A food hall in Manchester has been named as the best in the UK for its ‘exceptional’ food.

Mackie Mayor, based in the Northern Quarter, beat competition from London, Liverpool and Sheffield as it was voted best in the whole of the UK. Two other Greater Manchester food halls also made it to the top 10; Altrincham Market House and Society food hall, coming in fourth and eighth respectively.

Mackie Mayor scooped the top spot and was praised for the ‘exceptional’ food from its many food and drink operators, while second place went to Italian-inspired concept Eataly in London.

The news was announced by global travel site Big 7 Travel and hospitality specialists Enjoy Travel, who teamed up to find the best food halls in the UK. Venues were ranked on several factors including range of cuisines, selection of vendors, unique and special events and overall atmosphere.

Mackie Mayor food hall is located inside an 1858 Grade II-listed market building that was once Smithfield Market Hall. The site reopened as Mackie Mayor following a huge refurbishment in 2017.

The Swan Street plot was given a total revamp by the same team behind Altrincham Market — led by Nick Johnson — after lying empty for years. The team behind both food halls also run the Picturedrome food hall in Macclesfield.

Featuring a range of food and drink operators, all under its huge glass roof, Mackie Mayor holds the capacity for almost 500 people. The current line-up of vendors includes Tender Cow, Eagle Street Coffee, Honest Crust, Pico’s, New Wave Ramen, Mumma’s, Chilli B and BlackJack Brewtap.

Taking top position above Eataly in London and Cutlery Works in Sheffield, the description for Mackie Mayor said it was ‘crammed full of top-notch food and drink vendors’ and one of Manchester’s ‘most popular spots’.

It added: “Honest Crust serves exceptional seasonal sourdough pizzas, FIN Fish Bar is beloved for its sustainable day-boat fish cooked whole over a chargrill and Baohouse serves up the steamiest little Taiwanese buns. At Tender Cow, punters can tuck into lesser-known cuts of beef from some of the best producers and farms in Britain. Groups of 10 or more people can book a table too.”

The other Manchester food hall making the top ten was Society, located in the long-vacated bar site next to Bridgewater Hall on Barbirolli Square, serving up a range of street food, craft beers and cocktails.

Current traders at the food hall include Chaat Cart, Yoki Social Table and Vocation brewery.

A Hong Kong food and crafts festival is coming to the award-winning Bury Market this month.

The event will feature over 30 stalls dedicated to the region’s cuisine and crafts taking place from Friday 17th – Saturday 18th March. Greater Manchester’s favourite market will host over 30 stalls serving traditional Hong Kong cuisine and handicrafts for visitors to immerse themselves in its culture. 

The two-day market – named So Hong Kong – is not only a celebration of Greater Manchester’s Hong Kong community, but an introduction to the region’s food, which includes homegrown Cantonese cooking as well as Japanese, Korean and other South Asian dishes. 

Hong Kong cuisine is characterised by rice dishes, roasted meats, soups and dim sum, amongst others — all of which will be available to sample in Bury next week. Cammie Liu, owner of Moliuliu’s Store in Bury Market and one of the organisers behind the event, said: “The main purpose of the market is to introduce Hong Kong street food to the local people, as I believe food can connect people from different cultures.

“It will make use of the empty stalls, attract more young people to explore the lovely Bury Market, and also allow Hong Kong people to have the chance to set up their businesses.”

Already confirmed for the event are contestants from Bake Off: The Professionals 2022, A Little Sweet, a Sale-based bakery and the brainchild of Jeffrey Koo Ka Chun — who made his name in the five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

One of Koo’s staples is the Red Bean Bun, a popular Japanese steamed bun featuring an azuki bean paste filling, said to taste sweet and earthy. Another business joining A Little Sweet is Pan.dora Meal Box, a popular Bury restaurant bringing Hainanese chicken rice, Cantonese thin pancakes, peanuts mochi, rice balls and more to their stall next week.

Alongside these traders, there’ll also be bubble tea from Shining Rainbow Dream Tea & Snacks Hong Kong hot pots from Ardwick’s Fat Tat, traditional Asian teas from Bang Bang Brands and Yunnan rice noodles from Derek Leung.

And it’s not just taste buds that will be satisfied next week, as So Hong Kong is also inviting a number of traders offering Hong Kong arts and crafts, with everything from handmade jade stone accessories, stationary, pearl jewellery, handcrafted slippers, candles and aromatherapy products available to browse.   

