The Manchester Christmas markets are often bemoaned as too expensive, but trust us – if you know where to look, there are actually quite a few places to grab a bargain.
Some people just can’t help complaining about the cost of food at the Manchester Christmas markets – and to be fair, on some things, we’re absolutely behind them.
That said, we’ve done a good rekkie of the stalls this year and discovered spots to get food and drink for £5 and under located in pretty much every corner of the city.
Keep reading to discover where to grab a bargain at this year’s Manchester Christmas markets – from the biggest (and cheapest) portion of chips to the best-value sausages, vegan food, booze and more.
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The Festive Vegan Dawg at Panc is £5 – loaded with onion, mustard and more / Image: Panc
Piccadilly Gardens
The new heart of this year’s Manchester Christmas Markets, the Winter Gardens at Piccadilly prove pretty expensive overall – but you can find some bargains if you know where to look.
Vegans can pick up a multicoloured vegan soya burger at Panc (£5) loaded with onion, pickles, ketchup and PANC sauces on brioche, or opt for either their classic or festive brat dawg – also priced at £5 and served in either a spinach or beetroot bun.
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There are also fries at Panc from £3, with sweet potato fries setting you back £4.50 and vegan dips from £1 if you’re feeling like more of a snack.
If you’re feeling something a bit more traditional, over at Clowbecks Market Stall you can grab a Lancashire cheese potato scramble (£5).
Black peas, meanwhile, are priced at £3 – a northern delicacy.
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Piccadilly is the home of this year’s Christmas Markets, the Winter Gardens / Image: The Manc Group
Piccadilly is also the home of this year’s most-hyped market food, the Korean potato dog. Whilst you can’t quite get these for under £5, the stall also selis spiral potato twists on a stick (£4.50) which are well worth a try.
Hot mulled drinks meanwhile start at £4.50, with draught beers and wine priced from £5. You can get a piste lager for that price, or a house red or white wine.
We also spied mugs of hot Vimto, if you’re after a little alcohol-free sugar boost.
Image: The Manc Group
King Street
You can get your go-to bratwurst down on King street, with a choice of cheese sausage (£5) or white sausage (£5) available – and wash it down with a £4 Kronenburg beer.
Ther best deal on King Street, though, has to be the Sicilian street food stall flogging big square sourdough pizza slices from £3, various stuffed balls of arancini from £3.90, and a coppo misto (a selection of fried specialities like arancini, panzerotto, panelle and crostini) for £5.
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An absolute bargain.
Cathedral Gardens
The first markets to open in Manchester this year due to their proximity to the ice rink, at Cathedral Gardens you can grab loaded mini pancakes and sugar waffles for under £5.
Topping choices are vast and include the likes of caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, apple, strawberry and cherry, as well as more simple classics, like lemon and sugar.
Drinks-wise, those on a budget can also grab a mug of mulled wine or spiced cider, both £5, to wash it all down.
Image: The Manc Group
The Corn Exchange
Jammy Dodger-loaded cupcakes, Nutella-topped confections, and more covered with pick and mix sweeties, chocolate Oreos, and golden pretzels can be found at Zara’s Cupcakes market stall, priced at just £3.50 each.
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There are also cake jars (£5) and old-school puddings (£4) on sale here – perfect for a mad-dash shopping pick me up.
At the Corn Exchange, you’ll also find pie stall The Crusty Pie Company selling every filling variation you can think of, starting from around £2.50. There’s pork and black pudding, Hunstmans pies, chicken and leek, wild boar and mushroom, turkey and cranberry, chicken and chestnut stuffing pies, broccoli and stilton flavours and loads more.
You’ll also find some great gourmet sausage rolls here (£4), as well as giant pigs in blankets (£3) and bags of traditional pork scratchings (£2).
Image: The Manc Group
Exchange Square
Get stuck into caramel cider (£5), classic English mulled wine (£5), and non-alcoholic ginger and honey with orange juice and cranberry (£5) to keep you warm over on the markets at Exchange Square.
You can pick up a portion of dutch fries for £5 here, but be warned – toppings like mayo and ketchup will cost you extra.
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Sausages sit at the firm £5 mark, whether you’re after a German bratwurst, cheese sausage or a spicy one, whilst loaded sugar waffles with toppings like hazelnut spread, lotus Biscoff or lemon and sugar all come in around £4.50 – and it’s the same for pancakes.
