There are more than 650 restaurants in Manchester city centre, each one with fine food and produce going spare each day, just because it’s nearing its use by date or isn’t quite as fresh to sell for full price. But, there’s a free food waste app helping save a portion of this food from being abandoned, with more than 50 city centre venues signed up to offer mystery bags at a heavily reduced rate.
The Too Good To Go app partners with retailers where customers can reserve a magic bag for up to 70 per cent off the retail price, and save this food from going to waste, bagging a cheap meal or three in the process. Too Good To Go said: “The Too Good To Go app lets you buy and collect this food - at a great price - so it gets eaten instead of wasted. You won’t know exactly what’s in your order until you pick it up - it’s all part of the surprise.”
And if you wind up with too much food for yourself, the app actively encourages sharing with neighbours, friends or members of the homeless community.
READ MORE: I paid £3.09 for a mystery groceries bag and got £18 worth of food'
I’ve shared plenty of reviews of what I’ve received in my mystery bags, and as a regular user of the app, I’ll continue to rescue food when I find bags available to reserve. But if you haven’t yet downloaded the app, this article serves as a guide for the kind of thing you can expect to find on there.
Below you’ll find every single venue listed on the app within a three kilometre radius of the Arndale Centre. Not only have I included the name and branch offering the magic bags, but also what you might expect to pay, find inside them, and an idea of collection times, if they’re listed. Sometimes you just have to be on the ball or have your notifications switched on to bag the best deals.
So, here are all of the pubs, restaurants, cafes and bars closest to Manchester City Centre offering cheap meals to app users for as little as £1.66.
Tim Hortons has recently opened its first city centre restaurant by the Arndale centre , and signed up to the Too Good To Go app days before its official opening on May 30. The Market Street venue is offering magic bags for £3.99, which includes £12 worth of baked goods such as donuts and those oh-so popular (and delicious) Timbits. The restaurant also stocks retail items like coffee and hot chocolate tubs, which may be included in the bag from time to time.
The collection slot for the Market Street store is between 11.30pm and 11.59pm, which is the same as the Wilmslow Park branch. Though if you’re looking for an earlier slot, the Bury New Road Branch sees a half-hour collection window from 3pm to 3.30pm.
There are 10 Caffe Nero branches within a three kilometre radius of the Arndale centre on the app, including Market Street, Piccadilly Gardens, the Arndale Centre, Piccadilly Approach and Spinningfield, as well as Oxford Street, Salford Riverside, Oxford Street and the Blackwells Bookshop at Oxford Road.
Their mystery bags are priced at £3.09 for £10 worth of food, potentially containing flatbreads, panini, salad boxes, cakes and pastries. Collection times vary from store to store, so it’s best to check the Too Good To Go app to be sure, for example the Mosley Street collection window is 6.30pm to 7pm, while Oxford Street’s is 7.30pm to 8pm.
Previously in a Caffe Nero bag , I was treated to a Cotto ham and cheese toastie, worth £4.75, an all day breakfast box and a fruit pot. It pays to be kind to your sales assistants though, as one threw in three extra croissants after he forgot to make the bag up.
Costa’s Market Street, Portland Street, Mosley Street, Arndale and Cheetham Hill Road stores are all on the app offering £3 bags containing £10 worth of Costa grab and go food, or M&S menu items. In a previous bag, I received a vegan mac and cheeze and two snack sized pizzas, and at the Piccadilly Train Station branch, I bagged a tuna melt panini, tomato and mozzarella panini, and a gluten free roast chicken and bacon sandwich worth around £13 in total.
Starbucks have nearly a dozen stores listed on the app, too, with bags priced between £3.59 and £5 depending on the branch. The magic bags tend to contain wraps, bagels, paninis, salads, sweet treats, yoghurts, juices, snacks and pastry items. The total value is anywhere from £10 to £15, but one of my bags contained nearly £20 worth of wraps, sandwiches and pots.
Branches on the app include Market Street with a 6.30pm to 7.15pm collection slot, City Tower from 7pm to 7.45pm and the Arndale Centre from 7.30pm to 7pm, as well as Corporation Street, St Ann’s Square and Malmaison. Manchester Victoria Station has an 8 to 8.30pm window for collection, as does the store at Piccadilly Station. The most expensive branch is the one at Nelson Street at the EG Manchester Eye Hospital, which costs £5 for £15 of food, while other participating stores include Centurion House, Quay Street, First Street and Cheetham Hill Road.
