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29/07/2025

THIS INDIAN RESTAURANT HAS ITS OWN ‘CURRY DRAWER’⁠

First there was the tiramisu drawer, made virally famous by pasta dons Onda. Now, thanks to chef Prasanta Patra’s Ahaar restaurant, we have the ‘curry drawer’.⁠

In his impressively organised kitchen in Prestwich, he and his team turn out exceptional dishes which echo his experience cooking all over India, from Hyderabad to Chennai.⁠

And thanks to all this wealth of kitchen savvy, his whole pull out drawer system is ‘pretty unique’, he says.⁠

Ahaar, which opened just a few months ago, serves a stand-out butter chicken, rich Goan fish curries and the British-Indian ‘dak bungalow’ chicken, a dish which dates back to the Raj and is so named after the rest houses where the British government officials would stay.⁠

And for when it gets chilly, he’s got Kashmiri curries like the lamb yakhni which will warm the cockles, and irresistible Indo-Chinese-style chicken lollipops.⁠

Taking no shortcuts - from roasting and grinding his own spices to making all his base gravies from scratch, this place is worth the journey to North Manchester.⁠

Get booked in and try it for yourself via the link in the comments.

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⏰️ Mon, Weds, Thu 4pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 3pm-10.30pm, Sun 3pm-9.30pm⁠
📍 433 Bury New Rd, Prestwich, Manchester M25 1AF⁠
💰️ Small plates from £4.95, sharing platters from £15.95, mains from £7.50

28/07/2025

SUGGESTED BY YOU: RAMSBOTTOM’S SMALL PLATES ROAST SPOT WITH BOTTOMLESS GRAVY

After a solid recommendation from Dom, we bundled Matt White into the car and took him out to the countryside to visit the Holcombe Tap.

This homely spot is the dream village pub. Since Bill Gallie and his sons Will and Jacob took it over in 2018, this Ramsbottom spot has become a go-to for people chasing a roast worth the drive – or just a pint by the fire.

The kitchen leans hard on local produce and bold flavours. Hash brown bites with parmesan and truffle (Jacob’s favourite) vanish in minutes, a 5oz flat iron steak lands pink with peppercorn sauce and Bury black pudding bon bons, and the small‑plate menu swings from hot‑honey goat cheese to Indian‑style fried chicken.

Sundays? Pick your meat – beef, lamb or pork – then build your own roast from Yorkshire puds, cauliflower cheese, and bottomless gravy, in small plates style.

Beer’s solid (rotating cask pumps, alcohol-free and a cult-hit Japanese lager), cocktails include a chocolate old fashioned, and there’s a spritz menu for summer in the courtyard.

Book ahead, especially Sundays. That endless gravy draws a crowd.

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⏰ Mon-Thu 12pm-11pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-11.30pm, Sun 12pm-10pm
📍 13 Bolton Rd W, Ramsbottom, Bury BL0 9NA
💰 Sunday roast small plates starting at £10, main menu small plates from £8.50

The best things to do in Manchester this week.Read the full list in the comments 👇
28/07/2025

The best things to do in Manchester this week.

Read the full list in the comments 👇

25/07/2025

THE LEGENDARY EASTERN BLOC RECORDS IS TURNING 40 THIS WEEKEND

Without Eastern Bloc, we wouldn’t have half the club scene we have in Manchester.

That’s just a fact. With 808 State’s Martin Price, John Berry co-founded this temple of dance music, a place that - with barely a handful of other forward-thinking shops around the UK - has cultivated and nurtured club culture, from the nascent days of acid house to the present.

It has inspired generations of DJs as well as supplying those who went on to become superstars, firstly from its original spot at the bottom of Afflecks to its cafe and vinyl store in Stevenson Square (another pioneering move, adapting its space to move with the times).

Back in the day, it was a survival-of-the-fittest environment, with its legendarily surly staff gatekeeping the best house and techno music from Europe and the US. But if you persevered, you could find yourself striking pure electronic gold.

It’s hard to overstate Eastern Bloc’s influence on the city - thanks also to latter day vinyl influencers like Jim Bane, its manager of more than a decade, who has retained the integrity and vision of those original founders.

