Finding somewhere to eat with your beloved pet can be tricky, but one of Manchester’s grandest buildings is surprisingly dog-friendly.
The Corn Exchange is a landmark building in the city centre, which over the years has operated as a merchant building, a shopping centre, and now in its current guise as a food and drink hotspot.
With more than a dozen restaurants and cafes under one roof, there’s something to suit every appetite, from curries to pasta to kebabs.
And perhaps surprisingly, a massive chunk of the businesses based here in the Corn Exchange welcome you bringing your dog along with you.
With three of our five office dogs in tow (yeah, we love dogs at The Manc), we went to explore exactly how dog-friendly the Corn Exchange is – and it was Mowgli we had in our sights.
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The Indian street food restaurant, founded by barrister-turned-chef Nisha Katona, has been a staple of the Corn Exchange for almost a decade.
With its signature monkey logo plastered all over the walls, it’s no great surprise that they’re animal friendly here – but what we didn’t expect was the staff to be such animal lovers.
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The Manc with three of our office dogs. Credit: The Manc Group
Bringing your pooch into Mowgli is a delightful way to spend a lunchtime. The restaurant is super accommodating for all guests, whether they have four legs or two.
Our unruly trio of hounds are given a bowl of water and a treat as soon as we arrive, and the staff barely blink an eye when the watchful eyes of a very hungry young Staffie stare at them every time another dish is brought over.
When one of our mutts climbs up on the restaurant’s signature swing seats (then immediately panics about his choices), the staff again don’t even flinch.
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Their friendly approach means that both dogs and humans can relax and enjoy our lunchtime feast of chilli cheese toast, paneer curry, rhubarb dahl and perfectly puffed-up puri breads.
And if you don’t fancy a curry, here are all the dog-friendly restaurants inside Manchester’s Corn Exchange.
Banyan
This huge, colourful bar, famed for its crowd-pleasing menu and its cocktail happy hour, will welcome pooches.
Dogs are allowed in certain areas of the bar – just ask a member of the team for help and they’ll steer you in the right direction, and give your four-legged friend a water bowl too.
The Cosy Club
Beloved Corn Exchange bar The Cosy Club is well-loved locally for its cosy interior, with oil paintings all over the walls and a balcony facing out over the atrium for prime people-watching.
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Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the bar area, which is filled on a first-come first-served basis.
Croyaki Tea
This little business based in the Corn Exchange serves up a massive range of bubble teas, as well as Hong Kong sweet treats like Taiyaki (fish-shaped cakes with different fillings), bubble waffles, macarons, and milkshakes.
They’re totally dog-friendly – the only rule is that they want to see photos of your pooch enjoying the cafe on Instagram.
You can get a mobile massage treatment in your office – just like us
Thomas Melia
We’d like to introduce you to the pioneering personalised service offering massage treatments on the move at practically any location including direct from your office– including to those of us here in Manchester.
In a world where you can get practically anything delivered straight to your door, it wasn’t going to be long until some genius invented a way to get a massage from the comfort of your own office.
Named ‘London’s first digital beauty concierge’, Ruuby have been pampering the nation’s capital for almost a decade before branching out to further locations.
The gorgeous set up provided by RuubyLook at that lovely branding on the towels.They did wonders with our otherwise plain downstairs office space. (Credit: The Manc Group)
In October 2024, the company expanded beyond its domestic reach in the likes of the capital, the Cotswolds and Surrey into Europe, making its first mark Switzerland: the perfect country for both luxury and essential beauty treatments with a tailored experience.
The month following saw the group moving up North and all the way to Manchester, where people can now book professional treatments best suited to them, right on their doorstep.
If you’re feeling scepticalstill, you can take it from us here at The Manc; we couldn’t tell you how relaxing and comforting these massages are.
There are a range of treatments available and we opted for two bespoke massages, a sports massage and a deep tissue massage.
