Despite being prominently visited by Mohammed Ali in 1974, there is no denying that over the years, Stretford Mall lost its charm.
But, thanks to efforts from Trafford Council, Bruntwood Works, and local business entrepreneurs, Stretford Mall has surpassed its past glory with a delightful food hall surrounded by innovative local businesses, including The Hive.
Despite only being open two days before the national lockdown in March, and now operating as take-away only, The Hive is perhaps the centrepiece of a blossoming ‘Stretford Strip’.
As well as already offering breakfast every morning, a roast dinner every Sunday, and a delicious array of innovative meals all day long, The Hive’s menu is still improving.
The Hive, Stretford
The recent launch of the Healthy Hive branch of their menu adds another layer of deliciousness to this business, with offerings such as curried mushrooms and vegan hotdogs.
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Co-Owner Chris Herbert said: “We had all this time during lockdown, so we have basically opened a COVID restaurant bar.
“Every single thing down to the smallest detail is a COVID friendly bar because we have known nothing else.”
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Over 11 thousand people have been through their doors since July, and they boast zero cases of Coronavirus related to the business, despite taking every single person’s temperature and track and trace personal details, instead of the general one person per group rule.
The key for these business owners was providing a local but cool atmosphere that enabled people to have a night out that they could safely walk home from, and despite COVID, this goal has not changed.
Chris said: “It’s only going to get better. COVID and what’s happened and lockdown, it’s just an obstacle that Stretford is going to get over, this isn’t going to kill Stretford off. It’s only going to make Stretford stronger.
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“The ‘local’ is going to thrive again.”
The Stretford FoodHall has also become a symbol of the change in Stretford, providing a constant turnover of delicious independent vendors, and this year even providing christmas trees that can be delivered to your door.
Stretford Food Hall
‘A Convenient Store’, located inside the Hall, are already open for pre-orders of locally sourced Christmas trees, alongside grocery deliveries that arrive at your door in two hours.
The Food Hall also collected food and household items during lockdown for charity, and recently on facebook they announced that they were widening the organizations they were donating to.
The current resident vendors are Herbivorous and Dim Sum Su, which offer delicious vegan meals and dim sum, among other things.
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Hannah, supervisor on the retail side of the FoodHall said: “It has been an absolute pro for the community, we have loads of regulars that constantly come in and it is gorgeous seeing the same faces, especially through COVID.”
The Foodhall also ensures that it uses local vendors for its produce, in order to inject profits back into the community, something desperately needed during these COVID times.
Whilst definitive prospective plans for Stretford are uncertain because of the pandemic, it is clear that the future is bright for this blossoming area.
Eats
Legendary Borough Market doughnut bakery Bread Ahead is coming to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Bread Ahead – creators of the cult creme brulee doughnuts – is finally coming to Manchester (and soon).
The doughnut bakery is one of the most famous traders at Borough Market in London thanks to its artisan dough, classic fillings, and creative specials.
And to celebrate its arrival into the North, Bread Ahead will be giving away 1,000 free doughnuts across its first two days in Manchester.
The Borough Market bakery institution has announced a three-month stint inside Harvey Nichols, where Mancs will be able to pick up flavours including their world-famous creme brulee doughnut, a custard-filled beauty with a crunchy torched brown sugar top.
That particular flavour is so popular, they sell around 5,000 daily down in London.
Other Bread Ahead doughnuts include vanilla, jam, sea salted caramel, pistachio, and regional/seasonal specials like pumpkin creme brulee, smores, lemon curd, coconut, and blackcurrant cheesecake.
The giveaway of 1,000 free doughnuts will start at 10am on Monday 3 November, with 500 handed out while stocks last.
Bread Ahead is bringing its legendary doughnuts to Manchester for the first time
Then on Tuesday 4 November there’ll be another 500 up for grabs on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Founder Matthew Jones says: “We’ve long wanted to branch out regionally, and this felt like the perfect way to do it.
“Baking and education are so important to us, so we’re really excited to bring our doughnuts to the people of Manchester and thrilled to be working with Harvey Nichols.
“We hope this is just the first of many visits – there’s so much more to come!”
The creme brulee doughnuts from Bread Ahead are coming to Manchester. Credit: Supplied
Gavin Hudson, General Manager at Harvey Nichols Manchester said: “Bread Ahead is a true institution in Borough Market, so when Matthew and the team got in touch, we knew that their offer would definitely resonate with our customers.
“We’re excited to be bringing their full selection of doughnut flavours to the city and we are sure that their trademark Crème Brûlée doughnut will become a firm favourite here too.”