This weekend it turns 40 with a full weekend of DJs - including Mr Scruff, who would stand at the end of the counter as a teenager, 808 State icon Graham Massey, Mark XTC, Kerrie, Mikey D.O.N, Krysko and Greg Lord - all paying homage to one of the load-bearing pillars of the Manchester music scene.

Long may it reign.
...

⏰️ Open weekdays 7.30am-late, record store from 10am, birthday opening Fri and Sat till 3am
📍 5a Stevenson Square, Manchester M1 1DN

24/07/2025

THE MICHELIN-LEVEL INDIAN NEXT TO IKEA WITH A DISH FROM EVERY REGION OF INDIA

Chef Taranjit Singh at Moksha in Ashton-Under-Lyne has a pretty serious CV.

Learning his craft working with the ultra-luxury Oberoi hotel group, he also worked for three years under celebrated chef Atul Kochhar, the first chef in the UK to receive a Michelin star for an Indian restaurant, back in 2001.

So as you’d expect, the food at Moksha is pretty serious too. The menu is proudly ‘pan-Indian’, so there are dishes representing every region in India, from the Punjab in the north to Kerala in the south, from street food inspired bites to Indo-Chinese delicacies.

Tough to pick a stand-out - they all stood out - but we’re still thinking about the dum lamb biryani, with its flaky paratha lid.

Located just by Ashton’s other notable landmark - yep, Ikea - it’s a rather different ball game to hotdogs and meatballs.

….

⏰️ Tue-Thu 12pm-11pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-12am, Sun 12pm-10pm
📍 141 Katherine St, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7AW
💰️ Snacks from £3, small plates from £5.50, mains from £8.50

23/07/2025

Huggy, the man behind Saffa Soul started making South African Indian soul food in his family’s kitchen in Johannesburg. And if you didn’t know that South African Indian food was a thing, it’s time to change that.

Signature dishes include chilli bites (like a bhaji, but ‘so much better’ according to Huggy), a scorched and tangy chicken wrap in a flaky roti, and ‘slap chips’ which should be a little sloppy and doused in seasoning to be truly South African. Then there’s your choice of hot sauce - Huggy makes three different ones, each with their own unique flavour as well as level of spice.

Huggy spends every day in his prep kitchen on Temperance Street, meticulously preparing marinades, bottling their three homemade hot sauces and creating his own boerewors (South African sausage), something he is especially proud of creating in house.

You can’t order Saffa Soul for delivery at the moment, you have to go and seek them out in person. Luckily, they do a lot of events, from the Carlon Club in Whalley Range, to a Heaton Moor pop-up, to festivals all across the region. No excuse not to then.
...⁠
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📍 Available at various events and markets across the North West
💰 Snacks from £6, mains from £10.95

The best Manchester gigs and club nights this August.Full list in comments 👇
22/07/2025

The best Manchester gigs and club nights this August.

Full list in comments 👇

21/07/2025

You probably know that we’re responsible for loads of amazing TV here in Manchester, but what you might not have realised is that there’s a whole industry of talented people behind the scenes making it all come to life.

Stockyard North is an emporium of all things prop. The vast Trafford Park warehouse is full of everything you could need to set the scene, from vintage furniture to realistic skeletons to circus costumes and parts of old planes, via life-sized cows and Wild West shop fronts. Eagle-eyed viewers might have spotted some of their wares on shows like Brassic, Such Brave Girls and Happy Valley. They even have Tommy Shelby’s desk from Peaky Blinders.

As well as sourcing things from house sales, they also take in discarded bits of set from stage and screen to be reused. They’ll often donate things to community projects like Plattfields Market Garden too.

This place is a collectors dream, and it’s not just TV and film crews that come here to hire things, you can come and have a nosey around yourself. If you’re planning to go all-out for your next party, why not pay them a visit.

….
⁠
️⏰ Mon-Thurs 8am-4pm, Fri 8am-3.30pm
📍 Michael House, Village Way, Trafford Park, Stretford, Manchester M17 1JL
💰 Various prices to rent and buy

19/07/2025

Richard isn’t your regular chip shop owner. After a career in the fashion industry, he segued into it via a stint running food stands at music festivals. Six years ago he became the owner of Town Street Fryer, in and among some impressive foodie neighbours on Marple Bridge’s Town Street.

