Another month, another round of new openings – and there’s plenty to get stuck into.
Whether you’re into glitzy late-night hang outs, casual dining turnarounds or award-winning burritos, let’s just say there’s something on the list for you this October.
From the brand new Shogun Ramen and Bar, which sees beloved Chorlton restaurant Peck & Yard give it ‘one more shot’ with a ramen and sushi concept, to Mayfair celeb haunt Mnky Hse, keep reading to discover where to put on your list this month.
Shogun Ramen and Bar
Fans and staff alike were heartbroken when Chorlton restaurant Peck & Yard announced it was closing its doors for good in August, so we’re all happy to see the team return under a new guise.
Switching from baskets of fried chicken to steaming bowls of ramen and handrolled sushi, bosses will try something entirely new as they delve into the world of Japanese cuisine.
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The concept is something they had originally considered before opening Peck & Yard, and they said that “with the times we’re in” they thought “why not go back to the original idea and give this one last shot”.
Soft launch 1 October from 5pm, open from 6 October.
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Mnky Hse
Late-night bar and restaurant Mnky Hse (pronounced “monkey house”) is set to be taking over a space in Lloyd House this month.
First opened in Mayfair, London, in 2016, it will be the second UK site for the restaurant and its first in the north of England when it opens its doors this September.
Known for its ‘hidden entrance’, Instagram-friendly interiors, live music, extensive cocktail menu and Latin American dishes, here you’ll find a great range of tacos – both soft and crunchy – alongside a range of sushi, ceviche and grill dishes.
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14 October
Tortilla, Oxford Road
Mexican food chain Tortilla has arrived in Manchester, bringing a new burrito shop to the Oxford Road student stretch this month.
Offering a range of award-winning burritos, nachos and tacos, you’ll also find quesadillas, chips and salsa, salad bowls and more on the menu.
The most hyped brunch restaurant in the city is opening a third site at the Circle Square development on Oxford Road at the end of this month.
With a later license allowing it to stay open longer and serve cocktails, beers and natural wines into the night, Federal Cafe & Bar will look to host occassional events at its new home
Plans for the new site include a new cafe set up, the addition of a corner shop, as well as a late alcohol license.
A new arrival in Longridge, Fell Bistro comes from former Masterchef the Professional finalist Oli Martin who previously spent eight years at four AA rosette restaurant Hipping Hall.
With head chef Rikki Hughes, previousl of Tom Kerridge’s Michelin pub The Hand and Flowers in Marlow, heading up the kitchen we expect great things.
The menu offers a selection of classic dishes with their wood fired oven and grill featuring prominently. Elsewhere, find hearty Sunday lunches and light bites.
Open now
Bread and Bowl, Spinningfields
There are carb overloads, and then there is Bread & Bowls‘ Full English breakfast in a hollowed-out loaf.
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First launched in February 2020, these ginormous loaves of sourdough – stuffed with fry-up favourites like high-grade local sausages, crispy streaky bacon, beans, cheese, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and hash browns – became something of a hungover lockdown sensation.
Now, you can find them at the new Spinningfields coffee shop 92 Degrees, housed inside the no.1 Spinningfields building Served between 8am and 4pm every day.
Open now
Bold Street Coffee, Oxford Road
Liverpool-born Bold Street Coffee has just opened its second shop here in the space of a few months.
Moving into the universities territory, the new site is found at University Green just off Oxford Road.
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Serving the same menu as its Cross Street site, head down for egg boxes, signature BSC frys, and hearty bowls of super porridge and granola.
Open now
Feature image – Federal / Tortilla / The Manc Eats
The Guides
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 18 – 24 March 2024
Emily Sergeant
Is everyone ready for another busy week? We certainly are.
March has already brought with it food festivals, cultural celebrations, annual events, and so much more – and thankfully, there’s absolutely no shortage of exciting activities in the Greater Manchester social calendar to be getting involved with throughout this week either.
If you’re finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though, we’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide.
Here’s some of our recommendations.
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Manchester Film Festival 2024
Great Northern
Monday 18 – Sunday 24 March
Manchester Film Festival is back for its 10th year, and it’s bigger and better than ever before.
The biggest annual film event in our city, Manchester Film Festival is known and loved for shining a cultural spotlight on the talents and creativity of independent filmmakers.
At this year’s highly-anticipated festival, there’s so many incredible films sourced from all over the world, as well as right here in the North West, to watch – including shorts, features, premieres, Q&As, red carpet glamour, and so much more.
Find out more about Manchester Film Festival 2024 here.
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Power UP
Science and Industry Museum
Monday 18 March – onwards
Power UP / Credit: Science Museum Group
Did you know there’s a huge gaming event currently happening in Manchester?
With more than 160 consoles and hundreds of games to play, Power UP is back for more in 2024 down at the Science and Industry Museum, and it’s taking ticket-holders on a journey through five decades of gaming every weekend.
