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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
There are so many brilliant places to eat, drink and have fun here in Greater Manchester that I struggle to fit them all into this newsletter. But week-in week-out the Manchester Evening News’ What’s On team talk about the new openings and the great places you can enjoy. With the Bank Holiday approaching I thought I’d take a look at some of their recent recommendations.
This is your last Mancunian Way until next Tuesday, so I hope you all have a lovely long weekend and manage to get a bit of a rest as we welcome Spring.
Things to do
Whether it’s a walk along Castlefield Viaduct - Manchester’s answer to the New York High Line - or a tour of Elizabeth Gaskell’s house, there’s something to entertain everyone over the long weekend.
What’s On editor Jenna Campbell has compiled this huge list of ideas which will inspire even the most stoic couch potato (that’s me).
At Kampus - that new amalgamation of flats and eateries off Aytoun Street - there is a four-day long party in the canalside beer garden. Nell’s, Pollen, Great North Pie, The Beeswing wine bar and Yum Cha are all in residence and Seven Bro7hers Brewing Co and Three Little Words will be joining for the season.
As for music - Peter Hook & The Light will be at the Albert Hall for three-nights from tonight where they will play Joy Division and New Order songs. And it would be remiss of me not to mention Manchester Punk Festival - that lairy funfest run entirely by volunteers which will see 140 bands playing over three days. I think there are still a few tickets left if you fancy it - and why wouldn’t you? After all, it’s probably the only place you’re likely to see people crowd surfing on a blow up dinghy.
DJs Len Faki and Sam Divine will play at Victoria Baths on Saturday and Sunday and Whalley Range’s Carlton Club will host a record fair on Easter Sunday.
There’s an Easter allnighter at 42s on Sunday with last entry at 3am (!!!). As Jenna says ‘gird your liver’. And there’s a free music festival - Manifest - at The Oast House on the same day.
Motley's Easter Drag Brunch promises much and the venue will also be launching its new Roku Gin Spring Terrace - complete with pink cherry blossom trees.
Of course there are many, many options for bottomless brunches and pints, but if you prefer to stay dry there are plenty of options too. The West End production Mother Goose, starring John Bishop and Ian McKellen, opens at The Lowry this week and runs until Sunday.
And there’s a new exhibition at Elizabeth Gaskell House which looks at how the author presented Manchester and its people through her novels and short stories.
Chippy tea
It’s traditional to eat fish and chips on Good Friday - so prepare for some substantial queues at your local chippy tomorrow.
Ben Arnold has put together this list of the best ones in Greater Manchester. Mother Hubbard’s, The Fish at Goose Green, The Chippy On Burton Road and Levers all make the cut. But only at The Fish will you find the ‘Super Barm’ - a small fish, chips and a splat of mushy peas all stuffed into a white buttered barm.
Ben has also reviewed Chips @ No. 8, in Prestwich, which he describes as ‘an exceptional chippy’. “The chips are perfect. The haddock, perfect. The deep fried discs of black pudding, perfect, particularly when dunked in curry sauce, which is perfect,” he writes.
Art outdoors
I don’t think you ever need an excuse to enjoy a brew at The Whitworth art gallery’s gorgeous glass-structured cafe in the trees, with its views of the park and gardens.
But if you do need convincing, then why not head down to the Oxford Road venue for one of this week’s drop-in sessions from Afrocats. They’ve turned the gallery’s art garden into a giant outdoor art studio, where families are invited to create their own nature-inspired design.
While you’re passing
Every time I wander towards the Northern Quarter I see the little sign for the Greater Manchester Police Museum and think ‘I must go in’. I’ve been thinking that for some time - and yet still I trudge past it and plough on to the pub.
But seeing as we’ve got some time off, it’s a good opportunity to check it out. As Liv Clarke writes, this ‘hidden gem’, on Newton Street, is housed in an old Victorian police station and features old prison cells, a courtroom and artefacts that take you on a journey through policing over the years.
