The Eat Out To Help Out App will help diners find great deals on top grub even when the scheme ends
The government-backed Eat Out To Help Out Scheme might be in its final week - but the EOTHO app is designed to help Mancs continuing finding great deals on grub long after
Eat Out To Help Out has invited Manchester to take a seat, grab a napkin, and tuck into some of the best food the city has to offer… at half the usual price.
Dozens of local eateries rushed to sign up for the government-backed scheme from August 1 – seizing the chance to claim back money from ministers and pass their savings onto the customers.
That stats suggest the initiative has been a big success, too.
Early data showed that Eat Out To Help Out was used to pay for almost 11 million meals in its first week, and since then we’ve tucked into every type of cuisine imaginable – paying 50% less for the pleasure.
As nice as the savings have been, Eat Out To Help Out has also encouraged Mancs to get out and try new restaurants we’d have never considered or even known about before summer.
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The scheme is entering its final week now – but the Eat Out To Help Out App is designed to help diners continue to find great deals on grub long beyond August.
First thing’s first, though – you have until Wednesday evening to book yourself into one of the city’s hotspots and take advantage of half-price dinner under Eat Out To Help Out.
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The app makes it easy, too.
To find a full list of the restaurants participating in your area, – simply select Greater Manchester as the location, pick a food preference, and tap a restaurant.
You’ll find all the info you need on the restaurant’s page so you can grab a table and reserve a space in time.
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By visiting the official Greater Manchester page on the Eat Out To Help Out app, you can also take a closer look at some of the region’s restaurants that come highly recommended – along with editorials and feedback on the eateries taking part.
As the Eat Out To Help Out scheme wraps up, the app will continue to operate as the perfect tool for finding great grub at low prices in Greater Manchester.
You can continue to navigate both the map and pages – settling on an ideal spot by choosing your criteria and narrowing restaurants down by deals.
Game-changer.
However, in the meantime – be sure to get yourself down on a guestlist to get 50% off before EOTHO ends.
Pat Regan at the Fairfield Social Club – a brilliantly unhinged evening of standup comedy
Clementine Hall
There’s a particular kind of chaos that only Pat Regan can deliver, and the recently re-recognised Fairfield Social Club got the full force of it last night.
Making his Manchester debut as part of the ‘A Lovely Time’ series at the equally as lovely Fairfield Social Club, the New York comic, writer, and podcast host arrived with the energy of someone who had already lived through three emotional breakdowns before breakfast and somehow still had the worst to come.
Known for his work on HBO’s Hacks and the cult-favourite podcast Seek Treatment with fellow comic Catherine Cohen, Regan’s stand-up feels less like your traditional comedy set and more like being trapped in the world’s funniest group chat.
The perfectly intimate room beneath Fairfield’s railway arches was packed with adoring fans who were immediately on side as Regan launched into stories about traumatic trips to Paris, Grindr dates, massage tables and having crushes at the gym.
The audience was in the palm of his slightly sweaty hands (don’t worry, he’ll be fine with me saying so), laughing at every awkward punchline and self-deprecating anecdote.
The material is nothing groundbreaking, but this is what makes it so deeply hilarious; never before has shopping for the perfect pair of jeans been so serious and unserious at the same time.
There was laughter rolling through the venue for virtually the entire set, and after an hour of never-ending quips and jokes, we were left wanting more.
And the best part is, it won’t be long until we get more from this place, and it’s no wonder they’re starting to get the hosting plaudits they deserve.
It’s safe to say Fairfield Social Club has become one of Manchester’s most exciting homes for alternative comedy, and this felt like exactly the sort of booking that justifies its growing reputation.
By the time Regan left the stage, the audience looked equal parts exhausted and delighted. An absolutely classy evening indeed.
Find out about what else is on at the Fairfield Social Club HERE.
First-ever JD Wetherspoon pub to open at Manchester Airport
Danny Jones
In news that we feel many Mancs and travellers all-round have been waiting on for a long time, the well-known British chain, JD Wetherspoon, will be opening its first-ever pub at Manchester Airport.
That’s right: soon that first airport pint of the holiday could actually be a relatively cheap one.
While Wetherspoons are no strangers to popping up in terminals across the UK and Ireland, they’ve never done so here in Manchester despite having three, yes THREE, in Gatwick alone.
Not for much longer, though, as soon T2 will be lending more than 3,000 square feet of its prime leisure and retail real estate to a new Greater Manchester ‘Spoons’.
Posting on social media, the airport wrote: “Wetherspoon comes to Manchester Airport this September! The pub will be located in the Terminal 2 Departures lounge and will have more than 300 seats.
“This will become the final major food and drink venue to open its doors as part of our decade-long £1.3bn transformation of Terminal 2. It will be named ‘The Belle Vue’, in a nod to Manchester’s historic showground [now a sports complex and leisure hub].
“It was a focal point for social life in the city from the Victorian period up until 2020, when the final event was held at Belle Vue stadium. The design of the pub is inspired by the history of Belle Vue and the sporting culture of the North West of England. We look forward to welcoming you all in September!”
While a lot of money has been pumped into T2’s refurb as a whole over the past few years, it remains unclear just how much this particular new addition will cost; we do know that great sums were set aside for the launch of the Great Northern Market last year.
The inaugural Manchester Airport Spoons is just the latest in a series of major renovations.
As mentioned, the company already operate several up and down the country – 10 airport pubs, to be specific – but this will be the first in the North West.
Speaking on the news, JD Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said in a statement: “We are looking forward to opening at Manchester Airport. We believe our new pub will prove popular with travellers of all ages and be an asset to the new terminal.”
With Manchester Airport adding a dozen new routes to its roster this summer, you can expect to see even more people flying in and out than ever – no doubt having already polished off a cut-price pint or two beforehand.
The Manc -
24th August 2020 
