This Manchester bar is doing a bottomless ‘rice and three’ with unlimited prosecco, lager and wine
Manchester has a special relationship with rice and three shops, but this new bottomless rice and three curry night at The Smithfield Social NQ is taking things to a whole new level.
Walk through the backstreets of the Northern Quarter today and it won’t take you long to stumble across one of the city’s famous ‘curry caffs’, where a dollop of rice and three aromatic curries will typically set you back just a fiver at lunch.
Now closely-guarded Mancunian institutions, they first sprung up in the 80s to provide local textile warehouse workers with a quick fix lunch. Suffice to say, a city-wide obsession soon followed.
Image: The Smithfield Social NQ
Well aware of how much us Mancs love a good ‘rice and three’, the team at The Smithfield Social NQ has gone one better by adding a bottomless booze option to its proceedings – which it’s calling ‘Ruby Tuesdays’ in a nod to co-owner Liam Fray’s rock and roll heritage.
Alongside belting out rock and roll tunes from the likes of Bowie, The Monkeys, The Clash and more, for £27.50 you’ll be treated to ninety minutes of unlimited prosecco, lager, red or white wine alongside your choice of rice and three – with naans included.
You’ll be treated to ninety minutes of unlimited prosecco, lager, red or white wine alongside your choice of rice and three with naans included / Image: theoverdramaticvegan
Served on a Tuesday night only, the bottomless rice and three menu changes weekly – drawing inspiration from different regions of South Asia. This week, expect to tuck into some delicious Punjabi chicken, a lamb rogan josh, and a vegan curry with mushrooms, aubergine and coconut.
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Vegans, meanwhile, can enjoy sag aloo and lentil daal alongside their curry to make the most of the deal too.
Image: The Smithfield Social NQ
As well as all that, you can also spring for some optional extras to pad out your table if you feel like going the whole hog on the night. With extras like tandoori lamb chops and prawn pakoras, alongside daal and sag aloo, you’ll be pretty spoilt for choice.
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Served every Tuesday night from 5 to 9 pm (last tables must be seated at 9 pm), this is the bottomless curry deal that Manchester has been waiting for.
To find out more and book your table. visit their website here.
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RFL give the go-ahead for a new Salford rugby league team
Danny Jones
The Rugby Football League (RFL) have given the go-ahead for a new Salford rugby league team in the New Year.
Rejoice, Salfordians – the Red Devils as you know them might be done, but it looks like a Phoenix is rising very soon.
However, following a consortium bid led by a former player, it now looks as though the local community will be starting a new sporting era in 2026. You can read the RFL’s statement in full down below.
As you can see, the English governing body has agreed to grant the new Salford-based rugby league team Championship status in time for the start of next season.
The Red Devils were officially relegated back in October, following months of uncertainty surrounding their unpaid debts and having to rely on loan players to field squads.
It’s unclear whether the new Salford side will carry on under the well-established brand and logo, or whether they fresh start will include a new Greater Manchester moniker.
There is, of course, an obvious choice as retired winger Mason Caton-Brown has been confirmed as one of at least three key investors following his ‘Phoenix Bid’ to resurrect the club earlier this month.
Following the official announcement on Monday (22 Dec), fan group The 1873 have now expressed their gratitude and support regarding the new investment, adding: “The strength of this club has always been its people and that must remain true in this new chapter.”
We would like to congratulate The Phoenix Bid on being awarded RFL membership and becoming custodians of Salford Rugby League 👏
Fans must fully back the new board as we move into 2026. We have a responsibility to ensure that this is as successful as it can be. pic.twitter.com/BZEwzS0zC6
Caton-Brown had already insisted that the new leadership group had reached multiple pre-contract agreements with players and a new head coach.
While it’s obviously a big result to be gearing up just a few weeks after seemingly folding as a competitive side, the owners are now racing to get a full squad ready to face Oldham in their season opener on 16 January.
Meanwhile, ex-Salford Red Devils stars Paul Rowley and Adam Sidlow have now joined the coaching staff at St Helens.
Featured Images — Anthony Parkes (via Geograph)/Publicity picture (supplied)
News
Two men jailed after series of Porsche thefts across Greater Manchester totalling £1m
Emily Sergeant
Two men have been handed prison sentences following a series of Porsche thefts across Greater Manchester.
An investigation into the actions of Eidmantas Sadauskas and Vytautas Ceponis, both of no fixed abode, by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) began back in January of this year.
Described as being ‘sophisticated’ operation, the pair used equipment and tools to disable the vehicle security alarms and gain access to them, before they would then clone the vehicles, using different registration plates to allow them to slip under the radar.
In total, 25 Porsches – estimated, in total, as being approximately £1 million – were linked to the theft series and identified as having been taken by Sadauskas and Ceponis.
The thefts occurred across Greater Manchester – including in Salford, Bury, Trafford, Manchester, and Stockport – and it’s believed they were being stolen to be sold on for illegal gain.
The thefts occurred between January and October 2025, according to police, before the investigation began.
A comprehensive investigation Stockport’s Neighbourhood Crime Team (NCT) found that Sadauskas and Ceponis were mapped out as being in the areas of the crimes as they occurred, and the vehicles involved in the thefts were additionally identified as being linked to them.
The pair subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal motor vehicles at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court in late November, before their sentencing last Friday.
Ceponis was jailed for four years for conspiring to steal motor vehicles, while Sadauskas was jailed for four-and-a-half years for conspiring to steal motor vehicles.
Several of the Porsches have since been recovered, and police say work remains ongoing to locate the outstanding vehicles and reunite them with their owners.
“No one should have their property taken from them,” commented PC Chris Hopkins, from GMP’s Stockport NCT. “As officers in the Neighourhood Crime Team, we work proactively to tackle these sorts of offences and punish those responsible.
Georgina Pellant -
20th September 2021 
