Food & Drink
Petition to extend Eat Out to Help Out scheme to September has been launched
Good idea?
The Eat Out to Help Out scheme has proved very popular, both with customers and most venues who took part in the offer.
Sadly, it’s set to end next Monday, August 31st, meaning after today there’s only one more day to take advantage of some bargain food and drink.
It’s been estimated that participating establishments have dished out more than 35 million meals since it was launched on August 3rd, from nearly 50,000 different restaurants, bars and cafes.
Mowgli Street Food/Facebook
In case you are unfamiliar with the scheme, it has been available from Mon-Weds throughout August and meant that you could get 50% off your food and soft drink at participating venues, up to a maximum of £10 per head.
According to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the 35 million figure ‘is equivalent to over half of the UK taking part’, and he now faces calls to extend the scheme, in a bid to help businesses survive.
A petition online has gained more than 5,500 signatures at the time of writing, and is asking the government to extend the scheme until September 30th.
The petition reads: “Extend the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme to September to give restaurants and cafes financial stability prior to a potential second wave of COVID-19 causing local/national lockdowns.
“The government have the power and the responsibility to ensure people are not losing their jobs due to businesses having a weak financial stability.”
It needs 10,000 signatures to get a response from the government, and 100,000 for it to be debated in Parliament.
Finest Media
Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UKHospitality, told the Mirror: “The scheme has been a huge success for the sector. Our members have been reporting a very-welcome boost in trade when it was needed most.
“The scheme has not just benefited businesses commercially, it appears to have really boosted consumer confidence as well, which is just as important.
“Both of those are very strong arguments for an extension of the scheme.
“It would keep customers excited about going out and give businesses the support they still need. Hospitality sector is still fragile and faces other challenges, but prolonging the Eat Out scheme could help businesses back to stability and enable them to safeguard jobs and livelihoods.”
As the scheme is set to wind down on August 31st, new figures have revealed that pub and restaurant workers are most at risk from redundancy, with 14 million of them furloughed at the start of lockdown.
You can sign the petition here.
Food & Drink
Popular Italian launches new menu with fresh cheesy pesto pasta and king prawns
If you’re in search of an authentic Italian dining experience in Manchester, look no further than Italiana Fifty Five
A popular Italian restaurant in Manchester has launched a new A La Carte menu.
Italiana Fifty Five has added some appetising new dishes to its menu to expand its offering this spring.
Diners can sample the newly added seasonal items and its authentic classic Italian favourites at all three of its Manchester sites – at the Great Northern, Liverpool Road and Didsbury.
The new A La Carte dishes include Gamberoni Grigliata which is tiger prawns cooked in garlic, butter, lemon and fresh chilli and served with toasted altamura bread for £13.95.
Also new to the menu is the Zoupa which is a hearty seafood soup with king scallops, king prawns, and muscles for £13.95.
Brand new appetisers include the Insalata Tricolore with avocado, beef tomato and buffalo mozzarella for £9.50, and the Bruschetta Speciale made with toasted sourdough bread and buffalo mozzarella spread, roasted heritage cherry tomatoes, garlic, onion, fresh basil and pesto for £9.75.
And if that’s not enough to entice you, diners can also tuck in to the new risotto and pasta dishes, including Risotto Zafferano which is a saffron risotto with parsley, garlic, onion and pecorino cheese for £14.95.
And the Trofie ala Pesto made with trofie pasta in homemade pesto sauce, finished with buffalo mozzarella for £14.95.
Complete your visit on a sweet note and indulge in one of Italiana Fifty Five’s best-loved desserts such as the Tiramisu or panna cotta.
To find out more or book a table at Italiana Fifty Five, click HERE.
Food & Drink
Restaurant famed for ‘cheese wheel pasta’ and ‘towering lasagnas’ looking to come to Manchester
A taste of la dolce vita could be coming to Manchester
The ‘OTT’ group famous for its pasta served in a wheel of cheese and 10-level lasagnas is reportedly looking to open a new Italian restaurant in Manchester city centre.
French-based Big Mamma Group, which owns over-the-top Italian restaurants in London – Gloria, Carlotta, Jacuzzi, Ave Mario and Circolo Popolare – will open a new venue in Gary Neville’s under-construction St Michael’s development off Deansgate.
Its restaurants are known for their flamboyant, retro interiors, resembling vintage maximalism Italian eateries, as well as US-style red sauce joints.
The regularly changing menus feature a variety of Italian classics, including fettuccine alfredo al tartufo, spaghetti with meatballs, a famous ’10 level’ lasagne and carbonara served in a huge cheese wheel.
The Manchester restaurant will be the first UK venue to be located outside of London and will – sit alongside the also announced Japanese-Peruvian restaurant Chotto Matte, also to be built at St Michael’s.
The move follows a host of other operators in the capital choosing to open new sites in Manchester.
Soon to arrive in the city will be the likes of Caravan, Flat Iron, Soho House and Blacklock.
Big Mamma – which was founded in 2013 by French entrepreneurs Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux – has more than 20 restaurants across Europe including Paris, Monaco, Milan, Madrid and Berlin.
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Food & Drink
High-end Japanese restaurant MUSU offering 30% off in March
Take advantage of vibrant Japanese dining experience
High-end Japanese restaurant MUSU is offering 30% off in March for customers who sign up to its new free rewards programme.
The contemporary Japanese eatery, nestled in the heart of the city centre on Bridge Street, is launching its own membership rewards programme.
The scheme is free to join and will give members 30% off their food bill throughout March upon signing up.
Rewards customers can enjoy discounted prices on menus including the Omakase – the theatrical, educational sushi experience which is served individually to diners at the restaurant’s six–seat omakase counter.
This also includes the full Land of the Rising Sun tasting menus, which take in a range of cooking styles from all over Japan, devised by chef-patron Mike Shaw.
Then from April, members of the programme will be able to take advantage of a series of other rewards, including 30% off any food bill when dining at lunch time, 10% off when dining at dinner on any menu, and a 10% discount on private hire and private dining.
The restaurant has a closed-off area for its private dining experience for guests to enjoy, which is regularly used by celebrities and food critics alike.
On top of this, members celebrating their birthdays at MUSU will receive a complimentary drink, and every reward programme member will be entered into a monthly prize draw to win a 12-course Land of the Rising Sun experience, complete with wine pairings.
You can get early access to the restaurant’s special events, like its live tuna cutting experience, where a whole bluefin tuna is carved in front of diners, while its expert sushi chefs talk you through the provenance of the fish and the skills displayed in this ancient craft.
You can sign up to MUSU’s free rewards scheme, HERE.
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