There’s a ramen bar in Chorlton serving up authentic bowls for under a tenner and if you haven’t been already you seriously need to put it on your listof places to try in Manchester.
Called Shogun Ramen, it has been in situ since last autumn and has quickly garnered a reputation amongst suburban noodle fiends as the go-to spot for slurping down umami-rich broth, nori and gooey eggs until their hearts’ content.
Formerly known as chicken shop Peck n Yard, last year (after announcing an emotional farewell via social media) the team rebranded as Shogun, and the new ramen shop has been a hit for its authentic bowls ever since.
Genuinely some of the best ramen in Manchester (Image: The Manc Eats)
Considering that it’s bang in the middle of the suburbs, it’s something of a gem. Beyond the city centre, good ramen shops can often be tricky to find – especially at this sort of price.
It hasn’t always been so cheap but to help locals cope with the cost of living crisis, Shogun’s owner has decided to drop the prices of all of the classic ramen on the menu. Legend.
As a result, you can always be guaranteed change from a tenner, no matter which dish you order.
With a choice of six different bowls, the most expensive dishes are the Shogun and Ike no Tonkotsu ramen at £8.99 and £9.99, respectively.
We tried the signature Shogun tonkotsu ramen — made with barbecue pork belly, sweet savoury minced pork, kikurage mushrooms, half a nitamago egg and truffle oil — and the original tonkotsu, comprised of barbecue pork belly, kikurage mushrooms, spring onions and nitamago egg.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Other options, priced from £7.99, include the house Chikin ramen (6-hour chicken broth, chicken teriyaki, kikurage mushrooms, spring onions and half of nitamago egg), as well as a vegan ramen, made with vegan-based pork, miso and mushroom broth, pak choi, kikurage mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms and beansprouts.
There is also a child-friendly portion called the Kodomo ‘kids’ Ramen, available from £7 to anyone who wants it – child or not. Available with a choice of pork broth, chicken broth or vegan broth, this is a super simple bowl with just Nori seaweed and ramen noodles.
Extras can also be added to bowls, with prices starting from £1.20 for a nitamago egg and rising to a maximum of £4 for those wanting a double noodle portion.
Other extra choices include pak choi (£2), sweetcorn (£1.20) BBQ pork (£2.50), and vegan chicken (£2).
As you can see, they aren’t just doing some of the best ramen in Manchester; the team is also dabbling in hand-rolled sushi, with some gorgeous specimens on the menu, as well as keeping to their roots with some fried karaage chicken.
Crisped up to perfection, this was a stunning spot and it was absolutely packed out when we visited on a sunny Wednesday night.
Definitely check them out when you’re in Chorlton for a cut-price yet still unbelievably delicious bowl of wallet-friendly ramen. You can thank us later.
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 -
11th September 2023 