There’s everything from retro arcade games, to state-of-the-art virtual reality, and so much more to get stuck into, and each ticket includes unlimited play all day.
Fairfield Social Club has now reopened in Manchester once again.
After a successful winter pop-up at the end of last year, and a soft launch via Isit Kitchen’s Supper Club a couple of weeks back, Fairfield Social Club – which is from the same family as beloved street food and social hub, GRUB – is now back up and running at its brand-new venue on Irk Street in the heart of Manchester’s Green Quarter.
A special lineup of events has already been announced to take place throughout the month – with quiz nights, speed-dating events, and plenty more on the agenda.
Manchester Open Exhibition is back for the third time in our city.
Taking place every two years down at HOME, the Open Exhibition is the biggest celebration of Greater Manchester’s creative talent, and sees HOME’s Gallery walls filled with 480 artworks created by the people of our region that have been specially-selected by a panel consisting of art experts and community representatives.
Open to all, the Exhibition brings together artwork including paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, ceramics, digital and mixed media, video, audio, and so much more.
The Great British Spring Clean 2024 / Credit: Keep Manchester Tidy (via Facebook)
Greater Manchester is being urged to take part in a huge UK-wide ‘spring clean’.
Residents across the region are being encouraged to “roll up their sleeves” and join in with the annual UK-wide ‘Great British Spring Clean’ organised by Keep Britain Tidy, and supported by Manchester City Council, that’s now running right through to the end of the month.
The Great British Spring Clean is calling on locals to get stuck-in by helping to tidy up local parks, pathways, and other green spaces.
Find out more about how to join in this month here.
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Did you know that a new ‘hobby house’ has opened up in the heart of Manchester city centre?
It’s called ‘Altogether Otherwise’.
Having recently opened down at Manchester’s growing neighbourhood, NOMA, the innovative new concept is is setting out to provide the Greater Manchester public with a welcome relief from all the demands and fast-paced culture of city centre life that we’ve, sadly, all become so used to.
It’s been dubbed a “place to pursue creativity” and a chance to explore and get stuck into some new activities, all while bumping into like-minded people in an ever-changing gathering space.
There’s an exciting lineup of workshops and events that are free to attend.
Manchester’s landmark entertainment venue Printworks will be celebrating the completion of its £21 million refurbishment this week with a massive free party.
The huge new-look venue will have TikTok sensation DJ SUAT headlining the launch party on Thursday (21 March), and he’ll be joined for the evening by Bohemian House Choir, and a host of other performers and dancers too.
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As part of the refurb, Printworks will be home to the largest digital ceiling in Europe, and launch partygoers will get to be the first to see it in all its glory.
After hours: Forward-Thinking Fashion / Credit: Science Museum Group
Manchester’s legendary Science and Industry Museum is celebrating sustainable fashion with an ‘after-hours’ event especially for adults this week.
Fashion, sustainability, and heritage are all set to come together for a unique event in the heart of Manchester city centre this Thursday, where visitors are encouraged to “journey through the past, present, and future of fashion” during an exclusive evening of entertainment.
Kicking off from 6:30pm and running right through to 9:30pm, the event – which is named After hours: Forward-Thinking Fashion – will showcase sustainable self-expression, offer nifty thrifting tips, and even unpick Manchester’s unique fashion history, all before shining a spotlight on the highlight of the night – a colourful cabaret catwalk.
Did you see that Chester Zoo is giving away 35,000 FREE tickets to children this year?
The UK’s largest charity zoo is on a mission to help nature to “survive and thrive”, and so, in a bid to do just that, has announced that it’s giving away tens of thousands of tickets to local schools in Greater Manchester and beyond for completely free of charge.
The free tickets are to help inspire a whole new generation of young conservationists.
Chester Zoo‘s free ticket scheme has been running since 2017, and has already seen more than 100,000 children get to experience all the wonders the zoo has to offer.
Greater Manchester’s iconic heritage railway is hosting one of the most unique fine dining experiences in the region this week.
Running on selected Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 1 March right through to November this year, East Lancashire Railway’s Red Rose Diners are described as being “the ultimate first class foodie experience”, as they start with a glass of fizz and stretch over an almost three-hour steam train journey through the Irwell Valley.
The experience includes a four-course dinner with complimentary sparkling wine, followed by tea or coffee and after-dinner chocolates.
Stockport Town of Culture Weekender / Credit: One Stockport (Supplied)
Stockport is coming together for a huge celebration to mark its current Town of Culture title this weekend.
In case you missed it, Stockport was named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2023 back in May of last year, so what better way to celebrate the coveted title than hosting a weekend packed full of cultural festivities for all the family, with access to some of the town’s must-visit venues? We can’t think of one.
More than 50 events and activities are set to take place over the two days, and the best part is, they’re all FREE to get involved with.
Spanish Bottomless Brunch / Credit: The Beeswing (via Instagram)
Popular Manchester wine bar The Beeswing down at Kampus has just launched a new ‘Spanish Bottomless Brunch’.
