The Clink is a very extraordinary restaurant in its own right, serving impeccable dishes in a beautiful setting.
But what makes it even more extraordinary is that it stands in the grounds of HMP Styal – an active women’s prison in Cheshire – and is staffed by inmates.
Everything you eat is cooked and served by these students in training, helping them to get a foot in the door of the hospitality industry when their sentence ends.
By the time they finish their shifts at The Clink, they’ll have worked towards their City & Guilds NVQs in Food and Beverage Service, Professional Cookery and Food Hygiene.
It is, as the charity says, ‘their first steps towards a new life’.
So this spot definitely does good for the women here at HMP Styal – but it is also an absolute treat for members of the public too, regardless of its wholesome roots.
The Clink is based inside a converted chapel in a beautiful and leafy corner of Cheshire, with the National Trust’s Quarry Bank just on the doorstep.
Inside, beneath a towering wooden ceiling and colourful stained glass windows, the restaurant itself boasts a simple, historic grandeur.
Inside The Clink restaurant in Styal. Credit: The Manc Group
There are parquet floors underfoot and you can even still see the remains of the chapel’s organ, now standing proudly above the doorway into the kitchen.
The leather upholstery and boardroom tables inside have all been made by prisoners at HMP Frankland.
During the day the menu breaks down into all-day brunch dishes, small plates and hearty larger ones.
For brunches that includes a delightfully spicy shakshuka served with a flatbread, and one of the hand-on-heart best French toasts I’ve found, laced with a smattering of cinnamon and a warming winter berry compote.
Small plates come in the form of pork belly on a bed of red chilli jam and Asian slaw; and a highly-technical plate of beetroot served roasted, in gel form, and pickled, alongside little towers of goats cheese mousse and candied walnuts.
Beetroot and goats cheese, and pork belly small plates. Credit: The Manc GroupA spicy shakshuka on The Clink brunch menu. Credit: The Manc GroupFrench toast. Credit: The Manc Group
There are special evening sittings at The Clink too, where you can feast on four exceptional courses for just £40.
That menu currently includes a slow-cooked beef that falls apart as soon as it so-much as looks at a knife and fork, and a fillet of roast cod perched atop spinach puree and roasted leeks, topped with a bacon crumb.
And then come desserts that wouldn’t look out of place in a Michelin-level restaurant – all the flavours of the beloved Manchester tart, this time reassembled and elevated with raspberry gel, chocolate crumb, a coconut tuile, and coconut ice cream.
A deconstructed Manchester tart. Credit: The Manc GroupSlow-cooked beef. Credit: The Manc Group
There’s another British classic in Eton Mess, which has barely an inkling of ‘mess’ to it, a prettily-presented plate of meringue, fresh fruit and macerated berries.
The Clink consistently sits towards the top of the best restaurants in Cheshire. On TripAdvisor, it currently ranks first in Wilmslow and fourth in all of Cheshire overall.
After one brief lunchtime visit, it’s easy to see why.
And that pudding really does taste better knowing how much good work is going on behind the scenes.
To find out more, make a donation, or book your table at The Clink, head here.
They’re also hosting a charity night with Sacha Lord soon, who’ll be talking all about his life working in Manchester’s nightlife industry while guests tuck into a three-course dinner.
Review | Snow Patrol roll back the years at Co-op Live for a mini-Manc’s first gig
Danny Jones
This weekend we enjoyed a new kind of live music experience: rediscovering the joy of listening to a childhood favourite by watching it through the eyes of the next generation – that was how we witnessed a fully-fledged arena return to Manchester for Snow Patrol at Co-op Live.
And it was special for lots of reasons.
Taking a little one to their first gig is something you’ll never forget and sharing a new-found connection with a band that you loved when you were their age is one of those magical things about music that we’re eternally grateful for.
You might assume the Snow Patrol crowd one skews a little older for the most part but we were pleased to see there were more than a few kids and teenagers donning tour tees, looking wide-eyed at the sheer size of the Co-op Live arena, and singing the words back better than Gary Lightbody at times.
Sees the sign: ‘Race you there!’ (Credit: Audio North)
Yes, the Belfast-born frontman made a few mistakes on the night, but it did add a rather laid-back quality to what many acts might have found a daunting performance: playing a sell-out night to around 23,500 fans inside the enormous state-of-the-art venue.
But, obviously, there wasn’t even a whiff of nerves from these lads.
You don’t get to have been around for this long and become as successful as they are without being able to relax on stage and lean into those idiosyncratic perfections that feel more like private moments shared between the artist and the crowd.
The young lad sat watching it with us certainly got a kick out of it and though we might not have been able to cover his ears in time to censor some light but ever-charming swear words (it always sounds better in Irish, don’t you think?), it made for some nice banter between him and the crowd.
Big props must go to Johnny McDaid on the keys too, who besides having written for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Biffy Clyro and countless others over the years, also managed to impress by playing the majority of this entire tour after having trapped his hand in a train door. OUCH.
Credit: The Manc Group
Not only was that little interlude up there with one of the most applause-worthy parts of the entire show, but we were always pretty blown away by what we saw, as we all as what we heard.
Be it watching a digital tree come to life, shed its leaves and then fall as petal confetti, two sheer semi-opaque paper-thin screens swirl to create the album cover art for their latest album, or kicking the gig off with ‘Take Back The City’ as a multicoloured skyline appeared behind them, it was all pretty incredible.
We even got to hear a personal favourite of ours, ‘Set Fire To The Third Bar’, complete with a virtual performance from the voice that truly makes the song: Martha Wainwright.
It was in moments like this when we turned to see a 10-year-old’s face not quite sure of what it was seeing but an open-mouthed expression confirming they were finding it as stunning as we were.
We thoroughly enjoyed going through the back catalogue and working our way right up to plenty of the songs from The Forest Is The Path – which Gary himself firmly believes is their best work yet when we interviewed him – but it was as visually stunning as it was to the gorgeous sonically.
Both proved to be a brilliant way to see the contemporary rock, indie and alternative veterans, but there’s something about giving them a stage as big as this that reminds you of just how much they deserve it.
Up there with one of the prettiest gig snapshots in our memory.Not quite a hologram but very cool nonetheless.The production levels are always top-tier at Co-op Live but the Snow Patrol set was much more impressive than we expected.
Last but not least, thanks to Co-op Live not just for having but for creating a little boy’s memory that he’ll never forget.
Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Daisy Jackson -
3rd October 2024 
