Hidden above the Michelin-recommended Wood restaurant on First Street is an intimate little eatery with a menu dedicated entirely to cheese.
Launched by Masterchef winner Simon Wood, it’s a certified cheese lover’s heaven.
From blue and stinky to mild, creamy, and soft to hard and tangy, if there’s a particular cheese style that floats your boat you’re more than likely to find it on the 20-strong cheese menu.
Image: The Manc Eats
Called Homage (a mixture of Home and Fromage), it’s Manchester’s (and the UK’s) first-ever fine dining restaurant dedicated to cheese and wine – and it’s rather special if we do say so ourselves.
Since opening last November it’s become one of Manchester’s better-kept secrets, sequestered as it is above the main restaurant in a former private dining room-turned restaurant space.
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Some opt to enjoy a few cheese courses up here after dinner, others come for an entire meal of cheese. Having seen the menus, both options are equally appealing.
Inside, it’s plush and very intimate with space for just 12 covers a night – with a sommelier on hand to advise on the best wine pairings.
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Image: The Manc Eats
You can dine A La Carte style, picking your own cheeses and wines from the extensive list, or opt for a miniature tasting menu from £40 that expertly pairs five different styles together for you.
The kitchen creates all of its own fennel seed crackers, preserves and chutneys in-house, and each individual portion of cheese comes with its own paired chutney, which is specially designed to bring out the cheese’s unique flavours.
Think robust and nutty Nottinghamshire Stitchelton paired with powdered beetroot and beetroot assiete, roasted and blitzed in house; oozing Camembert de Normandie served with bacon, onion and confit garlic; or a triple cream truffle cheese called Brillat Savarin au Truffe and you’ll get the idea.
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Image: The Manc Eats
This is not just any old cheese board with a few token grapes and water biscuits.
We’re talking individual plates of cheese, all with their own specially created pairings. Oh, and, currently, a lovely little cheese and onion-baked bean pie – just to prove they don’t take themselves too seriously.
For those who aren’t quite sure what they like, every cheese on the menu comes with its own flavour profile description and a couple of paired drink suggestions.
You really can’t go wrong. Open in the week from 5pm and from 12pm on the weekends, you’ll find Homage on Jack Rosenthal Street within the First Street development of the city.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
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News
Prestigious Edinburgh TV Festival to move to Manchester for first time in 50 years
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester will become the new host city for the TV Festival from 2027 onwards it was announced today.
For the first time in five decades, following an extensive consultation and competitive bidding process – which was launched in 2025 – the prestigious festival is set to move from its home in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh to our region from 2027 onwards, beating out other major northern cities like Newcastle in the process.
As part of a UK-wide strategic review into the event’s long-term future, the Festival’s board of directors say the review was undertaken in order to ‘examine how the TV Festival could continue to grow’ amid increasing challenges around accessibility, affordability, and sustainability across the television industry.
Greater Manchester‘s ‘successful and comprehensive’ bid included commitments around affordability, infrastructure, industry partnership, and long-term growth potential.
Plans include holding the Festival in locations in the newly developed St. John’s creative and cultural district.
“Greater Manchester presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates,” commented Campbell Glennie, who is the CEO of the TV Festival and The TV Foundation.
“This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes.
“The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance – it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”
Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council, said being chosen as TV Festival hosts is ‘brilliant news’ for Greater Manchester, adding: “It speaks to the growth, success and strength of our screen sector in the city region and the strong partnerships and talent we have here.”
The final Edinburgh edition of the TV Festival will take place this August, and dates and further details for the TV Festival in 2027 will be shared later this year.
Featured Image – PickPik
News
Even more of the Gay Village will be turned into outdoor seating this summer
Daisy Jackson
The Gay Village is set to get even more outdoor seating this summer, with the council moving to partially close several key streets to traffic.
The news lands mid-heatwave when thousands of Mancs are clamouring for a seat in the nearest beer garden or cafe terrace – with a huge proportion of those flocking to Canal Street.
Now, plans have been revealed to bring ‘a touch of cafe culture’ to the Gay Village, with even more outdoor seating space created for businesses in the area.
Initially running as a trial this summer, it will mean new terraces for New York New York, The Goose and The Eagle on Bloom Street, plus more locations on Richmond Street.
Manchester City Council has said that similar schemes on Thomas Street and Stevenson Square have been hugely popular with both punters and businesses, especially during the summer months, and can give local operators a huge boost.
So now it’s time for this thriving corner of the city to get the same treatment, as part of the ongoing work through the Gay Village Action Plan identified the need for more outdoor seating areas.
The two locations which will have the changes will be Bloom Street, between Abingdon Street and Chorlton Street; and Richmond Street, between Sackville Street and Chorlton Street.
In order to put these protected spaces into effect, some changes to the existing road network will be made:
Bloom Street becomes one-way from Chorlton Street towards Princess Street
Richmond Street is closed to through traffic between Chorlton Street and Sackville Street.
The scheme will initially run on a trial basis from 10 July throughout the summer to evaluate if it could be a viable long-term solution.
During this, plans will also be in place to ensure that deliveries and loading can go about unhindered, as well as daily waste collection and access for residents.
Councillor Mandie Shilton Godwin, Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment and Transport, said: “The Gay Village is one of our most precious communities. For decades the queer community has been able to call this neighbourhood its own, establishing a long and proud place in the history of the fight against bigotry and discrimination.
“Needless to say, it’s one of the most-visited places in Manchester and sees thousands of people tread its cobbled streets every year. Because of that we’re always looking at how we, as its custodians, can continue to support its legacy and ensure that it meets the needs of people who live and work there.
“We’re excited to be trialling additional outdoor seating for these streets, and we hope to bring the same success that we’ve seen in the Northern Quarter after putting similar schemes in place.
“But, above all this has to work for everyone, so I would urge people to take part in this consultation and help shape the future of the Gay Village.”
Georgina Pellant -
25th March 2022 
