Broadway Diner, staffed by singing waiters, has confirmed its opening date in Manchester.
The new restaurant comes from the team behind another infamous Manchester diner where the staff is paid to be rude to you (yes, we’re talking about Karen’s).
This time around, though, instead of the waitstaff bullying and jeering, fans of a good singalong will be treated to live performances at their table by their servers.
At various points throughout the meal, waitstaff will break into ‘harmonious renditions’ of iconic Broadway hits – with songs taken from hit shows including Oliver!, Rent, Lion King, Hamilton, Cats, and more.
The new musical diner, which is set to open in the Trafford Centre, will also host performances from local artists in a bid to give back to the local community and offer a platform for up-and-coming homegrown talent.
An announcement about the Broadway Diner reads: “Your attentive waitstaff, who are not just skilled servers but also talented singers, will take your food and drink choices.
“But this is where the magic happens – at various points throughout the meal, the waitstaff will break into harmonious renditions of iconic Broadway hits.
“Imagine placing your choices to the tune of Food, Glorious Food from Oliver!, or receiving your dessert accompanied by the harmonies of Seasons of Love from Rent.
Image: Broadway Diner
Image: Broadway Diner
“Each sitting produces magic from different iconic Broadway productions, allowing you to immerse yourself in the worlds of Cats, The Lion King, Hamilton, and more.
“The restaurant also hosts live performances from local artists, providing a platform for up-and-coming talent to shine on a miniaturised Broadway stage.”
Food-wise, judging from the Brisbane menu, in true American style Broadway Diner will be dishing up a host of dirty burgers, saucy chicken wings, and loaded fries alongside the likes of cocktails, ice cream floats and sundaes.
Broadway Diner will open at the Trafford Centre on 22 October.
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.
Georgina Pellant -
1st June 2023 
