It’s the final weeks of summer, and good old global warming has given us some wonderful warm, sunny days for eating and dining, with a side order of apocalyptic horror. Here’s to many more. Or maybe not.
Either way, before the end times come, why not splash your cash on some of Manchester and the North’s best drinking and dining experiences? Here are our hot tips for the next few weeks.
Alongside the many excellent traditional Sicilian dishes, here’s you’ll find a finely-honed vegan menu. It’s a true independent success story, putting their ethics where their mouths are. Word has spread, and the young and meat-free of Manchester have chosen this cosy backstreet restaurant as their new go-to.
Aviva Studios is hitting its stride. Now in its third year, this shapeshifting venue is firmly established as the UK’s go-to space for shows and exhibitions that go beyond the norm. It’s a venue that changes and adapts according to the artist, whether that’s My Bloody Valentine, Marina Abramović or David Hockney.
Accordingly, the food and drink side needs to be a cut above. And the dining options matched with current exhibition, Button Up! by Chinese dissident and acclaimed conceptual artist Ai Weiwei, are precisely that.
Ever the enquiring mind, Sampa chief-chef Caroline Martins looks toward southern Spain, focusing on that most underrated of Andalusian vinos: sherry.
As with everything Caroline does, this isn’t an archaic take on fortified wine. No Withnail wisecracks, no nana’s sideboard. Instead, a finely tuned meal based around dishes that pair with the huge range of sherries available to modern wine lovers.
Gilpin Spice at Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, near Windermere, has launched a refreshed Pan-Asian menu under new Head Chef Ralph Rojas, formerly of Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay in Manchester. The menu draws on Thai, Japanese and Filipino influences alongside expanded sushi and sashimi, with dishes including a Filipino-style Kinilaw ceviche, Goan-style tiger king prawns, and 30-day aged British ribeye with Thai chimichurri. The relaunch coincides with the opening of the restaurant’s new Laurent-Perrier Terrace.
Zouk Tea Bar is launching a new run of regional Indian cooking classes this autumn, covering Mumbai (10 October), Old Delhi (28 November) and Lahore to Lucknow (12 December), each hands-on and covering street food, regional curries and kebabs. The December class carries a festive twist, teaching a raan-inspired roast chicken with spicy Indian gravy for Christmas. A press preview session, with two dishes from each class, runs Saturday 19 September, with limited spaces available.
Sexy Fish Manchester is running four days of Bank Holiday entertainment and dining, with its Limitless Lunch (£48pp) available Friday to Monday, 12-4pm, alongside a separate £29 free-flowing drinks add-on for the à la carte menu. Evenings bring a live line-up including DJ Tango, Millie Manning, DaxOnSax, Leah Drew and Kami Foxx, running Thursday through Sunday. Sunday also features Sexy Sunday Brunch (£48pp, 12-4.30pm) with limitless starters, main and dessert, plus optional bubbles at £10pp.
Northcote in Langho has completed the first phase of a wider refurbishment, redesigning six of its 26 bedrooms with a Ribble Valley-inspired palette and interiors, with the remaining rooms to follow over the next 12-18 months. Alongside this, the Michelin-starred hotel has begun work on a new kitchen garden and Victorian-style greenhouse, aimed at growing more of its own herbs, vegetables and edible flowers for the restaurant.
Bundobust and Federal are collaborating this summer, launching with a one-off brunch at Bundobust Piccadilly on Saturday 29 August, 9.30-11.30am, featuring an exclusive joint menu (Desi French Toast with cardamom and jaggery, Mango Lassi Bircher, Halloumi & Shroom Tikka, Hara Bara Corn Sliders, plus a limited-edition Iced Dirty Chai).
Following the launch, two collaborative specials run at each venue until Sunday 13 September – Halloumi & Shrooms Tikka and Hara Bhara Corn Sliders at Bundobust, Desi French Toast and Mango Lassi Bircher at Federal – across sites in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.
From September, Pigeon runs monthly Paint & Sip sessions with PaintVine, starting 13 September. The venue sits within Manchester’s “Beermuda Triangle” alongside Track, Cloudwater, Balance and Sureshot, and offers Nell’s Pizza via click and collect.
Erst in Ancoats welcomes Josh Swinney of London’s The Plimsoll for a one-day kitchen takeover on Sunday 23 August, part of its Sunday Series inviting chefs from favourite restaurants for one-off collaborations. The two teams will serve a seven-course sharing menu at £60pp, including baked scallop with fermented chilli butter, lamb tartare with parmesan, and prawn curry fried pizza.