Inside the Arndale, Bagel Factory offers a selection of filled and plain bagels, with meat and veggie options for £4.10, saving shoppers £8.90. These can be collected between 4.40pm and 5pm, with their Spinningfields branch offering collection between 2.40 and 2.50pm.
Another Arndale resident is Wolf Italian, dishing out surprise food of ‘whatever’s left at the end of the day’. Their £4.66 bags contain £14 worth of authentic Italian street food and can be collected between 7.30pm and 8pm.
Half an hour later, customers could reserve a bag from Slim Chickens to collect from 8.30pm to 9pm. The chicken joint has a chicken meal bag for £4.50 for £13.50 worth of chicken tenders, burgers, wings, salads, fries and other sides. They also do a £6 alcohol bag, however, this one is a bit harder to get your hands on.
Later still is Barburrito with £18 worth of food for £6, with collection from 8.40pm to 9pm at the Arndale centre. Their Piccadilly Gardens branch has an even later collection time between 9.20pm and 9.40pm. Each magic bag, whether meat or vegan, will contain two burritos or bowls, made with a selection of fresh Mexican ingredients to be enjoyed straight away.
Morrisons Manchester Piccadilly store offers £3.09 magic bags containing £10 worth of bread, baked goods, fruit, vegetables, cakes, deli and cupboard items, with a generous collection window of four hours between 5pm and 9pm. Bags are often worth more than the app states, with one of my finds being worth £18.
More Arndale haunts include Auntie Anne’s where you can get three pretzels the size of your head for £4.29 , just because they’re more than half an hour old. They have two daily collection slots at 2.30pm to 3pm, and 6pm to 6.30pm, Meanwhile, at Krispy Kreme , customers can snap up a box of six doughnuts for £3.50, rather than their usual £10.45 retail price - an offer also available at their Piccadilly Station concession.
Indie doughnut retailer DGHNT MCR bags are priced at £5.30 for £16 worth of artisan brioche doughnuts made from scratch on Thomas Street, with a nice 4pm to 4.30pm collection slot, perfect for those who have just left the office.
Sausage roll fans might want to reserve a Greggs bag, which is one of the cheapest bags at £2.59 for £8 worth of goods. Previously I’ve received doughnuts, steak bakes and sandwiches, but you can also find things like salads, cakes and other pastries. The Greggs branches on the app in Manchester include the Arndale centre, Cross Street, Manchester Victoria Station, Gateway House, Oxford Road and Seaford Street, Salford - all of which have varying collection times between 5.30pm and 11.30pm.
Cookie lovers will hit the jackpot with a Millie’s Cookies bag at the Arndale centre, paying £3.99 for a box packed full of their freshly baked cookies. One box I received had 16 cookies destined for the bin that went down a treat with friends and family over a cuppa. Their collection slot is between 5pm and 5.30pm.
Pizza Slice in the Arndale sees £9 of pizza dished out for £3 between 8.30pm and 8.45pm, while nearby YO! Sushi offer up fresh authentic Japanese cuisine for £3.50 instead of a tenner from 7.30pm to 7.45pm. Chapter One Books sees £5 bags of fruit, vegetables and bread for £1.66 on Lever Street, and Michael’s Coffee House on Cross Street offers up toasties, cakes and brownies for £3.29 instead of £9.50.
Hang Won Hong is an Asian grocery on George Street handing out products for £5 down from £15 between 5pm and 7pm, much like Have Best on Piccadilly Trading Estate, whose bags cost £3 for £9 worth of noodles, cooking sauces and snacks between 3pm and 5pm.
Pret stores offer breakfast and lunch bags, with breakfast costing £3 for £9 worth of porridge, breakfast rolls or croissants, whereas the £4 lunch bags contains soup, wraps and sometimes even mac and cheese worth up to £12.
The Portland Street branch takes collections from 10.30am to 11am, with lunch between 2pm and 2.30pm. Other branches include Cross Street, Oxford Street, Piccadilly Station, Spinningfield and University Square. Prices remain consistent across the board, but collection times do differ.
