Doner kebabs and Fallowfield’s students go together like peas and carrots. So it makes absolute sense that a new gourmet doner kebab spot is set to open in Fallowfield, taking over one of the area’s most iconic buildings.
Called German Doner Kebab, it is set to move into the former home of long-time student haunt Revolution, which closed its Wilmslow road site in February 2020.
Founded in Berlin in 1989, GDK already has two established sites in Oldham and Stockport.
Serving up some of the most lauded German doner kebabs in the takeaway world, lean meats are imported directly from Berlin to guarantee gourmet quality across the board.
As is to be expected, the star menu item has to be the original german doner kebab – but look beyond that and you’ll find there’s a whole host of doner-themed dishes to choose from.
GDK
From doner spring rolls to doner quesadilla, doner durum wrap and doner lahmacun (a round, thin piece of dough topped with minced meat, minced vegetables, herbs and spices), the menu’s pretty varied.
In true Fallowfield takeaway style, it also features a doner burger, a doner box with fries, and another with chips and cheese.
It’s also pretty healthy, as far as doner dinners go anyway. GDK use virtually no preservatives or additives in their preparation, setting them apart from other operators.
GDK also cater to vegetarians, with a vegetarian kebab and vegetarian burger option also on the menu.
The fast-growing gourmet kebab brand took on 12 new UK sites in 2020, and now plans to open 47 more UK sites this year as part of a rapid expansion.
Due to open mid-July. the restaurant will have space for diners inside and out as well as operating a takeaway and delivery service to the surrounding area.
Food & Drink
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 -
28th April 2021 