It’s hosting some open days during the school holidays and is open between 10.30am and 4pm today, next Tuesday and Thursday.
Where to see the blossom
In Japan, the arrival of the springtime cherry blossom is a major event. But you don’t need to take a 16-hour flight to enjoy the opening of the first blooms.
Here in Manchester there are plenty of places to spot spectacular blossom displays. To help you find them, the National Trust has launched an interactive map as part of its #BlossomWatch campaign.
The Bloomtown trail features 30 places to see blossom - from Magnolias on the Rochdale Canal to cherry trees in Hulme Park. There are some unexpected locations on the route too, such as Cutting Room Square in Ancoats and Whitworth Street West.
A pop-up blossom display in Sadler’s Yard has been created especially for the trail, with 12 different types of apple and cherry trees. The trees will be planted at Angel Square later in the year.
You can download the map here.
The big d’oh
If you’re looking to treat yourself over the long weekend, you could try the limited-edition Simpson-inspired doughnut burger at Fat Hippo, inside Great Northern Warehouse.
The pink iced treat is cut in half and filled with a double-fried buttermilk chicken seasoned with chilli and lime, smoked bacon, blueberry ‘jello’ and cream cheese. Sounds grim on paper, but it’s been going down a storm with the punters.
Bethan Shufflebotham went to review it and tackled it with a knife and fork (very posh) before concluding: “The flavours were unlike anything I’ve had before.” You can read her review here to find out if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
Fancy a little something to eat?
With new restaurants, cafes and bars opening up each week, it can be hard to keep track. But our What’s On team are on it. Recently they told you about the new Japanese restaurant Musu which was fawned over by Grace Dent and described as ‘pointedly bonkers’.
Dianne Bourne tried out the £56 Chinese takeaway that Jack Grealish eats after every Manchester City game - and found she had to use her special Christmas turkey plate to accommodate the ‘treble-carb mountain’ of egg-fried rice, salt and pepper prawns, noodles and salt and pepper chips.
Ben Arnold tried the best pie of his life at Great North Pie Co at Kampus, described here as a ‘cheffy’ ‘10/10 suet number’. And he found one of Manchester’s finest Sunday roasts within the wood and leather ‘old fashioned 70s’ chic of Folk in Didsbury. “Having had enough crappy carveries and upscale roasted disappointments on the sabbath to lament for a lifetime, this was pitch flipping perfect,” he writes.
Ben has also found joy at Caff - an old school butty shop (or rather cabin) at Tony Wilson Place, where he enjoyed a no nonsense meal deal of a barm, bag of Seabrooks and a pop. However he admits to being gutted about their ‘surprisingly average’ sausage roll. “It absolutely looked the part, deep Ronseal brown like David Dickenson after a fortnight at a Portuguese golfing resort on the outside, and what looked like a great filling through the middle. It was dry, under seasoned and disappointing,” he writes.
Meanwhile, Jenna Campbell tried the Northern Quarter brunch spot rated 10/10 by Lizzo. At Gooey she tried a mean Reuben and the vegan, crispy tofu satay sando which was filled with peanut satay sauce, vegan mayo, pickled cucumber and carrot ‘uniformly wedged between turmeric vegan bread’.
Jenna also has a great food recommendation at Stockport County’s ground. Yes really. As she writes here, the club is currently serving some of the best food you can get in the town at its ‘County Corner’ fan zone. In recent months they’ve served Christmas dinner in a cup and a slow-cooked spaghetti Bolognese in a cup. Great North Pie Co and Ate Days A Week are also at the ground selling pies.
There is plenty more reading and recommendations in this piece from Jenna and Ben about the best restaurants in Greater Manchester right now.
If you’re looking for something to wet your whistle after all that food, we’ve also got a list of the 50 best pubs in Greater Manchester. And yes, The Marble Arch is on there. As it The Crown and Kettle, which was recently named among best in North West.
