Manchester city centre is generally STARVED of outdoor space, but we’ve found the perfect sun-soaked oasis where you can enjoy a bit of fresh air and a whole lot of great food and drinks.
Tucked up on the sixth floor of the award-winning boutique hotel King Street Townhouse, you’ll find a rooftop terrace with beautiful views of the city’s skyline.
As Manchester buzzes along beneath you, you can tuck in to everything from full charcuterie grazing boards to seasonal snacks and small plates, all served alongside an impressive wine and cocktail list.
This often-overlooked local spot is a firm favourite of those in the know, thanks to its sheltered location that basks in the sun all afternoon.
And although it’s in a prime city centre location, just a stone’s throw from Deansgate, St Peter’s Square and Market Street, it’s a luxurious escape from it all – as is the entire boutique hotel it’s part of.
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Whether it’s a post-work social, a relaxed date night, or a cheeky afternoon cocktail, the King Street Townhouse Terrace is open to the public and available for walk-ins or bookings when it isn’t privately hired.
On the menu you can expect locally-sourced dishes like Pollen sourdough served with whipped butter, a meat or cheese grazing board loaded with British produce, and larger plates like a beef and bone marrow burger or a fried fish roll topped with crisps.
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British charcuterie grazing boardSpritzes on the King Street Townhouse terrace
Pairing perfectly with a spritz or a beer are snacks like deep-fried Gordal olives, stuffed with fennel sausage, and a brioche garlic bread packed with cream cheese.
The hotel has a cocktail list that celebrates classic drinks and a few of their own signature concoctions, and it doesn’t feel much more luxurious than when you treat yourself to a glass of sky-high champagne with views like this.
The South Terrace can also be hired privately for leisure or corporate events, with tailored catering options including summer BBQs.
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And you can ramp up your trip to this oasis by staying overnight in one of the boutique hotels’ rooms, or visiting the King Street Townhouse ESPA spa for a treatment.
Find out more about the terrace at King Street Townhouse HERE.
The terrace at King Street Townhouse hotelThe terrace at King Street Townhouse hotelDeep-fried olivesGarlic bread with creamed cheeseKing Street Townhouse hotel
Inside Manchester’s newest Italian restaurant serving 70-year-old Calabrian recipes
Clementine Hall
A new restaurant inspired by Calabrese cooking has opened its doors in Manchester city centre.
Sometimes only a steaming hot bowl of homemade pasta will do, and you’ll find it at the new Pranzo Italian in abundance.
Located on King Street, slap bang in the centre of town, this light-drenched restaurant is set to become your go-to for authentic Italian cuisine.
Born in West Yorkshire, they opened their first restaurant in the spa town of Ilkley back in 2018 before quickly opening another location in Harrogate after Pranzo became inundated with hungry customers.
Images: The Manc
Fast forward to now, they have another site in York and now luckily for us, here in Manchester.
Inspired by founder Marco’s Italian heritage and his Nonna’s traditional Calabrese cooking, every single thing you’re served here is homemade.
From the fresh pasta and the rich sauces to the fluffy focaccia used to mop up said sauces, and not to forget the cherry gin used in the standout Sour Cherry Negroni.
Dishes here are as traditional and authentic as they get, using 70-year-old recipes that Marco learnt from his Nonna (who you’ll spot in old pictures proudly hung up around the restaurant).
Images: The Manc
On our visit, after indulging in couple of cocktails at the bar we kicked things off with a couple antipasti, because it really would be rude not to.
The arancino picante was a real standout, stuffed with spicy fennel sausage, smoked provola cheese and served on a bed of nduja cream.
This had everything you wanted in an arancini, crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside and served piping hot.
We recommend ordering the focaccia el aglio alongside it to dunk into the smoky nduja cream, a genius move if you ask us.
Images: The Manc
Now, onto the mains.
We ordered three of Pranzo’s specialist pastas and every single one was cooked to perfection. If you’re a fan of proper al dente pasta then trust us, you’re going to love this place.
The ragù di manzo features fresh mafalde pasta in a deeply savoury 4-hour beef shin sauce, and they definitely don’t skimp on the meat.
Showered in parmesan at the table, it’s a favourite on the menu for a reason. The reason? It’s nothing short of delicious.
Images: The Manc
We don’t know about you, but if burrata is on the menu then we’re ordering it with zero hestitation.
A lot of the pastas on the menu give you the choice of plonking a burrata on top, and we went for the nduja è salsiccia piccante.
The sauce is decadent and fiery, combining nduja with spicy fennel sausage, spinach and cream. The addition of the creamy burrata was another genius move, balancing out the spice perfectly.
Last but not least, and a personal favourite, was the scoglio seafood pasta.
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This wasn’t just some pasta topped with a couple of prawns, this was absolutely packed full of juicy tiger prawns, mussels and squid – all perfectly cooked and tossed with garlic and cherry tomatoes in a silky sauce.
The recipe used for this one hasn’t changed in 70 years, and we’re glad that it hasn’t.
