A new cafe bar with vibrant decor, colourful coffees, and cocktails served in glass slippers has opened in Manchester.
By day, On The Hush – which has opened doors on Church Street in the heart of the Northern Quarter – is a cute Instagrammable cafe that’s serving up some of the most indulgent brunches in the city centre, alongside colourful coffees, sweet treats, and more – but by night, it transforms into a quirky cocktail bar with live entertainment.
Its bright interior perfectly blends beautiful floral displays against graffiti covered walls to create a space that looks great from every angle.
The venue’s official invite-only launch is happening on Thursday 4 November.
On The Hush looks set to become one of Manchester’s most popular brunch venues, with a menu that has something for everyone, including plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, such as vegan pancakes with berries and salted caramel ice cream, brioche cinnamon and vanilla French toast, and the classic avocado on toast.
On The Hush looks set to become one of Manchester’s most popular brunch venues, with a menu that has something for everyone / Credit: Instagram (@onthehushmcr)
The stand-out of the iconic hot drink menu has to be the Unicorn Latte, which comes in a choice of colours – bright pink, lilac, blue, green, or vanilla – and is topped off with glitter and flakes of edible gold.
The cocktail menu is equally as mouth-watering, with twists on classic cocktails including a butterscotch cookie Old Fashioned, a salted caramel Espresso Martini, and a Pornstar Tikitini.
But if you’re looking for the ideal cocktail to share on your socials, then look no further than the Cinderella sharer – which combines gunpowder and rosehip pink gin, with triple sec, coconut, pink grapefruit, and grenadine to create an exquisite floral cocktail that’s served in a giant glass slipper.
The venue has also gone the extra mile to not only make sure it looks picture-perfect, but that the quality of food and drinks are up there with some of the best in Manchester.
If you’re looking for the ideal cocktail to share on your socials, then look no further than the Cinderella sharer / Credit: Instagram (@onthehushmcr)
Speaking on the opening of the new venue, David Faini – owner of On The Hush – said: “Our vision for On The Hush was to create a beautiful venue where guests can relax in the day over delicious food and hot drinks, but then it comes alive at night with high quality cocktails and great music.
“Ensuring that we not only have a fantastic looking venue, but also a great atmosphere and delicious food and drinks is paramount to us so we’ve recruited a really strong bar and kitchen team.
“We can’t wait for everyone to come and let us know what they think.”
___
On The Hush will be open on Wednesdays to Sundays, from 10am til late.
To celebrate the launch, On The Hush will be offering cocktails at 2-4-1 all day every day throughout November, and the bottomless brunches will be just £27 per person from 12-7pm.
To book, head over to On The Hush’s Instagram here.
Lively Irish pub Nancy Spains set to open in Manchester for the first time
Daisy Jackson
An Irish bar famed for its live music is heading up to Manchester for the first time, and is promising £2.50 pints to lure us in.
Nancy Spains will be venturing out of London for the first time promising to bring the ‘ultimate traditional Irish pub experience’ to the Northern Quarter.
If you were to ask what the hottest trend in hospitality is right now the answer would, apparently, be Guinness. We’re drowning in the stuff.
This latest opening is more about Murphy’s, another Irish stout, than Guinness (they actually won’t serve Guinness at all) but the craic will be much the same.
Nancy Spains is actually set to open almost directly opposite the aforementioned Salmon of Knowledge, taking over the former Corner Boy unit on Stevenson Square in the heart of Manchester.
To celebrate its opening, the pub will be serving its first 5000 pints of Murphy’s for just £2.50, so that it can show off the atmosphere that’s established it as ‘one of London’s favourite pubs’.
They’re promising an array of Irish whiskeys behind the bar, live music performances, and a lively late-night setting.
Nancy Spains was set up by three brothers who travelled all over their home county of rural Kerry researching Irish pubs, before launching two venues down in London.
They want it to balance a traditional pub with the vibrancy of the city.
Peter O’Halloran, co-founder of Nancy Spains commented, “We’re so excited to be launching in Manchester, bringing Nancy Spains to the heart of the Northern Quarter.
“After the success of our two venues in London, it was only right to bring Nancy Spains’ infectious spirit and Irish pride to Manchester. Slainte!”
Nancy Spains will open its first Manchester pub on Saturday 15 March at 21 Hilton Street.
Lucky Mama’s – The Italian restaurant serving pasta in a dough bowl and ‘pregnant’ pizzas
Daisy Jackson
Lucky Mama’s is a local sensation, thanks to its slightly whacky but delicious Italian creations like pasta served in a bowl made of pizza dough and its latest offering, a ‘pregnant’ pizza.
What on Earth is a pregnant pizza, you ask? Firstly we should stress this is a nickname we’ve bestowed upon the dish, rather than Lucky Mama’s chosen branding.
But essentially it’s a helping of fresh pasta that’s folded into the bubble crust of the pizza, like a half-calzone.
Lucky Mama’s started life when founders Mamadou Dhiam and Gaby Santos set up a trailer in their backyard in Eccles in the depths of lockdown.
But thanks to a formidably loyal following that’s spread the word of Lucky Mama’s far and wide, it now has two pretty pink restaurants in Greater Manchester.
Back in 2022, they threw open the doors to their Chorlton restaurant, before returning back to home turf for spot number two in Monton in 2024.
The recipes are fresh and pretty authentically Italian up until the last step, when they throw a curveball by loading their pasta into unconventional vessels.
‘Pregnant’ pizzas at Lucky Mama’sTraditional Roman pizzasLucky Mama’s pink restaurant in Chorlton
Their pasta pizza bowls are what they’re best known for and they fly out of the kitchen – this is where pizza dough is placed around a metal bowl before being baked in an oven.
Then it’s piled high with freshly made pasta, with popular flavours like cacio e pepe, mushroom alfredo, and rasta pasta.
Pasta is available in a regular ceramic bowl too.
You’ll find Lucky Mama’s at 565 Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton; and 217 Monton Road in Eccles.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd November 2021 
