fbpx
Connect with us
https://propermanchester.com.temp.link/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/secret-suppers-advert.jpg

Food & Drink

Parts of Manchester city centre could be turned into huge beer gardens

This would be amazing!

Avatar photo

Published

on

The council are looking into turning the streets and squares of Manchester into pedestrianised outdoor dining and drinking areas to kickstart the economy. 

Areas in the Northern Quarter, Gay Village and the newly pedestrianised stretch of Deansgate all could see outdoor dining and drinking options on the pavements and road to help bring hospitality businesses back on their feet.

We’re all wondering when we will be able to get a frosty pint again in reopened pubs, but the latest updates from the government suggest those with outdoor seating will be open first, with some reports saying they could potentially reopen as early as June 22nd.

In a bid to get Manchester city centre’s hospitality industry up and running, the council are looking into ways to get more businesses the outdoor spaces they will need to reopen. 

The council’s City Centre Chief has said a task force has been assembled to look into ways to bring together highways, licensing and planning officials to help businesses adapt after lockdown is lifted. 

Currently, establishments must have three types of permits to have seating and trade outside; planning permission to do so, a premises licence, and a tables and chairs licence.

The government is reportedly relaxing restrictions and giving local authorities more power with regards to restaurants, pubs and bars expanding their outside areas.

Communities Secretary Robert Jendrick has already said he is considering granting blanket permission for tables and chairs in pedestrianised areas.

Manchester is also working on adapting the tables and chairs license, including speeding up the process so more businesses can take advantage of the trade throughout summer.

Many factors have to align before these things can take place, the R rate needs to reduce, and pedestrian use, traffic flow and the interest of residents and general public safety all need to be addressed. 

Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, executive member for neighbourhoods, said: “The council is committed to doing everything within our power to support businesses and the economy of the city as we recover from the unprecedented impact of COVID-19.

“Its effects have been incredibly disruptive and we are under no illusion that recovery will be a challenging process.

“We have made it clear to the government that we need the regulatory power to help businesses get back to work in ways that are both safe but also profitable. Planning and licensing laws are there for a good reason – but it is clear that this is a time for pragmatism and flexibility.”

Quentin Dr / Unsplash

The government has yet to announce its guidelines for the reopening of the hospitality industry but like many, it is expected to look very different to what it did pre-lockdown.

Many pubs have created prototypes as to how they will operate, including Wetherspoons. Other reports have said steins will be used to reduce the contact between customers and staff. 

What do you think, should Manchester have more al fresco dining and drinking options to help all our independent restaurant and bars reopen? Let us know what you think in the Facebook comments. 

Food & Drink

Italiana Fifty Five’s new winter menu features pasta so fresh it’s made in front of you

So, so good!

Avatar photo

Published

on

Manchester's Finest Group

Italiana Fifty Five, the popular Italian spot with locations in the city centre and Didsbury, has launched a brand new winter menu and it’s a must-try for pasta fans.

They’re serious about fresh pasta, and in the front window of their Wilmslow Road restaurant you can see chefs prepare various types of pasta on traditional equipment.

This includes everything from rigatoni cylinders to squiggly ribbons of reginette.

Manchester’s Finest Group

New additions to the menu include a carbonara, made to the traditional recipe with egg and parmesan, as well as a fresh ravioli with spinach and sage.

You’ll also find an eight-hour cooked beef shin ragù with pappardelle, and an oven-baked vodka sauce dish, complete with crispy bits on top.

Other new additions to the menu include a cappellacci di burrata, served in a meaty Tuscan sauce, and a mushroom-heavy reginette dish.

Manchester’s Finest Group

There’s a couple of autumnal-leaning starters too, including bruschetta topped with stracciatella di bufala, and some Sicilian-style arancini too.

The new menu is available at all sites, however you’ll only find the fresh homemade pasta in the Didsbury branch. Get yourself booked in HERE.

Continue Reading

Food & Drink

The Italian spot doing 50% off their entire a la carte menu

Don’t miss out on this!

Avatar photo

Published

on

Manchester's Finest Group

Italiana Fifty Five have extended their August 50% off deal on their a la carte menu, so you can now grab a bargain until Sunday September 15th.

This means dishes like their trofie with pesto, lobster ravioli and their famous linguine pecorino, served flambéed at the table from a giant wheel of cheese are still half price.

The a la carte menu is available all day, every day, and takes in a breadth of Italian classics, antipasti and pasta dishes, pizza, cuts from the grill and desserts.

