It’s looking like another great week for eating out in Manchester as more operators get the confidence to throw open their doors to the public.
This week marks the opening of Takk’s new project, Kerb Wines, a new haven for natural wine in Ancoats that will also function as a ‘part-time’ bar, as well as the opening of a new semi-permanent home for Liverpudlian Chinese Chippy Woo Tan Scran.
Elsewhere, Le Social Wines has just announced they’ll be popping up in the new residency spot at KAMPUS; Kong’s chicken shop has been playing around with some fried chicken roast dinners at Northern Monk that we’re very excited about – and there’s a new announcement coming from Tine later this week.
Keep reading to discover our top food and drink picks for the week. As ever, there’s plenty to get stuck into.
A full vegan Chinese chippy takeover at Stage and Radio
Liverpudlian Chinese chippy Woo Tan Scran first made its way down to Manchester during the second or third lockdown, bringing its “most ordered on Deliveroo” crown with it. After operating here for a while as takeaway only, they’ve now found a new semi-permanent home at Stage and Radio.
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Promising “a new style of Woo Tan”, there’ll be a mix of old favourites on offer going forward alongside some new flavours from the team. Think stuffed bao buns, loaded chips and a whole host of vegan dim sum, like sesame ‘prawn’ toast and jackfruit pancakes.
Find Woo Tan Scran at Stage and Radio, 43 Port St, Manchester M1 2EQ from 4 August.
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A brand new Korean restaurant in Ramsbottom
Popular family-run restaurant Kimji in Preston has expanded with a second new opening and can now also be found serving up its Korean favourites in Ramsbottom.
Dishing up traditional Korean classics like bibimbap and bulgogi bbq alongside stews and soups, proper homemade kimchi, crispy pancakes, Korean fried chicken and dumplings. Opening its doors on 27th, it was fully booked for its first few days but there are a few slots opening up this week.
Find Kimji’s new Korean restaurant at 41 Bolton St, Ramsbottom, Bury BL0 9HU.
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The ultimate artisanal summer donut box
Founded in lockdown after baker Sulin Khng Baldwin found her travel plans suddenly canceled, DGHNT regularly releases different themed donut boxes – and this week is your last chance to get the summer one.
As well as her cherry coconut (pictured above), this new box also features an apricot ricotta creation dressed in an apricot glaze and pistachio crumb and a peach melba donut with almond frangipane, vanilla poached peach, toasted almonds and raspberry sauce.
Last but not least, it also sees the return of the iconic mango lassi donut – made with mango cardamom glaze, pistachio and dried mango, we’d say the box is a must for this one alone.
To order message DGHNT on Instagram. The summer box is available Tuesday to Saturday with some delivery and collection slots throughout the week.
A new natural wine store and ‘part-time’ bar in Ancoats
Kerb wine, a new project from the team behind Northern Quarter coffee shop Takk and ÖL Bar & Brewery, opens this Friday 6 August in Ancoats’ Cutting Room Square – joining ranks with the likes of Le Social, Erst, Isca and Higher Ground.
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Offering a gorgeous selection of natural wine, ranging from homegrown British producers to hand-picked winemakers across Europe and further afield, everything will be available to takeaway by the bottle or on tap.
Here comes the bit we’re really keen on. Kerb will also operate as a ‘part-time’ bar on the last weekend of every month. We advise putting 27-29 August in your diaries now, and if you like the sound of drinking in the shop we’ll definitely see you there.
Find Kerb Wine at Cutting Room Square, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 5BF from Friday 6 August.
A new French bistro in the old Bock Biere site
Bock Biere Cafe was one of the earliest hospitality casualties to suffer at the start of the pandemic, so when the news finally broke that the former fondue favourite was being replaced with a new concept from the teams behind CBRB and Henry C it was very well received indeed.
Now known as 10 Tib Lane, the three-story townhouse has had quite a transformation – migrating from Belgium to France as it takes on a whole new team and cultural identity.
Gone are the fondue platters and frothy beers, in their place a new menu of small plates designed by Volta’s Alex Shaw and some serious-sounding cocktails. Think milk-washed ‘whiskey and soda’ made with two types of Chivas, burnt caramel vanilla and citric acid, to give you an idea.
Open now, head to 10 Tib Lane, Manchester, M2 4JB. Open Wednesday to Friday from 4pm-2am, and Saturday to Sunday from 12pm-2am.