He takes it very seriously. They don’t use any chemicals or preservatives on their chips, and the potatoes are from just up the road. They opt for a gluten-free batter on the fish for enhanced crispiness, (and are entirely gluten-free operation on Tuesday evening and Wednesdays), and the mushy peas taste like actual peas.

That’s all before you get onto the main event - the pies - which have their own wall of fame, having picked up countless national and regional awards in the past half-decade.

From steak and cheese to chicken, leek and tarragon, these pies are fresh, hearty and flavoursome. There’s also a plethora of vegan and veggie options too. And the steady stream of locals sticking their head in to say ‘hi’ to Richard proves the locals know that they’re on to a very, very good thing here.

With a not-too-over-the-top menu, and a focus on freshness, they’ve pretty much hit on the recipe for success. Like the chalkboard sign above the counter reads: ‘Not all pies are created equal’.

Even better, you can pop to the Royal Scot across the road to enjoy them with a pint, or head down today (Saturday 19 July, 1-5pm) for Marple Bridge Summer Street Party.

….

⏰ Tues-Thurs 11.45am-2pm, 4.30-7.30pm, Fri 11.45-2pm, 4.30-8pm, Sat Tues-Thurs 11.45am-2pm
📍 9-11 Town Street, Marple Bridge, Stockport SK6 5AA
💰 Handmade pies £5.50, chips £2.80, haddock £6.40

Fashion fans are invited to head down to Chatham Mill to browse rails of vintage pieces, second hand treasures and acces...
18/07/2025

Fashion fans are invited to head down to Chatham Mill to browse rails of vintage pieces, second hand treasures and accessories with Catch My Thrift at their kilo sale this Saturday...

ANOTHER HAND JOINS TARTUFFE FOR OUR NEXT EDITION OF OPEN FIRE DINING CLUBNext month, we’re returning to Tor Vale Mill on...
18/07/2025

ANOTHER HAND JOINS TARTUFFE FOR OUR NEXT EDITION OF OPEN FIRE DINING CLUB

Next month, we’re returning to Tor Vale Mill on the banks of the River Goyt with Tartuffe, and this time they’re teaming up with one of Manchester’s most respected kitchens – the excellent Another Hand.

Theirs is exceptional cooking, with produce and technique demanding equal billing, and will compliment the expert bistro cooking of Tarfuffe, all transplanted to the medium of live fire beneath the sprawling skies of the Peak District – yet barely half an hour from the city.

The co-curated menu – heavy on both locality and seasonality – will feature some of the very finest produce of the season, spread over six courses (and a welcome snack):

- Carlingford Oyster, Plattfield Radish Mignonette, Buttermillk
- Courgette Roulade, Grilled Courgette, Fresh Honeycomb, Smoked Yoghurt, Hazelnut & Olive Dressing
- Hassleback Potato, Vin Jaune, Smoked Eel, Crab Apple, N25 Caviar
- Stout Glazed BBQ Lamb Belly, Pickled Morecambe Bay Cockles, Samphire, Grilled Mustard Leaves
- Grilled Cumbrian Half Chicken to Share, Orzo braised in Preserved Lemon & BBQ Corn, Spring Greens with Salted Ricotta and Calendula Vinegar
- Bilberry and Currant Bread ’n’ Butter Pudding, Baron Bigod
- Fig Leaf Custard, Wild Maribel Plums Grilled and Raw, Cob Nut and Corn Flake Crunch

The menu will be complimented by drinks including world-renowned Provencal rosé Whispering Angel as a welcome glass, G de Galoupet, from Château Galoupet during the six course dinner and Minuty Prestige from the Saint-Tropez peninsula to round off the evening.
...

⏰ Thursday 14 August (doors 6pm / food served from 7pm / ends 10pm)
📍 Torr Vale Mill, Torrvale Rd, High Peak, SK22 3HS
💰 Six course dinner + 3 wines = £85

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Manchester’s Finest

Manchester’s Finest is an independent news platform, delivering creative content and experiences to Manchester and a wider audience. We aim to provide a service for the betterment of the Manchester ecology.