Food & Drink
The five Greater Manchester pubs which have been voted among the ‘best in the UK’
Did your local make the cut?
A number of Greater Manchester boozers have been named as some of the best in the UK by voters in the Greater British Booze Off.
The competition, run by The Daily Star across a period of three months, asks readers to nominate their favourite watering holes under ten different categories, such as live music pubs, live sport pubs and the most unusual pubs.
And, low and behold, a massive number of pubs here in Greater Manchester were crowned as the winners in several categories, including a number of runner-up places. For example…
Best Pub (Overall), second place: The Bear’s Paw, Hindley, Wigan.
Google Maps
The Bear’s Paw in Hindley, Wigan, came in at second place in the category: Best Pub (Overall).
The boozer survived lockdown against the odds thanks to its new landlords Nathan and Matty. The pair have been described by their regulars as taking the pub from strength to strength and are a ‘formidable asset’ to the venue and wider industry in uncertain times.
One happy customer told the Daily Star that the landlords are ‘absolutely loved’ by locals and that they’re built a ‘fantastic’ rapport despite their short time at the Wigan establishment.
Best Live Sport Pub, first place: The Beehive Inn, Whitefield, Bury.
@tracybell63 / Instagram
Despite Manchester’s fierce blue and red rivalry, The Beehive Inn has become renown for housing both City and United fans without any trouble.
Rather than becoming a place for booze-fuelled scraps, this pub has established itself as a place of friendly banter welcoming to both sides of Manchester.
Visitors immediately recognise how proud of the city the pub is with the symbolic worker bee graffiti adorning the exterior.
The symbol came to particular prominence as a sign of solidarity after the Manchester Arena terror attack, and the Beehive’s garden pays tribute to the twenty-two victims who lost their lives.
Best Live Music Pub, first place: The Snug, Atherton, Wigan.
@thesnugatherton / Instagram
Despite the pandemic hitting live music venues hard, The Snug in Atherton, Wigan, managed to continue providing local music with its online ‘Snug Sessions.’
Landlady Rachel told the Daily Star that while it had been a ‘tough few months’ during lockdown, the struggle was worth it because of the ‘great little community.’
And what makes the venue even more special is the fact that it’s nestled away in a hidden location, as one TripAdvisor reviewer found when he unexpectedly stumbled upon the place.
Hindleylad wrote: “Great little place hidden away down an alley off market street. Charming look and feel. Helpful genuine staff. Good coffee – and I’m fussy – fresh cooked food and homemade cakes. Recommended.”
Best Live Music Pub, second place: The Boulevard, Wigan.
Google Maps
This hidden rock music gem has hosted countless bands and live acts over the years, and acts as a ‘second home’ to many Wigan locals.
It’s only fitting that the town that birthed iconic punk band The Buzzcocks should make it onto the Great British Booze Off list of definitive music venues, isn’t it?
Most Unusual Pub, first place: Why Not? Cafe Bar, Worsley.
@whynot_cafebar / Instagram
Just one look at the exterior of this quirky boozer demonstrates why the Why Not? cafe bar in Worsley was crowned as the most unique and unusual pub in the UK.
The building looks more like a terraced house than anything else, but the owners have decked it out in an abundance of twinkling fairy lights and retro booze memorabilia to give it that special pub vibe.
Located in the Worsley area of Salford, it is a wonderful alternative to city-centre bars of Manchester.
You can check out the full list of Great British Booze Off winners and runners up here.
Food & Drink
Italiana Fifty Five’s new winter menu features pasta so fresh it’s made in front of you
So, so good!
Italiana Fifty Five, the popular Italian spot with locations in the city centre and Didsbury, has launched a brand new winter menu and it’s a must-try for pasta fans.
They’re serious about fresh pasta, and in the front window of their Wilmslow Road restaurant you can see chefs prepare various types of pasta on traditional equipment.
This includes everything from rigatoni cylinders to squiggly ribbons of reginette.
Manchester’s Finest Group
New additions to the menu include a carbonara, made to the traditional recipe with egg and parmesan, as well as a fresh ravioli with spinach and sage.
You’ll also find an eight-hour cooked beef shin ragù with pappardelle, and an oven-baked vodka sauce dish, complete with crispy bits on top.
Other new additions to the menu include a cappellacci di burrata, served in a meaty Tuscan sauce, and a mushroom-heavy reginette dish.
Manchester’s Finest Group
There’s a couple of autumnal-leaning starters too, including bruschetta topped with stracciatella di bufala, and some Sicilian-style arancini too.
The new menu is available at all sites, however you’ll only find the fresh homemade pasta in the Didsbury branch. Get yourself booked in HERE.