Alternatively Veggie Pret on Deansgate offers £4 magic bags full of meat-free options to collect between 4.45pm to 5pm. Also on Deansgate is Bisous Bisous, offering indulgent desserts for £3 instead of £9 between 5.30pm and 6pm, or a huge cake that serves up to eight people for £10, down from £30.
Nearby Cinnabon at Euro Garages on Deansgate provides flavoured cinnabons for £6, saving shoppers £12 on their shop, while Katsouris Deli serves an fresh, authentic Mediterranean meal ready to be enjoyed instantly for £3 rather than £9 between 2.30pm and 5pm each day.
I spent three hours at Piccadilly Station to save £90 worth of food for just £22
I paid £4 for £12 of pastries at Manchester Piccadilly - and got to pick them
If you fancy some baked goods, Manchester Art Gallery on Mosley Street do magic bags from their cafe for £3, worth £9, while Salford Museum and Art Gallery cafe’s cost £4 for £12 worth of cake, soup, jacket potatoes, salad and fruit.
Leven on Chorlton Street’s cost £3.09 for £9.20 worth of croissants, pastries, fruit and crisps - and the best time to bag one is by refreshing the app at 11am. Bean Coffee at Blackfriars’ bag also contains baked goods and the odd sandwich for £3, with Sackville Street’s Richmond Tea Rooms serving huge slabs of cake for £2 rather than £6 for six hours between 11am and 5pm.
Customers can cool off with Peter Street indie Frurt with their £3.33 dairy and non-dairy fat free frozen yoghurt between 11am and 3pm, with delicious Kinder cakes also on the menu. Just up the road, Ezra and Gil also hand out pastries, sandwiches, salads and more from 5.30pm and 6pm for £3.33.
Two Brewdog branches see £4 bags of mystery craft beer in cans or from the taps, worth £12, and The Burgess Cafe at The Anthony Burgess Foundation, giving away two bottles of Luna de Murviedro alcohol free sparkling wine for £5.33 down from £16. The Cambridge Street venue says the wine is past its sell-by, but ‘still tastes great’.
At Piccadilly Train Station, Leon has magic bags available three times a day - breakfast at 10.50am to 11.05am, lunch between 2.45 and 3pm and evening food from 9.40pm to 9.55pm. Bags cost between £3 and £3.75 and can contain burgers, wraps and sweet treats, or, before 11am, breakfast muffins like sausage and egg.
Inside the station, The Pasty Shop allows you to pick your own food up to the value of £12, while only paying £3.99, with Upper Crust sharing a selection of baguettes that are half self-selected and half picked by the cashier putting the bag together, also for £3.99. James Martin Kitchen upload bags for collection between 9pm and 9.30pm daily, paying £3.99 for £12 worth of sandwiches, sausage rolls and pastries, and while Carluccio's is on the app, I’m yet to spot a bag available to reserve from them.
Maybe it’s a hotel breakfast you’re craving? Shoppers can snap up a breakfast buffet from Moxy Manchester City, who joined the app last month, offering breakfast items between 11.30am and 12pm for £3, and Ibis on Princess Street is also on the app, with an earlier collection time of 9.55am to 10.5am for a £2.29 breakfast worth £6.
In Salford, the Holiday Inn on Liverpool Street sees shoppers collect a £3.59 breakfast worth £11 between 10am and 10.30am, and Castlefield Hotel on Liverpool Road’s cost £3 for a selection of potentially bacon, eggs, sausage and toast.
More cakes are up for grabs at Hey Little Cupcake on Hardman Street from 2pm to 3pm for £4, as well as New Bailey Street’s Loaf offering slices of loaf cake for £2.33 between 3.15pm and 5.45pm. Alex’s Bakery on Deansgate are also signed up serving £4 magic bags worth £12 between 10am and 6pm, with Waffle Stop on Cakebread Streetserving £12 worth of waffles for £4.
Groceries can be picked up cheap at Gopuff, Regent Road’s Little Waitrose, Gorillas on Piccadilly trading estate, Zabka on Great Cheetham Street East, and Restaurant Wholesale in Miles Platting. It could be fun to see what meals you can create for the week with their mismatched ingredients.
A Gopuff bag costs £4 and can be collected between 11am and 11.30pm, with Waitrose’s £5 bag being worth £15, available between 8pm and 10pm. Gorillas’ bag is also £5 for £15 worth of groceries, while Zabka’s £3.33 bags contain Polish grocery favourites like deli meat, yoghurt and cheese.
