Beer Archives - Neil Sowerby

Why the marvellous Marble Arch mustn’t be squeezed out by this high rise hell

We first met in 1983. It was love at first sight. Those tiles revealed, that mosaic floor unearthed. After your makeover you were intoxicatingly beautiful, Marble Arch. Not an opinion particularly shared by some decidedly unromantic fellow drinkers.

It had taken me a huge effort to persuade a posse of hardened Daily Mirror sports hacks to trek through the urban wasteland that was Rochdale Road, Manchester. Just to see a pub brought back from the dead. Ten minutes each way from the Printworks when it was a print works, then called Maxwell House after Ghislaine’s ogre of a dad.

First time, last time. This had been valuable drinking time lost. All too soon our break would be over, as would the evening’s matches, copy phoned in, ready via hot metal to be turned into tomorrow’s newspaper (and later chip paper). Mirror circulation was over 3m, its sport section at its heart. Liverpool were Champions and European Cup-winners that season.

Meanwhile, the Manchester-based national journos drank for England. Around Shudehill there was a phalanx of pubs to abet them. Really only the Hare and Hounds left today. And a lovely heritage interior it has, but not a patch on The Marble Arch, to which I have been a persistent pilgrim over these past four decades of irrevocable change. So imagine my horror when I heard that high rise urban transformation was threatening finally to engulf the Grade II listed building.

It’s not all ‘going to plan’ as the cranes gather

This world class hostelry, with beers from its own acclaimed brewery, is not facing demolition. Just being potentially spoilt by crass developers intent on cramming an extra 17-storey apartment block as close as possible. Let’s call it maximising development potential. Or greed. There isn’t even the usual ‘social housing’ proviso wheeled out.

The plan for ‘Downtown Victoria North Phase 2’ hadn’t originally been so threatening, but out of the blue in September Marble owner Jan Rogers discovered that the proposed Gateway Square breathing space, part of the original 2019 plans, is now going to be jettisoned. So much for the “sensitive approach” to the pub and its neighbours, with new buildings capped at six storeys to “respect and celebrate the character” of the site.

Thom Bamford has covered all this in detail in an excellent article for I Love Manchester. Please read and contribute to the public consultation. My contribution here is make the case for the pub I feel so close to.

It’s not about NIMBY nostalgia. The Marble Arch is a major hospitality asset for Manchester. For personal reasons I’m less emotional about similar plans affecting the trad multi-room gem that is The Britons Protection (these are currently on hold, I believe). Even if it survives being closely cuddled by the 27-storey Apex Tower apartment block, in six years’ time it will sit in the immense shadow of what will be the city’s largest skyscraper at 860ft high. Extra huge welcome to Nobu Tower, just across the tramlines.

The game’s already up for the Lower Turk’s Head in the shadow of its 16 storey glass neighbour, Salboy’s ‘Shudehill Shard’; after protests the Sir Ralph Abercromby escaped demolition in the £400m St Michael’s re-development but that just feels like tokenism; the Jolly Angler, a basic boozer I felt more affection for remains an abandoned shell among the cranes around Piccadilly Station.

So what makes the Marble Arch so special?

A very brief history first… The pub’s spectacular tile and mosaic interior dates back to 1888 when it was a showcase for McKenna’s Harpurhey Brewery. It was one of the first buildings in Manchester to have electric lighting.

At some point during the 20th century it passed into the stewardship of Wilson’s Brewery and was known as the Wellington Vaults. Eventually the locals’ nickname for it, the Marble Arch, stuck. In 1954, on an iconoclastic whim, that whole barrel vaulted ceiling and the amber frieze were covered over with chipboard and paint.

A 1975 Manchester Pub Guide summed it up as a place “where the interest almost ceases on entry”. Apparently it was “very good if you want to watch TV.” A far cry from the entry in Matthew Curtis’s 2023 Manchester Beer Pubs and Bars”: “While developers have sought to modernise the surrounding area the Arch has remained true to its heritage… this compact red brick building with its faux marble facade (it’s actually Shap granite) and pillars that bestraddle the entrance way feels as though it’s stood here for an eternity.”

Well, since 1983 when CAMRA stalwart, John Worthington, bought it, rescued its features and I made my own contribution to eternity. The key date for its current epic reputation is surely 1997. Recession was hitting hard, but Jan rejected plans by her colleagues Mark and Vance to focus on karaoke for salvation and instead launched Marble Brewery. Inspired. This was then well ahead of the craft beer game.

A world class brewery that has led the way

Marble’s kit, in the pub cellar, was installed by the legendary Brendan Dobbin, one of the first brewers to use American and New Zealand hops in the UK at his West Coast Brewery in a less than gentrified Moss Side.