Images: The Manc
Elsewhere on the menu you’ll find seasonal specials such as your classic caesar salad and pan fried fish, as well as a selection of pizzas.
Of course it wouldn’t be an Italian feast without a tiramisu and this one hits all the right spots.
Indulgent with a punchy coffee flavour and almost cloud-like in texture, that’s a winning dessert if we’ve ever seen one.
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The space, set across two floors, is light and airy whilst the service is top notch. But don’t just take our word for it, find out more about Pranzo and book your table here.
The independent Manchester gym that’s spent eight years getting the city’s office workers stronger
Daisy Jackson
In a city centre that has changed almost beyond recognition over the past eight years, one Manchester gym has stuck to a simple idea – getting people stronger shouldn’t have to take over their lives.
Tucked away on Kennedy Street, opposite Manchester Town Hall and just a short walk from St Peter’s Square tram stop, P1 Fitness Studio is celebrating its eighth year in business.
This local success story has been built by husband-and-wife team Peter and Abby, who wanted to build the kind of gym they actually wanted to train in themselves, after becoming increasingly frustrated with what they saw as the ‘normal gym scene’.
Their answer was to create something different: a smaller, calmer space where people could be coached properly, recognised when they walked through the door and actually enjoy coming to train.
Eight years later, Peter and Abby are still hands-on in the independently owned business, working alongside a coaching team of five.
Welcome to P1 Fitness, in Manchester city centre / Credit: The Manc Group
There is no franchise model or corporate head office. Just the same basic philosophy they started with in 2018, which seems to have resonated with a particular part of Manchester.
P1’s members are predominantly busy professionals – lawyers, architects, creatives, teachers, business owners and office workers – many of them in their 30s, 40s and beyond.
For people spending much of their working lives behind a desk, the proposition is deliberately straightforward – you don’t need to live in the gym to become stronger and healthier.
P1 believes two properly coached strength sessions a week can make a meaningful difference.
Sessions last 50 minutes and run throughout the working day, meaning members can train before work, at lunchtime or after work. There are showers, changing facilities, towels and toiletries too, making it possible to fit training around a working day rather than the other way round.
More recently, the studio has added an infrared sauna, giving members somewhere to recover and switch off before heading back to the office or home.
The independent Manchester gym that’s spent eight years getting the city’s office workers stronger / Credit: The Manc Group
P1 specialises in small group personal training, with a maximum of six people per coach.
Everyone follows a structured strength programme, but the coaching is adapted to the individual. Exercises, weights, and progressions can all be changed depending on someone’s ability, goals, injuries or simply how they’re feeling that day.
So someone picking up a barbell for the first time can train alongside somebody who has been lifting for years, without either being pushed through the same generic circuit.
It’s also not the kind of gym where you’ll see your own reflection staring back at you at every turn, because the focus is on becoming stronger and moving better, rather than how you look.
The idea is longevity – looking after your joints, maintaining muscle, building strength, and staying capable of doing the things you want to do outside the gym as you get older.
Or, in P1’s own words: “Built stronger to last longer.”
And there’s some impressive evidence that the approach has encouraged people to stay the course.
Based on its current schedule of roughly 75 coached sessions a week, P1 estimates it has delivered more than 31,000 coached sessions across its eight years.
Some of the people attending those sessions have been there since the doors first opened.
Rather than celebrating short-term transformations, P1 marks the less glamorous (but arguably more meaningful) milestones: members receive T-shirts when they reach 100, 250, and 500 training sessions.
That means there are members whose relationship with the studio is measured in hundreds of coached sessions and several years, rather than a six-week challenge.
And over time, the gym has become something more than somewhere to lift weights.
P1 increasingly describes itself as a ‘third space’ for Manchester professionals – somewhere between home and work where people can train, switch off, see familiar faces and feel part of a community.
People train alongside many of the same faces each week, and coaches get to know the people they’re working with.
There are socials, themed workouts, challenges, member celebrations and charity events to really build that P1 community – for example, members raised more than £1000 for Parkinson’s UK through a bake sale last year.
The business has also increasingly taken its philosophy beyond its own four walls, working with Manchester companies and corporate teams on strength training and health education, including sessions around women’s health, men’s health, nutrition and sustainable strength training.
P1 has won Best Strength Training Gym of the North West at the National Fitness Awards in 2023, 2024 and 2025, while also being shortlisted three times for the National Fitness Awards’ Functional Training Gym of the Year UK award.
But perhaps the more remarkable achievement is simply making it through the last eight years as an independent city-centre business.
Since P1 opened, Manchester has had to navigate Covid and lockdowns, the huge shift towards home and hybrid working, and the major redevelopment around Town Hall and St Peter’s Square.
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The city centre around the studio has changed dramatically, but the basic idea inside P1 hasn’t. It’s not just a gym, but a third space with a barbell in the middle of it.
Find out more and book your first sessions with P1 in Manchester HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
8th May 2025 