Bread Ahead will open at Harvey Nichols Manchester from Monday 3 November.
The best pasta places in and around Manchester
Danny Jones
Besides the all-season pizza, we would argue that pasta is arguably the pizza we will happily eat pretty much any time of you (god, the Italians really do have it cracked, don’t they?), so we thought it was about high time we put together a list of the best places to find it in and around Manchester.
That’s right, it’s time for another ‘listicle’, so buckle up and unbutton your pants.
Whether it be a city centre star or a beloved off-the-beaten-path favourite out in the boroughs, Greater Manchester as a whole really does do Italian restaurants well and pasta, specifically, if you ask.
From well-known names you’ve probably eaten at already yourselves, to hopefully a few hidden gems that have somehow flown under your radar, here is The Manc‘s round-up of the best pasta places the Manchester foodie scene has to offer.
The best places for pasta in the city centre
1. Lina Stores – St. John’s
Up first is one we’ve visited a fair few times since it landed here from London and really has taken to life up North rather well. Lina MCR, just opposite Spinningfields and just off Deansgate on Quay Street, is their first foray into our city and captures the same laid-back split between delicatessen and restaurant.
Actually, it’s even more than that; this place rolls cafe, bar and evening eatery all into one, serving up stunning pasta dishes, delectable desserts, a great wine selection and some seriously stunning starters, sides and small plates to boot – we’re thinking of the fried ricotta, specifically…
Onto number two, and not only one of the most popular Manchester pasta spots, but a place that has recently surpassed more than 10 years here in the city centre. To some of us, it seems like just yesterday that they first opened their doors, but they’ve been serving us for a good long while now.
The parents of nearby Noi Quattro, which sits just across the road in the Northern Quarter, Pasta Factory sits just on the corner around from Victoria, and their prawn-filled miso butter pasta with burrata is to die for. Better still, you can buy their various shapes, styles and sauces to take home on your way out.
3. Anatra – Exhibition
They say three is the magic number, so they must have been talking about Anatra, which is well and truly something special. Popping up in the increasingly enticing Exhibition food hall and bar over on Peter Street back in August 2025, they’ve made a great first impression.
Head chef Grant may be from Stoke, but he still knows all about serving up tasty and substantial food to Northerners fed up of getting home after a rainy day and warming up a ready meal. Think thick, handmade pasta with the perfect bite, with big flavours like saffron, burnt chilli and brown crab butter.
Credit: The Manc Group
4. Soots – Tib Street
For number four, we have nothing but praise for the purely plant-based excellence that is Soots Pasta, created by owners and co-founders Ellie Proudfoot and Ruth Duarte, who’ve quietly become not only one of the best pasta restaurants in town but one of the best vegan restaurants in Manchester, too.
Named after their dog and starting out life in Altrincham Market, they’ve become a real lovely hospitality story in what is an increasingly difficult sector. We can’t speak highly enough of how much we love these guys; in fact, so much so that you can read even more about this wonderful place down below.
Now, naturally, we couldn’t possibly right up a list of the best pasta places in Manchester city centre, the UK, or otherwise, without mentioning the social media sensation that is Onda, which on its day really does live up to the hype. At least it has every time we’ve managed to visit, anyway.
Starting out as an Ancoats pop-up over at New Cross, they quickly became famous for their viral ‘Tiramisu Drawer’, where they pull out giant scoops of the classic Italian dessert by the big spoonful. However, they are also known for VERY good pasta, such as their carbonara and vodka ‘nduja lamache.
From the new school to the old faithful, there aren’t many Italian restaurants that’ve been doing this in Manchester as long as Salvi’s has, and you could argue that they set many trends in motion decades before they ever took off. They’re part of the city’s dining heritage, as far as we’re concerned.
For instance, they’re still one of the places we remember doing a mozzarella bar, or offering customers the chance to buy authentic ingredients from ‘il Bel Paese‘, and if you’ve never sat down for a bowl of pasta in here, you haven’t lived basically. Hyperbole? Maybe, but the food is bloody good, that’s no lie.
Another new kid on the block that’s trying to carve out its own space in Manchester’s Italian food scene is one that we don’t just fully expect to do so, but would wager already has, even if it hasn’t only been in our neck of the woods for what feels like five minutes. Part of Big Mamma Group, Circolo is a juggernaut.
One of the most beautiful spaces we’ve ever stepped foot in – and no, that isn’t a slight exaggeration – the Italian restaurant sat at the foot of Gary Neville’s growing St. Michael’s skyscraper is a tribute to lemons and indulgence. It may have competition in Chotto Matte, but it’ll certainly handle itself.
