Eats

Gary Neville lines up Michelin star chef for his Stock Exchange Hotel restaurant

Great news for one of the city's best dining rooms.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 25th April 2024

Gary Neville has announced a new restaurant within his five-star Stock Exchange Hotel, which will open almost a year after the previous eatery announced its shock closure.

The magnificent dining room at the heart of the hotel was previously home to Tom Kerridge’s The Bull & Bear, which closed at the end of 2022.

It was then replaced by Stock Market Grill, a restaurant by the award-winning Schofield brothers (who operate officially the best bar in the UK) – but that was open for only a matter of months.

Thankfully, the Manchester United legend and property mogul now has grand plans for the Stock Exchange’s restaurant offering, roping in two-time Michelin star chef Niall Keating.

Niall will be launching Tender this summer, a luxury dining experience ‘named after the tender care put into crafting each dish’.

There’ll be gourmet food for everyday dining within the hotel’s historic dining room, which will undergo a renovation before Tender’s launch.

Its menu will offer weekday brasserie lunches, a la carte dinners, afternoon teas, Sunday roasts, a chef’s table and a special tasting menu.

The Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester's most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc Group
The Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc Group
The Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester's most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc Group
The Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc Group

Niall Keating at just 33 years old has already earned two Michelin stars, making him one of the youngest two-time Michelin star chefs in the UK.

His CV has included stints in kitchens at the best restaurants in the world, including Restaurant Sat Bains and Benu in San Francisco (a three Michelin-star spot).

He then headed to The Dining Room at Whatley Manor Hotel, where he earned his first star in 2017 and a second in 2019, as well as a prestigious Green Star in 2021 which recognises sustainability practices.

Speaking about today’s announcement, Gary Neville, owner of Stock Exchange Hotel, said: “We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with Niall Keating for Tender and bringing his culinary expertise to the hotel.

“His vision to create versatile and accessible dining options is exactly what we’ve been looking for, to allow everyone visiting Tender to find the right experience for them.”

Niall Keating added: “From when I first walked through the doors of the hotel into the dining room, I knew this was the place for me and that we could create something really special.

“I immediately felt connected to both Gary and General Manager, Tracy Harrison, and I knew what I wanted to create at the hotel and restaurant. I want a space that feels vibrant, warm and energetic, that brings to life the history of the stock exchange roots of the hotel, while providing an upscale and comfortable brasserie dining experience.

“In addition to the main dining room, we will also be opening ‘The Bank’, which is a beautiful private space for up to 12 guests, where we will be providing a truly exceptional dining experience.”

Gary added: “We will also shortly be announcing a series of events and live music experiences, including a weekly music plan, within Tender, that will really bring the venue to life, making it the heart of Stock Exchange Hotel.”

Tender restaurant at the Stock Exchange Hotel will officially open on 5 June.

Its opening hours will be Wednesday to Saturday, midday to 10pm, and Sundays midday to 7.30pm.

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Featured image: Supplied

Eats

Lively Irish pub Nancy Spains set to open in Manchester for the first time

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Lively Irish pub Nancy Spains set to open in Manchester for the first time

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.

In the last year alone we’ve had Mother Mary’s, the Salmon of Knowledge, and O’Connell’s open in the city centre, plus that huge expansion for the legendary Mulligans.

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’.

@nancyspains

Live music all day Shoreditch Saturdays are amazing, but can you imagine then once we get Manchester going? #murphys #nancys #irishpub #fyp

♬ original sound – Nancy Spains

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.

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Featured image: Supplied

Eats

Lucky Mama’s – The Italian restaurant serving pasta in a dough bowl and ‘pregnant’ pizzas

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Lucky Mama's in Chorlton

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's
‘Pregnant’ pizzas at Lucky Mama’s
Traditional Roman pizzas
Traditional Roman pizzas
Lucky Mama's pink restaurant in Chorlton
Lucky 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.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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