You can also pick up some tasty nibbles to take home, ranging from various nuts and stuffed olives to multiple flavours of Turkish delight, for under £5.
Image: The Manc Group
Market Street
There’s not much to report food-wise here, with the majority of stalls focusing on selling gifts and other trinkets – it is a retail district, after all.
We did spy a massive stall selling pick and mix though, so if you’re looking for a mid-shop sugar boost we’d say you can certainly get your fill here for a fiver (and relive your childhood tuck shop nostalgia).
Exchange Street
With a big focus on beer and wine, Exchange street is dominated by bars selling all the usual suspects – plus Baileys, boozy coffees, gin and tonics, and other spirit mixers.
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In terms of what you can get for a fiver, though, you’re looking at boozy coffees with brandy or rum (£4) and hot chocolate with whipped cream (£3).
Food wise, Prestwich restaurant Triple B (run by the Eat New York team) has a stall down here, and whilst the – frankly epic – bagels are well over £5, you can treat yourself to french fries with house seasoning for £3.50 or go for the ‘goofie’ fries with garlic and cheese for £5.
There’s also a stall down here selling wax-coated mini wheels of cheese for £5 a pop, and bratwursts again sit at the £5 mark – with a choice of either German or smoked sausages.
Image: The Manc Group
St Ann’s Square
Head to St Ann’s Square for square pizza slices and Peroni (£3-5), big portions of Dutch chips with two sauces (£4), and plant-based vegan cakes in flavours like blueberry lemon, espresso almond, and berry and lime from £2.50 per slice.
Wonderwurst is selling extra-large bratwursts down here for £5, in what might be the best value-for-money sausage deal at this year’s markets.
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Elsewhere, you’ll find reams of German bratwurst and salami pre-packaged to take home (£3-5); a Spanish kitchen selling tapas and nibbles like serrano ham, pinchos, manchego, Catalan fuet, and Spanish chorizo for under £5, and sweet treats like apple strudel and kaiserschmarrn (scrambled pancakes) down by the church.
In the bars, Gluhwein sits around the £5 mark for flavours like cherry, original and raspberry, and you can also bag a cider for £5 here. Specials, however, cost slightly more.
Oh, and don’t forget the Lotus Biscoff cookie pies (£4) and giant truffles disguised as Christmas puddings (£4) over at Gingerbread House Confections – they can be eaten cold or easily heated up at home in the microwave.
They are easily one of our favourite finds at this year’s markets.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
News
Lemn Sissay OBE pens powerful poem about Manchester City for Black History Month
Danny Jones
Lauded local poet Lemn Sissay MBE has penned a moving poem in collaboration with Manchester City, looking back on the club’s cultural past and key persons of colour for Black History Month.
Born in Orrell in the borough of Wigan, the published author, playwright, and BAFTA-nominated broadcaster has made a name as one of our region’s most notable wordsmiths, so it’s no wonder that he was selected by the Cityzens to touch on this particular topic.
Teaming up not only with Man City but the club’s first-ever Black footballer, Stan Horne, as well as other senior stars from the Maine Road days, all the way up to the modern Etihad era.
‘The Stadium Speaks’ by Lemn Sissay – a poem commissioned by Manchester City for Black History Month 2025
Entitled The Stadium Speaks, the public reading of the verses runs for just under two minutes, but even in the relatively short space of time, there is so much power in this poignant poem.
Roping in help from other past players like Nedum Onuoha, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Shaun Goater, as well as current stars like Ruben Dias, Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw and Jeremy Doku, each line leaves just as much impact as the last.
Just as importantly, they were also joined by Jahmal Williams-Thomas, City Matters’ Black and Mixed Heritage representative, Bing Findlater – the Official Supporter Club’s Equality and Inclusion Lead, as well as several other City fans and staff who work throughout the Eithad Campus.
Each individual who lends themselves to the performance delivers their part perfectly and from the heart; after all, Black culture isn’t something strictly celebrated during the month of October, but throughout communities all year round – as it should be.
Sissay, 58, clearly relished the chance to dive into how Greater Manchester‘s history intersects with not only football, but racism, equality, progress and more.