The festival has been organised in collaboration with Hong Kong March and Moliuliu’s Store, a Hong Kong grocery store based in the market. It’s part of a month-long, UK-wide festival promoting, celebrating and introducing Hong Kong culture to different communities, with events taking place across 16 cities exploring everything from film and music to history, food and more.  

If successful, the organisers behind the food market are hoping to make it a permanent fixture every three months. Visitors would be able to enjoy around 30 businesses offering a taste of Hong Kong’s very best street food throughout the year, alongside craft pop-ups and Bury Market’s beloved resident traders. 

One of the North West’s most notable last standing authentic markets, with everything from butchers to fishmongers, fruit and vegetable stalls, haberdashery and DVD collectors, Bury Market has a special place in the heart of its local community.

Voted Best Market In Britain, the indoor and outdoor market hall is a destination for shoppers wanting to step back in time to the packed out markets of 1960s Britain. 

So Hong Kong will take place from 9am–4.30pm on Friday 17th March and 9am–5pm on Saturday 18th March. The event is free to attend. 

Canvas Social are offering an irresistible price for steak and chips at its swanky new restaurant space.

Canvas on Oxford Road is fast becoming one of the hottest self-contained event spaces in the city, with a menu to make your mouth water — all for a reasonable price. This stylish new venue opened its doors last summer in the city’s new fashionable district at Circle Square.

It’s already known for its vibrant entertainment held across several floors and its spacious, minimalist industrial style. But what you might not know so much about this cool hangout is the restaurant upstairs, now called Canvas Social after having an overhaul.

This airy dining space has a classy feel and a more relaxed vibe to it, where you can chill amongst the art as you slump into the soft leather chairs. The new kitchen team at Canvas Social is Ellie Grimshaw and Kyle Wilson, the same people behind the nearby pop-up shipping container village, Hatch.

After their recent venture, Block Steak Shop, the pair have now moved into this new space at Canvas Social serving French-style steak frites alongside its North American cousin, the Philly cheesesteak sandwich, and somewhere in between the two cuisines, the LA-born French dip sandwich. 

If those work lunchtime salads just haven’t offered you enough substance and you’re looking for a treat involving some stodgy goodness, the steaks here will definitely hit the spot. While they’re not your special occasion fanfare steaks — like the kind you’ll find at Hawksmoor — they are juicy and come in a variety of servings to please both your palette and stomach.

Meat is locally reared, grass fed, free range and dry aged sourced from top Manchester butchers Littlewoods. A perfectly cooked bavette (£12.50) or flat iron steak (£10.50) are served with your choice of sauce (they do a creamy peppercorn) and a big rustling pile of skinny rosemary and sea salt fries. It’s a cracking midweek dinner for just over a tenner. 

The drinks menu has had an overhaul too and if you’re watching the pennies, you’ll like the price of the cocktails. For £4.50 you can get any cocktail, including a Pornstar Martini, and the wine list is easy on the wallet too.

An Entreflores Crianza D.O.C Rioja to accompany your bavette steak and chips costs £4.50 and is the most expensive glass of wine on the menu. The house red and white at £12 a bottle is an absolute steal bringing a steak dinner for two with a bottle of wine to well under £40 — get in!

If you’re hungover or wanting to line your stomach before going to a gig downstairs, you might want to go for the extra carbs that a Philly cheesesteak sarnie provides. Seared steak is stuffed into a sub roll with fried peppers, onions and melted mozzarella cheese. It’s also served alongside those house fries seasoned with rosemary salt and is even cheaper at £10 exactly. The French dip is the same price and served with a pot of beef jus (gravy to you and me) for dunking.

If you aren’t into steak, there’s also a fried buttermilk chicken ciabatta with buffalo sauce and melted mozzarella. Or you can get stuck into some loaded beef dripping fries topped with either hoisin duck or chorizo.

Veggies can get in on the action too, replacing the steak with meaty Portobello mushrooms. And if that’s not enough, sides include buttery, spiced corn ribs and deep-fried dauphinoise potatoes.

Canvas Social is open Tuesday-Sunday with food served from midday-9pm. The bar is open until midnight. Find out what’s on or book a table at the Canvas website.