This Friday marks National Katsu Curry Day and to celebrate the occasion, Tampopo is giving away a whopping 400 free curries to us Mancs.
We’ve suddenly just become bigger fans of Tampopo than we already were.
The Pan-Asian favourite franchise, which started here in our city nearly three decades ago, now boasts a total of four Greater Manchester sites and all of them will be participating in handing out free bowls of katsu curry at the end of the week.
We can’t think of many better ways to kick off the weekend than with a free curry, to be honest.
So what’s the deal? Well, it’s pretty simple: special popup ‘Katsu Curry Hubs’ will be stationed outside all of Tampopo’s locations in and around Manchester and free curries will be served up from 11am-1pm.
Just to warn you now, it’s strictly first come, first served and when they’re gone, they’re GONE, so you’re best making a beeline for your nearest Tampopo restaurant when in time to get in line.
100 curries will be given away at Albert Square, The Corn Exchange, The Trafford Centre Restaurant and The Trafford Centre Kiosk site too, meaning a total of 400 bowls of complimentary katsu curry are up for grabs, so you stand a very good chance of getting your hands on some free scran this Friday.
Better yet, the Tampopo has just had one their biggest menu updates ever; 70% of dishes are either brand new or refined to perfection – including the already much-loved katsu curry, so not only are getting it for free but it promises to taste better than ever.
The chain has always been committed to bringing the best of Far Eastern cuisine to Manchester even since it first opened up in 1997, and it remains just as diverse and dynamic as it is authentic.
The dish has evolved and tastes better than ever. (Credit: The Manc Eats/Supplied)
David Fox, co-founder of Tampopo, said: “Katsu Curry Day is the perfect occasion for us to give back to our amazing Tampopo community and to share one of most popular dishes – and a great way to welcome the Autumn.
“Our Katsu Curry has been honed to perfection over 27 years and we’re delighted to invite Manchester to come and celebrate with us.”
The katsu curry isn’t just a dish synonymous with Japanese cuisine but has quickly become a staple of comfort food here in the UK too. The crispy chicken, the steamed rice and that rich, savoury sauce – it’s just the best, and we have Tampopo to thank for being one of the first to bring it to Manchester.
It’s not the only freebie you can grab this week either…
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.
Danny Jones -
23rd September 2024 