Each experience is suited to your personal needs meaning each massage therapist will be able to fine-tune their relaxation abilities to what benefits you best.
After choosing the bespoke massage that I felt would work best for me, I went into this with no prior massage experience and I came out feeling taller, broader and more refreshed. Highly recommend.
Mid-day office massage? Yes, please.How relaxing. What a shame you have to go back to work after!Credit: The Manc Group
My masseuse guided me throughout the whole process and we soon discovered that I was able to tolerate much harder pressure than I thought which helped release tension I didn’t even know I had!
The same applies to how firm you’d like your session to be, as the masseuse can help with a brief overview of your time together, but the amount of pressure you like is down to personal preference.
It’s not just massages either: there’s everything from waxing, nails and hair to physio and IV drips; how about getting Marbella ready in less than an hour with a spray tan service set up wherever you are?
As Ruuby is a mobile and remote work environment, there are a number of at any time up and down the country, meaning your next beauty slot could be as little as an hour away, find out more HERE.
An award-winning Manchester cocktail bar is serving a Tiny ‘Tini martini cocktail flight
Daisy Jackson
Martini cocktails are one of the world’s most iconic and stylish cocktails, and come in a lot of different shapes and sizes, despite classically being made with only a few ingredients.
If you’re still dipping your toes into the world of the vodka martini cocktail, or if you’re a super fan always eager to try a new take on this beloved drink, can we introduce you to the ‘Tiny ‘Tini’ flight?
This clever creation is as photo-worthy as it is delicious – three miniature martini cocktails, served perfectly chilled in ‘flight’ form on a tray in one of Manchester’s very best bars, Blinker.
The Tiny ‘Tini has been launched by legendary vodka brand GREY GOOSE to celebrate the resurgence of vodka martini cocktails (vodka is one of the core ingredients, the other is typically vermouth).
Blinker, which was earlier this year named the 22nd best cocktail bar in the UK, is already famed for its menu of vodka martini cocktails , so was a perfect choice for the GREY GOOSE Tiny ‘Tini collaboration.
Here, they’ve created three different miniature takes on the classic cocktail- the house martini cocktail, made with GREY GOOSE vodka, house vermouth, orange bitters and an olive; the Spanish Gibson, with sherry and onion brine (if you’re a fan of savoury cocktails, this is the one for you); and the champagne martini cocktail, with GREY GOOSE vodka, champagne cordial, Lillet Blanc and orange bitters (a gateway martini cocktail for the uninitiated).
Each of the three perfectly sized drinks is served in a special frosted miniature martini cocktail glass and is the perfect size for flavour exploration – while also staying perfectly chilled down to the last sip.
The Grey Goose Tiny Tini martini cocktail flight is available at Blinker in Manchester
Best of all, the Tiny ‘Tini flight also makes vodka martini cocktails that little bit less intimidating.
Lexa Ulijaszek, UK Ambassador for GREY GOOSE commented: “When it comes to the vodka martini cocktail, size does matter for some.
“Sometimes a full-sized martini cocktail can be a little bit too intimidating. Or over the course of great conversation between friends, the final sip of your drink may not be as superbly chilled or balanced in taste as the beginning.
“As a result, the offer of a ‘sip sized cocktail’ is gaining traction across many of the UK’s most influential bars.
“A sip size GREY GOOSE Tiny ‘Tini is the perfect solution – beautifully crafted, expertly chilled, elegantly served with rich taste. A flight of three petite drinks allows you to responsibly enjoy the perfection of the ‘first sip’ of a martini cocktail while also experiencing a range of unique flavours.
“The trend is very much a UK-wide affair, with some of the best bars across Manchester, Edinburgh and London all serving the GREY GOOSE Tiny ‘Tini – ushering in a brand new and bold ‘sip sized’ era for the vodka martini cocktail.”
The GREY GOOSE Tiny ‘Tini flight at Blinker in Manchester costs £12 and is available until 30 April.
Daisy Jackson -
17th May 2023 
