Manchester Christmas Markets are finally OPEN, officially marking the start of the festive season in the city centre. The streets are lined with Alpine huts selling an array of food, drink and gifts, and of course, we’ve been down to scout out some of the best, most unusual and Instagrammable food available in 2022. I know, it’s a hard job, but someone has to do it!
The annual extravaganza is set out across several zones at Market Street, New Cathedral Street, Exchange Square, St Ann's Square, Cathedral Gardens and King Street, with a full list of traders available to view here.
Piccadilly Gardens will be a hub of festivities with bars, traders and more, generally open from 10am until 8pm Monday to Sunday. Bars serving alcohol will be open from 11am to 9pm.
READ MORE: How much are sausages, beer and gluhwein at Manchester Christmas Markets 2022?
We’ve been taking a look at the newest, quirkiest and most unusual food on offer at the Manchester Christmas markets, and discovered some cracking finds, including vegan sausages served in rainbow buns, chocolate dumplings, Christmas dinner trays and battered pigs in blankets.
We visited every market zone to see what we could find, and enjoyed treats like scrambled pancakes and jam-packed bagels - it’s safe to say you won’t be short of options when you visit.
It’s worth noting that some stalls are card only while others are cash only, so make sure you come with both - and make sure you come HUNGRY. And if you’ve already made a trip to the markets, let us know your best foodie finds in the comments.
Crunch Korean half and half dog
Back for another year at Manchester Christmas Markets is Crunch, who’s 'potato half and half' was a real hit with visitors in 2021. This year, they're back at Piccadilly’s Winter Gardens and are offering up some unusual sweet and salty delights.
We tried their 'potato half and half' (£6.50) which is half potato and half sausage corn dog. The fried hot dogs are then rolled in sugar before being drizzled with your condiments of choice, and it certainly makes for a unique dining experience.
Meanwhile, their original half and half, which is half gooey, stringy cheese, and half hotdog, is encased in the same doughnut-style outer, also priced at £6.50. It’s so wrong but SO right.
They're also frying up spiral potato twists on a stick, smothered in delicious Korean spices, and they almost look like a Christmas tree.
Oi Dumplings chocolate dumplings
Neighbouring Crunch, you’ll find a pretty pink stall going by the name Oi Dumplings, dishing out delicious Asian-style street food like rice bowls, dumplings and peanut fries. Their branding is gorgeous, with fun neon lights and on-brand menu boards with photo-worthy food to match.
Operated by Mollie Power and Maisie Davies, the quirky pop up has put their own twist on a dessert dumpling, which will set you back £7. Their chocolate dumplings come on a skewer with three dumplings book-ended by marshmallows drizzled in MORE chocolate, and it’s the best way to finish off a trip to the Winter Gardens.
We’re looking forward to doing a double dumpling, grabbing sweet and savoury portions for dinner AND dessert.
Panc pink vegan festive dawg
Whether you’re a dedicated vegan or just want to post a funky photo to Instagram, a trip to Piccadilly Gardens’ Panc is an absolute must this festive season. This stall is serving up seasonal vegan hotdogs and burgers in vibrant coloured bread buns including pink, blue and green!
We opted for the Vegan Festive Dawg (£8), comprising grilled vegan sausage with honey glazed grilled onions, ketchup and mustard. The onions are delicious and the bun is so soft and fluffy, and as for the sausage itself, you’d never have known it was plant based. This also made our round up of the best sausages at the markets in 2022, which you can read here.
Porky Pig Mum’s Best
Famous for their Yorkshire pudding wraps, Porky Pig are one of Manchester Christmas Markets’ busiest stalls, and they’re back in their spot outside Selfridges on Exchange Square, serving up battered pigs in blankets and full carvery trays for £10 and under.
This year, their brand new special called Mum’s Best, which is a cheesy, BBQ pulled pork and fried potato combo that tastes like pure joy. Priced at £8 per tray, it’s a decent portion size and will keep you fuelled for more market browsing, shopping and of course, line the stomach for a mulled wine or two.