If you want to take advantage of the sunshine (when it arrives) there’s a list of sun traps where you can enjoy a post work pint here and a list of the best bars here.
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Weather etc
- Friday: Sunny. 13C
- Road closures: A662 Pollard Street Westbound, New Islington, closed due to roadworks from Pollard Street to A665 Great Ancoats Street. Until April 13.
- A5186 Langworthy Road Northbound, Salford, closed due to roadworks from A576 Eccles Old Road to Charles Street. Until April 9.
- Trivia question: Why is it traditional to eat fish and chips on Good Friday?
Manchester headlines
Shameful: A senior officer has slammed the 'repugnant' and 'shameful' behaviour of officers disciplined after an investigation into a WhatsApp group where 'racist and homophobic' messages were shared. At least six male police officers were members of the group titled 'The Dispensables' and subtitled 'the gods of north Manchester who risk their lives every day to f*** jobs off', a tribunal heard. It was said to have been dominated by PC Aaron Jones, who resigned in 2021 after being convicted of offering to supply steroids. A disciplinary hearing in December last year ruled he would have been sacked had he not resigned and he was added to the College of Policing's 'barred list.' PC Rebekah Kelly was not part of the WhatsApp group but was then Jones' girlfriend and she failed to report 'racist and derogatory' text messages he sent to her directly, GMP said. The tribunal heard PC Jones dismissed troublemakers at Eid celebrations in Manchester's Curry Mile, in August 2018, as 'smelly P*** c***s' in a separate chat with PC Kelly, who is now his wife. PC Ashley Feest, a member of the group, is said to have referenced the illicit use of drugs on the group chat. He had also shared a 'racist' meme about slavery and he was also found to be positive for steroids when he was subject to a random drugs test by the force, the hearing was told. Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Allen, head of GMP's Professional Standards Branch, has described their conduct as a ‘disgrace’ and said their right to privacy was ‘ousted by their abhorrent conduct’. More here.
Award: The Glade of Light memorial to the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena bombing has scooped a top national award. The Civic Trust said the installation has 'become a significant place in the heart of Manchester for the personal and communal process of remembrance, grieving and healing. Judges praised the 'purity and simplicity' of the design's marble circle, saying it 'references the infinite and the eternal'. The memorial has won a community impact and engagement special award in the Civic Trust Awards 2023. More here.
- Al fresco: Business owners on a street in Ramsbottom that was pedestrianised during the lockdown say they will ‘struggle to survive’ if the plans to reopen the road to traffic goes ahead. Square Street was closed off to vehicles during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 after businesses reached out to Bury Council about introducing a European-style outdoor area to help ensure bars and restaurants could continue to operate whilst following social distancing measures. The outdoor space has proved very popular. But the council now plans to reopen the road to traffic on April 17.
Parking: Residents in Rusholme say drivers are flouting parking rules on their road and are making their lives miserable. “This is everyday - our lives are ruled by school term tables and parents,” says Shahid Qazi, who lives on Old Hall Lane. Neighbours say the area is plagued by motorists blocking driveways, dumping cars on street corners, and being ‘verbally abusive’ during school run hours. More here.
Worth a read
Raised on the streets of a 'tough Manchester council estate' Shay Doyle could easily have turned to a life of crime. Instead, he ended up playing the part of a gangster and helped bring down some of Manchester's most feared underworld figures.
As Damon Wilkinson writes, the soldier-turned-undercover policeman risked his life to infiltrate south Manchester's gangland. He was also on the frontline of some of the most high profile police operations in Greater Manchester history, including the Stepping Hill poisonings and the hunt for double police killer Dale Cregan.
But the 17 years he spent in his covert career took a terrible toll on his personal life and mental health, sparking a catastrophic breakdown. Now, in an explosive memoir, Doyle (not his real name) has told how he went from a council estate kid to become one of the UK's elite undercover cops.
You can read the full piece here.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Christians abstain from eating meat on Good Friday, the day they believe Jesus was executed.