Original head brewer Dade left to set up Boggart Hole Clough Brewery in 2000 and was replaced by James Campbell. From then until he left in 2013 he created a famous roster of Marble ales – Manchester Bitter, Lagonda, Dobber, Pint, Ginger, Earl Grey IPA and more.

I remember clambering down into the cramped brewery beneath the pub with James and his core team Dom Driscoll and Colin Stronge, both of whom, along with Rob ‘Blackjack’ Hamilton, to go on to illustrious brewing careers. Further high profile helming of Cloudwater and Sureshot earned Campbell himself the ‘Outstanding Achievement’ gong at the Manchester 2023 Manchester Food and Drink Awards

All the Marble beers are vegetarian to this day. Jan’s son Joe Ince brews in a custom-built facility in Salford with the beers hugely popular across the free trade.

Still it remains that pub interior that draws aficionados from across the world. Remarkably the exterior was pictured in the Oxford Companion to Beer (2012), edited by Brooklyn Beer’s resident guru Garrett Oliver. Blame the UK editors. Not his fault that the colour plate montage of ‘London Pubs’ featured Rochdale Road’s finest. Alongside the likes of The Cheshire Cheese. Some confusion with the metropolis’s monumental clogged traffic island?

Our own Arch feels very much part of Manchester. Welcoming to old regulars, hardcore ale tourists and a curious new generation checking it out. Over time, of course, it has gently morphed. The bric and brac of four decades has accumulated. It all feels beautifully lived in and shared. They’ve never attempted to rectify the slightly sloping mosaic floor, though the original bar on the side was switched to the back, where the nine hand pulls and eight keg taps live; behind this was added a kitchen and small refectory. The outside beer area thrives spite of the constant construction hubbub.

Not just any pie and pint

The food is consistently excellent. On my visit to discuss the planning rumpus with Jan I couldn’t resist The Pie (or Heaven In a Crust), featuring “Marble stout marinated feather blade steak with drunken onion and boozy gravy”. There’s a choice of mash or thick-cut chips; mushy peas or buttered greens. It’s never going to lift the place into the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs. But then few of those Farrow-and-Balled ‘rural idylls’ could ever match the beer offering here. Or the wit of the clientele.

With the pie I had a pint of Earl Grey IPA. Dangerously drinkable at 6.8 per cent, it’s just one delicious example of the international reach of this new wave Manchester brewing pioneer (Jan is a big fan of one of its successors, Track).

‘Earl Grey’ was created initially as a collaboration with Dutch breweries de Molen and Kees. As the name suggests, the process involves the addition of that tea scented with bergamot. A far cry from the 19th century Harpurhey small beer brewing culture.

As I head out in the late afternoon it is filling up nicely with folk whose love of ale-fuelled camaraderie has made them brave the roadwork chaos outside (pavements shut off, buses prevented from stopping). In such fractured times more than ever we can’t afford to lose our Marbles.

17 November 2025/by Neil Sowerby

Beer, Travel, Wine

Nightingale season, radical seeds and troubled dreams in sparkling Sussex

Never meet your heroes, they say. Does it help if they are not at the very top of your worshipful bucket list? Take this random trio – folk singer and nightingale champion Sam Lee, revolutionary political philosopher Thomas Paine and Limerick-born Dermot Sugrue, described by his wife as the ‘Don Corleone of English wine’. I’m a big fan of all three, all of whom were integral, in their different ways, to a spring visit to Lewes, East Sussex.

The roots of our big wedding anniversary break lay in Sam’s Singing With Nightingales project. It felt like the perfect present for a spouse in tune with all things avian and Shakespeare (the special theme of our chosen night in a ‘secret’ Sussex wood).

Each spring several thousand nghtingales make the long migration from Sub-Saharan Africa to reside in southern England and indulge in all-night mating ritual. The chance to hear the song, from the male only, long celebrated in myth, poetry and folk culture was irresistible. Sam, who has himself written a book on the bird, describes it as “an act of immersive theatre and ritual, both otherworldly and yet something we might collectively have done since the dawn of humans. This communion with the more than human world reminds us that we are nature and nature is in us all.

Our unique experience encompassed a bell tent for the night, chummy campfire supper, a lutanist, Shakespeare from a Globe Theatre story teller and a song plus eco rallying cry from charismatic Sam; then towards the witching hour a single file promenade into the dark woods. The goal, achieved – to hunker down by a hedge to eavesdrop on the ecstatic piping of a nightingale. So few left, a 90 per cent decline in the UK since the sixties, so it felt a magical encounter. All too brief. What was it Keats concluded his great Ode with? “Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music:— Do I wake or sleep?”

At the close, in the deep darkness, Sam and his musical guests duetted softly with the invisible bird. You can get a feel from a 2021 EP how it sounds. