied Britpop gigs took place – a fresh license to hold new events.
If/when the announcement happens, the already granted permission will allow for a capacity of up to 125,000 and a curfew of 3am.
We know the original Knebworth shows were beyond iconic, but let’s say this would be nailed on to be nothing short of absolutely box office.
Besides having also helped promote Oasis’ colossal Live ’25 reunion tour last summer, it’s also worth noting that they secured said license just over a week before the 30th anniversary of the pair of nights back in 1996: 10-11 August, to be specific.
The licence is said to have come into effect this past Saturday (1 Aug) and is believed to be indefinite.
What added even more fuel to the fire of these well-established rumours over the past year was when Baroness Sharon Taylor of Stevenage told the House of Lords the band would be playing FIVE whole nights at Knebworth in the future, before later clarifying that she was speaking in “hypothetical terms.”
All that being said, it’s fair to say we’ll be keeping a very keen eye on socials over the next few days, in particular, just in case.
The Manc has reached out to SJM for an official comment (surprise, surprise), but we are yet to receive a response regarding the matter.
Your silence speaks volumes, just saying.
This coming Monday, 10 August 2026, will mark the official 30th anniversary of Oasis at Knebworth 1996, and with the likes of ‘Wonderwall’ seeing a chart resurgence as the go-to England anthem at this year’s World Cup, we’re choosing to be optimistic. What about you?
Georgina Pellant -
25th October 2021 
