A handful of restaurants and bars in Manchester city centre have unveiled new Christmas menus and events happening over the festive season.
With the arrival of December merely a few days away, and the most wonderful time of the year right around the corner, plenty of the city’s best-loved hospitality venues are gearing up for Christmas and New Year by revealing seasonal food and drink menus and themed events to help get Mancunians in the festive spirit.
New Year’s burlesque shows, late-night Christmas parties, and new limited-time festive food and drinks offerings are just some of the things you can get stuck into at each of the four popular venues – which are all owned by the Northern Hospitality group – over the next month.
So, whether you’re looking for a quiet place for lunch / dinner, or a night to remember in the city centre, there’s sure to be something that takes your fancy.
Located on the bustling Stevenson Square, Quarter House is one of Manchester’s most laid-back restaurant bars that’s serving over 14 beers and ciders on draught, speciality cocktails, and hearty food all year round, cheffed up by one of the North West’s leading multi award-winning BBQ chefs.
But for this Christmas, the extensive food menu has some new festive additions.
In celebration of the season, a trio of turkey treats have been added to the menu – Turkey Fries, Turkey Tray, and Turkey Tacos – as well as the undeniable and indulgent menu stand-out, the ‘Santa’s Little Helper’ burger, which is an aged steak burger patty topped with double cheese, maple bacon, smoked Turkey, sausage and cranberry stuffing patty, Vimto BBQ sauce, sprout top slaw and a candy pigs in blanket pinwheel lollipop, served with fries and a pot of gravy.
You can find out more about Quarter House this Christmas here.
Hula
Stevenson Square
Hula MCR / Credit: Hula
Also sitting on Northern Quarter hub Stevenson Square, Hula – which is the original and best Tiki experience in Manchester – is known for transporting you to a 1950s-inspired tropical slice of paradise, with lots of hedonistic fun, exotic cocktails, and shake-your-booty dance beats that make for one of the best nights out you’ll have in the city centre.
It’s also the ultimate afterparty venue for the Christmas parties, and it’s open from 5pm until late everyday for those who don’t want the party to stop.
You can find out more about Hula this Christmas here.
The Fitzgerald
Stevenson Square
The Fitzgerald / Credit: The Fitzgerald
Yet another Stevenson Square gem, the “Northern Quarter’s atmospheric drinking den” The Fitzgerald will be hosting a number of events throughout the festive period, including the continuation of the ever-popular monthly comedy night on Thursday 16 December, with doors opening from 7:30pm and the show starting at 8pm.
And then, on New Year’s Eve, there will be a special Burlesque show by Bad Bunny Burlesque, with tickets from just £10 on Skiddle.
You can find out more about what’s happening at The Fitzgerald here.
Man With The Fish
High Street
Man With The Fish / Credit: Instagram (@manwiththefishmcr)
Newly-opened Man With The Fish – another laid-back Northern Quarter bar that’s situated on the bustling High Street – is the ideal place to hit up after a busy day of shopping, during your lunch hour, after work, or if you want to party the weekend away.
Upstairs in the venue is focused around beer, with 15 different lines and huge selection of bottles and cans, as well as an amazing cocktail list, and a good selection of wine, while downstairs is the basement club that’s open Friday and Saturday nights until 3am.
There’s also rooms available for private hire for any last-minute Christmas parties too.
You can find out more about Man With The Fish this Christmas here.
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Featured Image – The Fitzgerald / Man With The Fish
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Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour
Daisy Jackson
Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party.
This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season.
It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).
Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know.
The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’.
When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.
The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.
The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.
It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.
The House Party. Credit: Ikin YumThe production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham.
Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide.
The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Daisy Jackson
If you’re not a handy person, when something breaks, the temptation is often to abandon or bin it straight away.
But that’s just not how we’re gonna do it here in Greater Manchester any more, with the return of the annual Repair Week to help you learn valuable repair skills and save money at the same time.
Whether it’s tinkering with your bicycle, fixing up your small tech items, or having your furniture re-varnished and upcycled, there are so many places and people who are on a mission to help you fall back in love with your belongings.
There are even workshops to help you put flat-pack furniture together.
Taking place between 3 and 9 March, Repair Week will be the chance to learn skills, fix your stuff, gain repair confidence and find local fixers.
Events throughout the week (and beyond) will be hosted by community groups, businesses and plenty more.
You can sharpen knives, fix zips, and un-wobble chairs with a little hand from local repair heroes.
JillyGDesign Jewellery in Heaton Moor will fix up your sentimental and special jewellery items, while Rag Revival will help you turn unusable textiles into new creations with basic sewing skills.
There are repair cafes popping up all over Greater Manchester where you can take your belongings.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied
Repair Week will highlight schemes like the Manchester Library of Things, where you can borrow the tools and equipment you need for those repair jobs at home.
During the week you’ll also be able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the incredible Renew Hub, the UK’s biggest reuse hub, where donated items are brought back to life.
Similarly, you’ll be able to get inside the textile recycling centre run by homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton, where you can choose your own fabric from the scrap store and turn it into a very handy draught excluder to keep costs down and your heat in.
Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Repair Week will take place between 3 and 9 March, with workshops, events and resources to help you revive your belongings.
Emily Sergeant -
29th November 2021 