Last year, we sent Dianne Bourne to work a shift at the stall, which can see over 1,000 customers a day on weekends, handing out hundreds of pigs in blankets. But you’ll have to get in line for them - behind us, obviously!
Half a metre Bratwurst
On St Anne’s Square you’ll see the word ‘Bratwurst’ lit up in twinkling lights, and beneath that, a sign that you might have to read twice. ‘½ metre bratwurst £6’.
As we discovered, there is no way to eat a 20 inch sausage with any grace or decorum, so we just scoffed Lady and the Tramp style from either end and hoped for the best. At £6, this is amazing value as you get so much meat for your money. You can take on the mammoth challenge of completing it alone, or split it with a mate and get your market meal for £3. Bargain.
Be mindful you have to be a bit speedy eating this one though - one end will go cold before you complete it. We saw a lot of people breaking them in half and adding the two, more sensibly sized halves to the bun, which is probably the best way to eat it.
Clarkes Bar S’mores hot chocolate
Need a winter warmer? Head to Exchange Street to Clarkes Bar to pick up a S’mores hot chocolate! The team behind Elsie May's ever-popular cookie dough stands are offering a raft of hot chocolates, prosecco cocktails and gluhwein.
Regular hot chocolates come in at £3.50, or you can go big with the £6 S’mores hot chocolate with the addition of the tasty camping treat topping your festive Manchester Christmas Markets mug. How cute is the design this year?
Scrambled pancakes
A traditional apres-ski delicacy, kaiserschmarrn is an Austrian sweet treat, and one of somewhat few takeaway dessert stalls this year. Also known as scrambled pancake, because it does literally look like they’re scrambling an egg when making it, the fluffy shredded pancakes can be topped with apple compote or custard for just £6. Be mindful that this stall is cash only, though.
Naturally, we had to sample them for ourselves and learned that a portion is approximately a 12 inch pancake shredded into bite sized chunks, with a generous pouring of custard. Ideal for sharing, this comforting, carby carton of goodness really hits the spot after a gluhwein in the bar next door.
You can find The Strudel Man's stall on St Ann's Square near the church, and if pancakes isn’t your thing, they also have an apple strudel that’s to die for.
Yard and Coop christmas dinner tray
Northern Quarter favourites Yard and Coop are at Manchester Christmas Markets for a fifth year, and are located on St Anne’s Square - you’ll can’t miss them because they’ve always got a queue, which is the sign of good, local scran.
Visitors flock in their droves to this stand for their best selling salt and pepper tray, but it’s their Christmas Dinner Tray we’ve fallen head over heels for. After eating six, yes SIX, sausages for our ultimate guide, I said I couldn’t eat another bite, but still managed to polish this off since it was so dang delicious.
The tray is filled with Yard and Coop's now legendary buttermilk fried chicken served with chips, carrot and parsnip crisps, cranberry sauce and drizzled in homemade chicken gravy. It’s salty, sweet, moist, flavourful and basically everything I love about street food.
This satisfying take on a festive feast can be yours for £10, making it one of the more expensive Items on this list. But let me tell you, it’s worth every penny.
Eat New York Turkey Reuben bagel
Last and certainly not least, there’s the return of Eat New York to New Cathedral Street with their Triple B stand. We want to eat everything off the menu, but the Turkey Reuben is the one shoppers can’t get enough of.
With its festive pile-up of carved turkey, stuffing patty, sauerkraut and swiss cheese and a huge wodge of pastrami, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more festive option in the run up to Christmas. The bagel comes in at £9.50 and looks like it could double up as a doorstop. Next on our list of things to try is the fried camembert bagel served with port chutney and winter slaw.
Read next:
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- Festive karaoke huts will return to Manchester for 2022 at Bar Hutte
- Light trails taking place across Greater Manchester for Christmas 2022
- Eight of the best beauty advent calendars available for 2022
- Manchester's first new city centre park in a century has opened