From glitteringly gorgeous rooms to even more beautiful food, we’ve lost track of how many times someone has told us that their favourite restaurant in Manchester is The Sparrows Continental Pasta & Spätzle, to give them they’re rarely used full title.
And, to be honest, we wouldn’t disagree; even in all our years of eating incredible food in Manchester city centre and further afield, the Green Quarter spot offers some of the most unique takes on pasta noodles you’ll ever test, bringing in various global influences and some of the highest quality ingredients around.
Heading over to Ancoats, and it’s safe to say that the brilliant Bruco has some very big fans in the office over here, not to mention many more throughout the district and the Manc culinary community as a whole. This Italian spot still feels criminally unsung by the masses, but we’re big cheerleaders.
Striking that balance between bar and kitchen, they specialise in small plates and spritzes, but dishes like butternut squash gnocchi, minted lamb ragu pappardelle, fennel sausage orecchiette and slow-cooked short rib lasagne would stand out on the menu of any of the best pasta restaurants in Manchester.
Credit: The Manc
10. Italiana Fifty Five – Great Northern, Liverpool Road and Didsbury
And in a number 10, we have to give a special shout-out to one of the most reliable Italian restaurant groups in Manchester: Italiana Fifty Five, formerly known as Cibo, but still serving up solid pasta and more for some of the best prices you’ll find in the city centre.
They may have rebranded, but this small but accessible chain rarely disappoints, and it’s also worth noting that they regularly rotate deals and promotions to keep sitting down to eat good scran in town as affordably as possible. It’s important work, and we’re glad they take it seriously and are consistent, too.
Moving out of the city limits and towards the outskirts and various different areas that are each wrapped up in a scran-obsessed world of their own, we’re heading to the ever-charming Chorlton and that stretch of Barlow Moor Road that is long enough to offer up so many good places to eat and drink.
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It’s possible that you know Lucky Mama’s best for their big pizzas, but of late, we’re becoming much more enamoured with their somewhat ridiculous but undeniably delicious pasta-filled pizza bowls. Yes, you heard us right, and yes, it is as fantastic and filling as it sounds. Here’s more carbs on carbs.
12. Ornella’s Kitchen – Denton (and MCR city centre)
Over to Tameside now and Ornella’s, which is also up there in the conversation for the most raved-about Italian restaurants and pasta spots in Greater Manchester; that’s not just our opinion, either, ask the hundreds of incredible five-star reviews they have online. And rightly so, we hasten to add.
Not too long ago, they opened up a second location in Freight Island, meaning we city folk don’t have to go too far to try their amazing food, but in all honesty, we’d travel miles and miles for this stuff. Take it from us, you simply cannot leave without trying the pistachio carbonara and the beef shin pappardelle.
Moving in the Bury direction now and over to the leafy suburb of Prestwich, how does eating some of the best Italian food you’ve probably ever had in this country in a rustic cafe, bar, pasticceria and restaurant in an unsuspecting old industrial estate? We’ll assume we have your attention…
It might sound rough and ready on the surface, but trust us, there’s no trade-off between style and substance; it’s one of the coolest places to eat in Greater Manchester and does some of the best pasta around, for our money. The amatriciana is unreal, and the fennel sausage one is also unbelievable.
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Lupo Caffe Italiano is a taste of sunny Rome on a Prestwich industrial estate… and it MUST be one of Greater Manchester's most hidden gems in a very literal sense. 🍝😍
Our penultimate pick is another south Manchester outpost famous for fantastic restaurants, so it’s no surprise that they also have plenty of great Italians, too: Casa Italia being just one of them, but perhaps our favourite of the lot – at least in this Didsbury, anyway.
More of a chill deli with pretty stocks of produce lining the walls and a healthy counter packed full of goodies, both savoury and sweet, we’ve had many memorable meals in here, and it was actually one of the first places we tried a cannelloni. You always remember your first, and we always will.
Make sure to check out their digital store as well. (Credit: The Manc)
15. Little Scarfs – Stockport
Last but not least, please ignore the grammatical error: they don’t care about tense here, they’re just interested in serving you up really good plates of pasta, and they do; in fact, they might be some of the best you’ll find in Stockport, full stop.
A little birdie who recently moved to the town told us about this one, and all we’ll say is that there’s some just so wholesome about it from top to bottom. They also have one of the prettiest aesthetics we’ve come across of late – see for yourself, then go try the food and let us know how mint it was.
Gemma Bradley -
16th November 2020 
