Salt & Pepper has announced that it will be reopening to once again serve the people of Manchester in early July.
Having temporarily shut up shop back in March due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the popular pop-up restaurant announced it is putting “extra precautions” in place and would be returning at the start of next month.
Launched by “Chinese kids born and bred in Manchester”, Salt & Pepper is undoubtedly a firm-favourite on the Manchester foodie scene and a staple of the Arndale Food Market.
Announcing the exciting news on social media over the weekend, Salt & Pepper said: “Great news…WE ARE REOPENING EARLY JULY”.
“We’re taking some extra precautions to make sure all of our staff and our customers will be as safe as possible.”
Salt & Pepper, ran by a brother and sister duo who thrive on “providing modern twists old family recipes” and “serving up good tasty dishes that will leave you satisfied and happy”, is unique in how it pushes one particular takeaway dish right to the forefront of its menu and gives every meal its own superbly-seasoned, spicy spin.
Whether you go for wings, chips or beef or tofu, the results are invariably incredible.
Salt & Pepper also seems to be a favourite with our audience here at The Manc.
After putting the question of ‘which local/independent restaurant do you miss the most?’ to our audience as part of our ‘The Manc Asks’ series, Salt & Pepper overwhelmingly came out on top.
There’s always queues clogging up the walkways in Arndale Food Market at Salt & Pepper five days a week, so it should perhaps come as no surprise that Mancs are pining for their fix after a nearly four months of malnourishment.
At present, Salt & Pepper have not confirmed a set date for reopening, nor have further details been released as to how it will run operationally, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for when this is announced
To keep up to date with Salt & Pepper Manchester and to be the first to hear of reopening plans, you can find them on Facebook and Instagram.
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.
Emily Sergeant -
15th June 2020 
