A new bar, called The Trading Route, is set to open next month, from the minds behind three of Greater Manchester’s best-loved and most established food and drink names.
The Northern Quarter’s long-standing bar and brunch spot Trof, plus local brewery Manchester Union, and Monton’s village wine shop Wandering Palate, are all collaborating on this very exciting new venture.
Inside The Trading Route, there’ll be cold beer and hot rotisserie chicken, plus a luxury larder of expertly-sourced goods.
Set to open in November at Goods Yard Street, just a few doors down from Caravan, it’ll be a 150-capacity space that’s open from dawn until dusk.
The Trading Route will act as a lagerhouse for Manchester Union, taking inspiration from the great beer halls of central Europe but serving local brews from their Ardwick-based brewery.
Pints will be poured with a full and frothy head, and served in custom-made Tübinger glasses. They want this to be known as The Home of The Foam.
There’ll also be a purpose-built rotisserie serving crisp whole- and half-chicken, as well as porchetta, carved fresh from the oven to order and served with pickles and dips.
The menu has been crafted by the Trof team – a Manchester institution – and will also showcase freshly-baked focaccia as well as small plates like slow-roasted potatoes served with chicken fat mayo, salsa verde, and pecorino), salads, and house-made sweets.
The Trading Route comes from Manchester Union, Trof, and Wandering Palate. Credit: SuppliedThe Trading Route is heading to Goods Yard Street. Credit; Supplied
Then heading across from Monton, Wandering Palate will look after the pantry portion of The Trading Route – expect some of the most sought-after cheeses and sundries you can pick up on the way home.
Jamie Scahill from Manchester Union said: “The Trading Route is an unofficial tap room for us, and it feels like this has been a long time coming.
“Working with our friends at Trof and Wandering Palate has been great, with our offerings and expertise perfectly complementing one another. We can’t wait for people to come down to experience our very own lagerhouse over a few pints this November.”
Matt Nellany from Trof added: “We’ve focused on bringing everything that people love about Trof to an exciting space in a new neighbourhood.
The Trading Route comes from Manchester Union, Trof, and Wandering Palate. Credit: Supplied
“The kitchen team have been perfecting a menu ideally suited to our purpose-made rotisserie ovens – think crispy chicken, slow-cooked porchetta, and some killer vegan options too, all designed to be shared.
“It’s going to be that perfect spot whether you’re grabbing breakfast, stopping in for lunch, or settling in for a proper evening session.”
And Will Evans from Wandering Palate said: “It’s brilliant to be bringing our wines, cheeses, and deli favourites to a new audience in the city centre. We’ve curated a selection of goods that we’re really proud of, and, of course, we’ll be there to help people discover something special to take home. It’s an exciting space, and we can’t wait for everyone to experience it.”
To celebrate its launch, The Trading Route will throw a day-long complimentary party, with free lager and chicken to the first mailing list subscribers who sign up HERE.
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.
Daisy Jackson -
16th October 2024 