Italiana Fifty Five have extended their August 50% off deal on their a la carte menu, so you can now grab a bargain until Sunday September 15th.
This means dishes like their trofie with pesto, lobster ravioli and their famous linguine pecorino, served flambéed at the table from a giant wheel of cheese are still half price.
The a la carte menu is available all day, every day, and takes in a breadth of Italian classics, antipasti and pasta dishes, pizza, cuts from the grill and desserts.
Manchester’s Finest Group
You’ll be able to kick off with dishes like mozzarella fritta, calamari and capesante gratinate – seared scallops finished with parmesan cheese under the grill.
It will also, of course, include perhaps its most famous dish – the linguine pecorino, which is flambéed tableside in a huge wheel of aged pecorino cheese.
For pushing the boat out, there’s also a sharing slab of chateaubriand steak, carved at the table and served with parmesan baby roast potatoes and a cherry tomato and parmesan salad.
Manchester’s Finest Group
Then you can finish up with homemade desserts, like a panna cotta, pistachio cannoli or a classic tiramisu.
The offer is available at all three Italiana Fifty Five sites – Liverpool Rd, Great Northern and Didsbury Village.
Get booked in HERE.
Food & Drink
Popeyes opening new drive-thru in Manchester tomorrow with FREE chicken
It’s the second Popeyes to open in Manchester
Louisiana-style fried chicken chain Popeyes has announced plans to open more restaurants this year, including a second site in Greater Manchester – which opens tomorrow, Friday April 26th.
The chain opened its 33rd UK site in Piccadilly Gardens in October last year, which proved an instant hit with visitors forming queues along the street and around the corner just to sample its classic Southern fried chicken.
Regular customers have learned to take early lunches to avoid the rush as it fills up with hungry people every day.
Now its new drive-thru, located on Bury New Road, is opening tomorrow, Friday April 26th, with both the doors and lanes officially opening from 11am.
Greater Manchester and the North West’s first drive-thru location, the restaurant will mark the brand’s 11th opening in 2024 and 47th site in the UK.
And of course, they’re giving away FREE chicken on opening day, with the first three people queuing both on-foot and in cars winning free Chicken Sandwiches for a whole year.
As well as that, the first 25 customers in both queues will also be rewarded with a free Chicken Sandwich and exclusive Popeyes merchandise.
You’ll have to get there early if you want to be one of the first three, however, as fans queued for more than 16 hours when the Piccadilly Gardens site opened last year.
And from Saturday, April 27th, you’ll also be able to grab breakfast at the new restaurant.
The ‘Brekkie’ menu features British Breakfast classics with a New Orleans twist, like the Big Cajun Breakfast Roll, Cajun Hash Browns and Nutella-topped buttermilk biscuits.
Breakfast will be available until 11am every day, and will even include a Bacon Roll Meal for just £1.99, which includes a Bacon Roll, a Hash Brown and a drink.
For those who have not yet had the pleasure of sampling Popeyes’ crunchy flavoursome goodness, its menu features classic offerings like the Chicken Sandwich, with signature 12-hour marinated chicken and original Southern biscuits and gravy.
Additionally, a variety of side dishes like mac & cheese, mash with Cajun gravy, and original biscuits will be served, alongside milkshakes in various flavours including vanilla, chocolate, mocha, and specialities like Oreo, Lotus Biscoff, and strawberry cheesecake.
What’s more, fans across the UK can now start their day with a Cajun twist – with Popeyes Breakfast Menu now available nationwide.
Tom Crowley, Popeyes UK Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Following the success of our Manchester Piccadilly restaurant, we are thrilled to bring our newest Popeyes to Bury New Road, marking our third restaurant in the North West.
“Our new restaurant will also be a Drive-Thru, meaning customers in Greater Manchester can enjoy our Famous Louisiana Chicken by dining in, via the Drive Thru lane, or by ordering online for kerbside collection.
“Our most recent openings have been some of the biggest to date, not just in the UK but for Popeyes globally, and we’re confident that Bury New Road will be just as popular.”
If you fancy winning free Chicken Sandwiches for a year, but don’t have time to queue up outside the new restaurant, then keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram tomorrow, Friday April 26th, as we’re going to be running a competition where you can win just that!
T&Cs: Offer entitles the holder to 3 free Chicken Sandwiches per week for 52 weeks. The 12 months starts on receipt of the email containing the first 3 links. Available in any Popeyes Louisiana Chicken UK restaurant, only on our Classic or Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Non transferable, not valid in conjunction with any other offer. Offer is redeemable only when you order online for collection through our website. Over 18s only.
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