The current Manchester ‘Chef of the Year’ is set to take over the kitchen at the much-loved city centre restaurant, MAYA, over in the Gay Village.
Shaun Moffat, formerly of Ancoats’ The Edinburgh Castle and Lamb of Tartary in the Northern Quarter, joined MAYA at the start of October and has been working up his new menu ahead of its full launch next month.
Promising to deliver elevated bistro favourites, super indulgent Sunday Roasts and hearty winter dishes just in time for the usual seasonal menu change, his appointment as head chef of the Canal Street spot is one of the most exciting bits of Manc foodie news we’ve heard in a while.
The South African chef spent nearly a decade and a half in London before moving to Manchester back in 2022 but has already garnered a great reputation in the local hospitality space.
Moffat’s culinary approach, which is always grounded just as much in seasonal ingredients as it is in bold flavours, will be on full display in both MAYA’s dedicated Bistro and Dining Room settings.
A spokesperson for the exclusive city centre eatery said of the announcement: “We are incredibly excited to welcome Shaun to MAYA. His passion for Modern British cuisine, combined with his commitment to showcasing the best local ingredients, is a perfect match for our vision.
They went on to add that “the menu will offer guests a unique dining experience that’s both comforting and sophisticated.”
All sounds good to us. Ironically, the move seems to be a straight swap as MAYA’s previous chef Gabe Lea, who helped earn them a spot on the Michelin guide, is now set to take his place over at Edinburgh Castle, meaning both restaurants will no doubt continue to pump out unreal food.
If his new menu is anything like the quality we’ve already seen from him, or indeed that we’ve seen from MAYA’s previous kitchen output, then we think it’s safe to say Manchester’s culinary scene is on to another winner.
You get a better glimpse of the restaurant itself down below:
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Press Images (supplied)
Eats
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 October 2024 