Erst holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and placed 37th in this year’s National Restaurant Awards.
Society is running a ‘Beer Passport’ throughout August to mark International Beer Day on 7 August, encouraging guests to work through six beer styles from its taps – lager, IPA, a local brewery collaboration, cider, cask ale and a wild card pour – collecting stamps as they go.
A completed passport earns a free pint and entry into a prize draw for a Society prize. The venue has 44 beers on tap and pairs the challenge with food from its five independent street food traders.
El Gato Negro on King Street has revamped its menu, adding new sharing plates alongside its established signature dishes. New additions include sea bream, pork neck skewers, roasted cauliflower, a sharing tomahawk steak, a mini charcuterie selection, chicken thighs, shellfish rice, and prawn and shellfish croquetas. The new menu is available now at the King Street site.
Can’t make it out to the Lakes? Fear not, Home by Simon Rogan has launched two new monthly menus for its nationwide home-delivery service: a sharing menu built around a centrepiece meat course from Lake District Farmers, and a six-course tasting menu offering a more restaurant-style progression, both led by chef Sam Nash. The sharing menu serves four from £180, sitting alongside the brand’s existing three-course menu (£55pp) and six-course tasting menu (£75pp, two people).
All dishes are prepared by Simon Rogan’s Lake District team using produce from Our Farm and arrive with reheating and plating instructions for diners to complete at home.
Hawksmoor has teamed up with YouTuber and burger critic Calfreezy (Callum Airey) to launch The Burgurr, a limited-edition bacon double cheeseburger built by Group Executive Chef Matt Brown to Airey’s own specifications. It comprises two dry-aged British beef patties, American cheese, smoked streaky bacon, white onion, signature burger sauce and a milk bun, priced at £20 alone or £25 with beef-dripping fries and peppercorn sauce.
The Black Friar in Salford and Horse & Jockey in Chorlton are both running Kids Eat Free throughout the school holidays this summer, with children’s options including hotdogs, chicken and halloumi wraps, sausage and mash, and cheese and tomato pizza. Both pubs, run by the same team, offer family-friendly outdoor space, with The Black Friar’s garden and Horse & Jockey sitting on the edge of Chorlton Green. All kids’ dishes are freshly prepared in-house.
Munch your way through two cities for the price of one with the Taste of Two Cities tour from Flavours of Manchester.
From £49.00
Stagger across three hundred years of Manchester’s drinking history in one of the city’s most fun-loving walking tours.
From £25.00
Manchester’s famous musical legacy comes to life in this walking tour around the city, which will take you from the 1960s to the present day.
From £25.00
Stockport Foodie Friday hosts the Northern heat of the British Street Food Awards on 23 August, with 20 traders competing for the National Final and People’s Champion vote.
Free entry
Join Craft Beer Tour Manchester for a journey through some of the cities best local breweries and artisanal beer serving bars. Discover the personality of Manchester’s beer through a diverse
From £45
Eat your way through the dairy based delights of Manchester, with the Manchester Cheese Crawl walking tour.
From £25
Take a journey through 300 years of pub and brewing history in Leeds, with a heritage Pub and brewery tour.
From £35.00
Step into the majestic Blackpool Tower Ballroom for an experience like no other. With stunning architecture, live music and treats galore, Afternoon Tea here is highly recommended.
From £60.00
Presenting the best walking tours in Manchester for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and those looking to scratch beneath the surface of the city.
Take me there
Food Sorcery is a popular cookery school now opening in the centre of Manchester after years of success in East Didsbury.
A fine-dining restaurant combining Japanese influences, with seasonal British produce.
Brasa is the latest project from Caroline Martins, serving up an inspired take on Brazilian barbecue feasts at Manchester’s Freight Island.
Offering a packed schedule of events and things to do, HOME Manchester is one of the city’s leading hubs for arts and culture.
Snazzy Manchester outpost of the globe-straddling Japanese-meets-Peruvian restaurant brand.
Longstanding Italian restaurant in the snazzy bit of Manchester.
Award-winning restaurant housed within Liverpool’s boutique Hope Street Hotel.
From post-industrial romance to experimental country, here's a hot new batch of weird gigs in small venues.
From intimate dramas to spectacular outdoor festivals, discover the North West performances worth adding to your diary.
Summer isn’t usually a high point in the exhibitions calendar, but Greater Manchester’s small galleries seem to have made a pact to change that this year.
Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.
There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.
Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.