Called ‘Domingo’ – which means ‘Sunday’ in Spanish, and now running every Sunday until the summer and beyond – the brand-new event features a curated collection of classic Spanish brunch dishes to be served alongside free-flowing mimosas, sangria, and Bloody Marys for the pretty-impressive price of just £35 per person.
Hungry foodie fans can take their pick from a menu of Spanish-inspired brunch dishes like smoky shakshuka, and Ibérico eggs benedict, all while sipping on 90-minutes worth of drinks.
Featured Image – One Stockport | The Beeswing | Science Museum Group
The Guides
Six must-see bookish havens in our literary city
The Manc
If you live in Manchester, you’ll be quite used to the chatter surrounding our city’s legendary musical offering, football heritage and art scene.
But, fear not, bookworms: for those of you who spend most of your leisure buried in books, there’s a rich written lineage here in Manchester too and if you’d rather seek out quieter ways to spend your downtime, there are plenty of bookish hidey-holes right in the city centre.
After all, iconic writers such as Emmeline Pankhurst, Lemn Sissay and Elizabeth Gaskell; Anthony Burgess, Jeanette Winterson, John Cooper Clarke and countless others have all called this place home
So, pop your reading glasses on and come with me on a tour of our literary city and some of the best reading spots in Manchester.
The best places to read in Manchester city centre
1. Portico Library
With 19th-century texts stacked up high to its majestic, domed ceiling, this library feels like an uncovered secret, tucked away from the bustle of Piccadilly Gardens. You’re free to wander around, enjoy their exhibitions and peer through their ‘Handling Shelf’ of vintage literature.
Entry is free and it costs just a tenner for a weekly Reader pass, giving you access to the exclusive, private reading room at the back of the building. Give Portico a go.
2. House of Books and Friends
This beautiful bookshop and social space on King Street is just as stunning on the inside as its extraordinary exterior. It’s also one of our favourite cosy little spots for a brew in the city centre.
Daylight pours through the enormous windows into their café area, where they run regular events, book clubs, and author interviews to tackle loneliness in the reading community.
Part of the University of Manchester, you could say that John Rylands is the spiritual home of books in our city and probably the closest thing you’ll find to a real-life Hogwarts.
With its impressive neo-Gothic architecture and catalogue of more than 250,000 publications, the sweeping stone arches and stained-glass windows give the impression that you’ve stumbled into a place of worship. It’s also set to undergo a multi-million-pound renovation in the coming years.
Every year thousands of internationals visit these hallowed halls to pay homage to the written word and it’s not hard to see why, just look at it. A truly magical place.
If John Rylands is the cathedral in Manchester’s literary kingdom, then its spookier, medieval counterpart, Chetham’s Library, is surely our castle. Nestled behind a stone gateway in Cathedral Gardens and around the corner from Victoria, this is the oldest library in the English-speaking world.
It was originally set up as a priest’s college but in 1595 it became home to Dr John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I’s warden, who was a famed alchemist, academic, magician and occultist. According to legend, in between séances, Dr Dee supposedly summoned Satan himself.
If you’re feeling devilish, book on to one of the library tours where you can touch the scorch mark Beelzebub’s hoofprint left on the original table. See if you can spot the eerie death masks and carved devil’s face peering out from the shadows, as well. There’s some real history to this place.
Across town, you’ll find a door into a more specific corner of Manchester’s reading community. Historically, the stories of LGBTQ+ people have been silenced and that’s why QueerLit is such a special place; this place is all about celebrating inclusion and bringing those narratives back to the forefront.
A fifteen-minute stroll away from the thrum of Canal Street, they stock thousands of titles in their Northern Quarter shop, including authors and characters representing a diverse, queer readership, covering everything from historic fiction to comic books.
Not just a great reading spot for people in Manchester but an important one too.
The final stop on our literary tour is Chapter One, a cosy café and bookshop with a whole range of welcoming clubs to help you meet other like-minded folk — there’s a real community vibe here.
Their friendly groups cover creative writing, meditation, and poetry, as well as introductory sessions to woodwork and sculpture. They also have the wonderful Middle East-inspired Gulf coffee and teahouse in the back which, like any good book, is one of the most transportive places little rooms in town.
Reading spots don’t get cosier than this. (Credit: Chapter One Books (via Instagram)
That’s not all. There is, of course, the mighty Central Library on St Peter’s Square, and across the city there are dozens of other public libraries and independent bookshops for you to duck into.
No matter where you are in Manchester next time the rain starts to fall, you can always take shelter between the pages of a good book.
And if you’d like to hear more from the wonderful Katie McCall, you can check out her uncanny, gothic fiction and short stories which have been published right here in the UK and over in the US.
She’s just finished writing her second novel, a folk horror set just down the road in the Peak District. For further spooky, bookish musings, follow her on Instagram.