In case it wasn’t already abundantly obvious, Manchester is absolutely mint at food — but don’t just take our word for it, as the latest raft of food and drink trend predictions for 2024 from Restaurant Magazine has put us right up there too.
It’s fair to say Manchester has come a long way in the last decade in terms of our culinary exports, many of which have now seen our city cemented as one of the most exciting cities to eat out in the UK.
That’s one claim we’ll have to agree with, but it’s clear that we are now well truly putting ourselves on the global culinary map too.
In the recent article which outlines 11 food and drink trend predictions for the year ahead, Manchester as a whole has been highlighted with an expectation to break even more new ground.
Whilst we’ve come a long way from pub grub smothered in gravy and a simple chippy tea, the gastronomic boom won’t be turning a blind eye to our hearty northern dinner plates of yesteryear.
The magazine highlights how the city has “come of age” when it comes to ‘haute cuisine’, as well as some of the top talent set to open in the new year, including the highly anticipated launch of Skof.
Former executive chef of Simon Rogan’s three-Michelin-starred L’Enclume, creator Tom Barnes is set to bring the city’s second Michelin star with his debut solo project.
Hailing from the North West, Barnes understands the heartbeat of the region and Manchester, with a vision to create an unpretentious yet ambitious dining experience in the North.
Restaurant Mag iterated the head chef’s intentions, “Manchester is a buzzy city. We want to offer amazing food but we also want people to relax and have a laugh and not feel intimidated.”
They also eagerly mention the summer launch of Kurt Zdesar’s Chotto Matte, which underlines the cultural exchange between Japan and Peru in each dish, as well as Soho House located within the old Granada Studios in the heart of the city.
Essentially the equivalent of the Chanel show coming to town only in the fine dining world, this gives a subtle hint that the coveted culinary award could be heading somewhere in the city.
Our ever-evolving city already saw the likes of major players Higher Ground and Fenix settle in recently, so the magazine has all the more reason to suggest Manchester is a must-visit on the culinary map.
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.
Harry Quick -
15th January 2024 