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Benjamin Mendy wins legal case against Manchester City over unpaid wages
Danny Jones
Ex-Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy has officially won the legal case against his former employers over unpaid wages.
The French defender was suspended from Man City without pay in September 2021 after being charged with six counts of rape and one instance of sexual assault before ultimately leaving the club last June.
Despite multiple allegations and the high-profile case going to trial in August 2022, Mendy was eventually cleared of all counts in July 2023 and has been demanding he receive his ‘lost’ finances earned at the Etihad ever since.
Mendy took legal action against City last November and now, nearly a full year on, the 30-year-old fullback has won his claim against them and is expected to receive most of the outstanding wages accumulated while he was in custody and on bail, as he was still unable to play due to FA sanctions.
As detailed in an official judgement summary, “The result of this decision is that Mr Mendy will be entitled to receive the majority of his unpaid salary, although not all of it.”
BREAKING: Benjamin Mendy has been successful in his employment claim against Manchester City 🚨
In her judgement, published on November 6, Judge Joanne Dunlop's concluded that Manchester City were not entitled to withhold Mendy's pay while he was not in custody. pic.twitter.com/dRWmfHpfgO
The former Premier League star initially entered into an employment tribunal to claim around £11 million in compensation for the wages he missed out on during the period between his suspension in September 2021 and City letting him go in the summer of 2023.
Mendy’s wages were worth around £500,000 a month after joining the Manchester club back in 2017 for a then-world-record fee for a defender, £52m. While he was unsuccessful in claiming all unpaid wages back, City are expected to hand over approximately £8.5m.
Writing on social media, the Frenchman welcomed the decision which found that the club had “unlawfully made deductions from my wages for a total period of 16 months and 23 days.”
Mendy urged the club to do the “honourable thing” and pay the outstanding wages promptly, along with other amounts included in his contract, so as to “finally put this difficult part of my life behind me.”
He went on to conclude the statement by thanking family, agent and legal team for their support and while it’s unclear how soon Man City will be forced to cough up the sum, the footballer will be playing this weekend as usual. You can read his full statement down below:
The club themselves are yet to respond to the decision but will be required to pay out the number within a certain period by law. Mendy has been back playing football in his home country at Ligue 2 club, FC Lorient, who he signed for just days after being acquitted even despite huge backlash.
Meanwhile, their well-publicised case against UEFA and the outstanding 115+ charges regarding FFP and PSR has now begun but isn’t expected to be settled for some time.
Featured Images — Soccer.ru (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group
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Three arrested after Bonfire Night chaos sees fireworks thrown at Manchester police and fire fighters
Emily Sergeant
Three males have been arrested after fireworks were thrown at police officers and fire fighters in Manchester last night.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said officers were called out and quickly responded to reports of a large group of young people causing disorder and damage by lighting a fire on waste ground and throwing fireworks and missiles on Vine Street in Gorton just after 4:15pm on Bonfire Night yesterday (5 November).
Upon attending, fireworks were aimed at police officers and also colleagues from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), but thankfully, no injuries were sustained.
An investigation was immediately launched following shocking incident, GMP confirmed – with three males, aged between 16 and 18, all arrested on suspicion of causing violent disorder.
#ARREST | Last night we arrested three teenagers to stop further disorder in #Gorton and our enquiries are ongoing.
When attending, fireworks were aimed at our officers and also colleagues from the fire service. Thankfully no injuries were sustained.
They remain in custody for questioning at this time, with further arrests expected to follow.
The police are now appealing to the public for information, with Superintendent Richard McNamara, of GMP’s City of Manchester North District, saying: “It is shocking that we are seeing fireworks being used as a weapon towards emergency services as they try and keep our communities safe.”
He continued: “We know incidents like this will rightly cause concern to members of the local community and those people who enjoyed Bonfire Night safely.
“But I want to reassure the public that this is an isolated incident, which was dealt with very quickly by local neighbourhood officers with assistance from officers from our Specialist Operations branch, who brought the incident to a safe conclusion.
“We have also worked alongside our partners in the area throughout the evening by deploying joint patrols with youth services and colleagues in the fire service.”
Superintendent McNamara added that investigating officers are “pursuing several lines of enquiry that will ensure that all those responsible are brought to justice”.
Anyone with any information is asked to come forward and speak to GMP by contacting 101, quoting incident number 2294 of 5/11/24, or details can instead be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.