One stands and we all stand One falls and we all fall We are Manchester City And we stand tall
To celebrate Black History Month Manchester City Football Club commissioned me to write this poem to reflect on the club's journey from Maine Road to today. I have called it…
Speaking via a statement on the club website: “Manchester felt like home to me, the moment I stepped foot across the boundary. I came here very early on, when I think I was 13, I came to see Manchester City play. The first time I came to this city was to see City.
“I want the poem to be owned by the person who’s in the stand watching the game. And I wanted the poem to be owned by the person on the pitch who’s playing it. And I want them to feel proud reading it.”
The post goes on to reiterate that just like all teams throughout the football pyramid, racism and discrimination in all its forms should not and WILL not be tolerated.
Asking supporters to step up and speak as and when needed, City fans can report abuse and/or inappropriate behaviour to 07700151894, which will make security aware of what has been witnessed.
Feedback can also be shared anonymously by texting the specific block, row, seat number and a short description of the incident to the number; if in doubt, talk to a steward or police officer at the game.
Elsewhere, the official MCFC Supporter Charter sets out their zero-tolerance policy when it comes to discrimination, and fans can also report online discriminatory abuse they see targeted at Premier League players, managers, coaches, match officials and their families directly HERE.
Salford City set to reverse kit colour following clear-cut fan vote
Danny Jones
Salford City FC are set to make a historic change, or rather turn back time, as the Greater Manchester side looks set to change its main kit colour back to orange.
The Ammies are undergoing another big overhaul – the most significant since the ‘Class of 92’ bought the club back in 2014 – with supporters being invited to give their thoughts on the direction they want to see the club going in.
Currently sitting ninth in the third tier after making a positive start to the 2025/26 campaign, Salford City have been met not only with fresh investment in recent months but a fresh push for change from the ground up.
Including, as it turns out, the kit colour. After genuine calls to reverse the kit colour from the fans, the Salford board took a fan poll, with over three-quarters of all those who took part voting to return the City jersey to orange.
As you can see, 77.1% of Ammies confirmed that they were in favour of bringing back the predominantly orange and black shirt, shorts and socks; the switch is expected to happen before next season.
The League Two side has made it clear that promotion to the Championship is the big target over the next few years, and as the new consortium headed up by Gary Neville and David Beckham continues to try and transform the club once again, they’re looking to make big statements.
It doesn’t get much more foundational than restoring the orange shirts that Salford City wore for the best part of four decades prior to the initial takeover.
The decision itself comes after a thorough ‘heritage consultation’ process, where the older Neville brother and other key figures took supporter feedback into consideration, including the majority kit vote.
In terms of announcing the change, they’ve had plenty of fun revealing the outcome on social media, too.
Sharing a full statement on the club website, SCFC went on to detail that there is “significant work to be undertaken at the Peninsula Stadium to update cladding and seats, amongst other infrastructure upgrades that are already due to take place.”
Hoping to combine their “tangerine heritage with modern style to create a striking orange identity”, the overall brand aim is now simpler than ever: “when you see orange, you will know what it means. This is Salford. Proud. Unmistakable.”
Long-time supporter, Richard Kedzior – who also owns the recognisable orange and black flag that hangs in the west stand – said of the news: “I’m delighted that we’ve reverted back to orange, which over a 40-year period was the colour we were always associated with prior to the change to red.
“It’s a welcome return to tradition as well as giving us back our unique identity that will once again identify us all as proud supporters of Salford‘s premier football club.”
Before the reversal was fully confirmed, co-owner Neville discussed the potential change in a room full of passionate Salfordians.
Old Dead Tree fanzine committee member, Kev Wright, continued in the statement: “The orange kit represents Salford’s true identity. It sets us apart and reminds everyone that we are our own Club, not just a shadow of Manchester United.
“When we play in red, the comparisons are inevitable, and people can mistake us for something we’re not. Salford is different. It’s about local pride, about belonging to a community with its own history and its own future. Orange gives us a distinct voice and a colour we can call our own. It’s more than just a kit – it’s a statement that we are Salford, and proud!”
Signing off, fellow Ammie Deb Sculthorpe believes that this could be the ‘fresh start’ that the 85-year-old footballing outfit needs, adding that “timing is everything and now is the time.”
A further consultation is set to take place regarding the club crest, too, as some have also suggested reverting the modern logo to the old Salford Central-style badge, with more information to be shared as and when.
What do you make of the decision to swap the modern Salford red for Greater Manchester‘s second city classic orange strip, Ammies?