Manchester’s Finest Group

You’ll be able to kick off with dishes like mozzarella fritta, calamari and capesante gratinate – seared scallops finished with parmesan cheese under the grill.

It will also, of course, include perhaps its most famous dish – the linguine pecorino, which is flambéed tableside in a huge wheel of aged pecorino cheese.

For pushing the boat out, there’s also a sharing slab of chateaubriand steak, carved at the table and served with parmesan baby roast potatoes and a cherry tomato and parmesan salad.

Manchester’s Finest Group

Then you can finish up with homemade desserts, like a panna cotta, pistachio cannoli or a classic tiramisu.

The offer is available at all three Italiana Fifty Five sites – Liverpool Rd, Great Northern and Didsbury Village.

Get booked in HERE.

Continue Reading

Food & Drink

Popeyes opening new drive-thru in Manchester tomorrow with FREE chicken

It’s the second Popeyes to open in Manchester

Avatar photo

Published

on

Manchester's Finest Group

Louisiana-style fried chicken chain Popeyes has announced plans to open more restaurants this year, including a second site in Greater Manchester – which opens tomorrow, Friday April 26th.

The chain opened its 33rd UK site in Piccadilly Gardens in October last year, which proved an instant hit with visitors forming queues along the street and around the corner just to sample its classic Southern fried chicken.

Regular customers have learned to take early lunches to avoid the rush as it fills up with hungry people every day.

Manchester’s Finest Group

Now its new drive-thru, located on Bury New Road, is opening tomorrow, Friday April 26th, with both the doors and lanes officially opening from 11am.

Greater Manchester and the North West’s first drive-thru location, the restaurant will mark the brand’s 11th opening in 2024 and 47th site in the UK.

And of course, they’re giving away FREE chicken on opening day, with the first three people queuing both on-foot and in cars winning free Chicken Sandwiches for a whole year.

As well as that, the first 25 customers in both queues will also be rewarded with a free Chicken Sandwich and exclusive Popeyes merchandise.

Popeyes UK

You’ll have to get there early if you want to be one of the first three, however, as fans queued for more than 16 hours when the Piccadilly Gardens site opened last year.

And from Saturday, April 27th, you’ll also be able to grab breakfast at the new restaurant.

The ‘Brekkie’ menu features British Breakfast classics with a New Orleans twist, like the Big Cajun Breakfast Roll, Cajun Hash Browns and Nutella-topped buttermilk biscuits.

Breakfast will be available until 11am every day, and will even include a Bacon Roll Meal for just £1.99, which includes a Bacon Roll, a Hash Brown and a drink.

Popeyes UK

For those who have not yet had the pleasure of sampling Popeyes’ crunchy flavoursome goodness, its menu features classic offerings like the Chicken Sandwich, with signature 12-hour marinated chicken and original Southern biscuits and gravy. 

Additionally, a variety of side dishes like mac & cheese, mash with Cajun gravy, and original biscuits will be served, alongside milkshakes in various flavours including vanilla, chocolate, mocha, and specialities like Oreo, Lotus Biscoff, and strawberry cheesecake.

What’s more, fans across the UK can now start their day with a Cajun twist – with Popeyes Breakfast Menu now available nationwide.

Manchester’s Finest Group

Tom Crowley, Popeyes UK Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Following the success of our Manchester Piccadilly restaurant, we are thrilled to bring our newest Popeyes to Bury New Road, marking our third restaurant in the North West.

“Our new restaurant will also be a Drive-Thru, meaning customers in Greater Manchester can enjoy our Famous Louisiana Chicken by dining in, via the Drive Thru lane, or by ordering online for kerbside collection.

“Our most recent openings have been some of the biggest to date, not just in the UK but for Popeyes globally, and we’re confident that Bury New Road will be just as popular.”

If you fancy winning free Chicken Sandwiches for a year, but don’t have time to queue up outside the new restaurant, then keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram tomorrow, Friday April 26th, as we’re going to be running a competition where you can win just that!

T&Cs: Offer entitles the holder to 3 free Chicken Sandwiches per week for 52 weeks. The 12 months starts on receipt of the email containing the first 3 links. Available in any Popeyes Louisiana Chicken UK restaurant, only on our Classic or Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Non transferable, not valid in conjunction with any other offer. Offer is redeemable only when you order online for collection through our website. Over 18s only.

 

Continue Reading

Receive our latest news, events & unique stories

Privacy and data policy

We may earn a commission when you use one of our links to make a purchase

Copyright © 2024 Manchester's Finest Group