Restaurant Wholesale sees flavours from around the world with British, Chinese, Pakistan and Indian groceries, from frozen and canned to dry goods for £4, collectable between 4pm and 5pm. Global flavours can also be discovered at Oodles Chinese on Oxford Road, with noodles, rice and chicken dishes worth £9 for £3 between 11pm and 11.15pm, as well as Salford’s A Nice Sip serving discounted bubble tea at Salisbury House from 8.45pm to 9pm for £3.50.
The Flat Baker bags cost £4 for £12 worth of Brazilian style baked goods like breads, pastries and sandwiches in Ancoats, or for a ready-to-eat Cantonese meal, KC Chefs on Phoebe Street, Salford sees mystery bags priced at £4.34 for £13.15 worth of food.
Comfort food can be found at The Old Abbey Taphouse at Guildhall Close, where foodies can get a hearty roast dinner for £3.50, including meat and veggie options.
Papa John’s use up their leftover dough to make medium (£2.66) and XXL (£3.99) pizzas which are the ideal way to end a night out at their Manchester Central branch between 10pm and 11pm - though you’ll want to arrive at the start of the window time to ensure it’s piping hot.
Phoebe Street’s Food Station in Salford, and Chicken Shack in Stretford, serve up chicken wings, burgers, fries and sides, with bags priced between £3.30 and £5.50 for up to £10.50 worth of food. Chicken Shack hauls can be collected from Gladstone Crescent between 10pm and 10.30pm, while Food Station’s is for the night owls between 1.30am and 1.59am.
Vegan options are slightly limited on the app as not everywhere caters to dietary needs - it really depends on what’s nearing its use-by. But V Rev on Dark Lane is a vegan eatery offering £19 worth of plant based food for £6.63, as well as Polygon Street ARMR serving vegan food that can be consumed straight away for £3.59, from 3pm to 3.30pm.
Coffee beans and baked goods can be collected at Brew-Tang, Chapel Street, Salford for £3.50, or for £3.09, mystery baked items can be found at KHB Bakery on Cottenham Lane between 9.30am and 4pm.
Also in Salford, Campanile on Ordsall Street offer a breakfast magic bag for £3.25 featuring pain au chocolats, muffins, pancakes or bread, alternatively Vibe Coffee on Broughton Lane has sandwiches and pastries served for £2.33 for £7 worth of food.
By this point you’ve probably noticed that there is a LOT of choice when it comes to surplus food in Manchester city centre and nearby areas. Just take a moment to think how wasteful it would be to see it all thrown in the bin at the end of the day, just because it wasn’t quite perfect?
Philpotts on Portland Street offers £10 worth of baked goods, baguettes and sandwiches for £3.50, and the best time to reserve one is at 3pm. Elsewhere, The Giving Tree on Moss Lane East sees £2 mystery bags containing £6 worth of cakes, pastries and cinnamon buns.
At The Science and Industry Museum, Benugo has £3.59 bags full of sandwiches, salads and yoghurt pots, and the same goes for their Manchester University branch, which has a 3pm to 3.45pm collection slot.
Ordsall Hall in Salford has £4 bags of cakes and sandwiches worth £12, and Salford University’s Peel Park Student Store offers a selection of grab and go items like sandwiches, snacks, crisps and drinks for £3.09, worth £9.30, which has to be the best value meal deal on the market.
BOXCO Trafford at the Empress Business Centre on Chester Road is a great place to get a salad or rice box, as well as hot meals ready to eat for £4.39 instead of £13.17, and finally, there’s the Subway at Stalybridge at the Stamford Street Esso where you can get bread and cookies for £2 with a pick up around 10am - or you can get a filled sub bag later in the day, costing £4.59 for £13.75 worth of sandwiches.
I love the lottery of the app, and even when I find a product inside that I don’t like, it’s not difficult to find someone who will appreciate it. I’ve previously handed out Pret wraps to rough sleepers in Manchester, shared Millie’s Cookies with the workers at my local dog groomers, and gifted wrapped sandwiches to my local youth group to distribute to food bank users.
With so many great places to eat in the city, it seems ludicrous to let all this food go straight in the bin, so if you haven’t already downloaded the Too Good To Go app are reserved your first bag, what are you waiting for?
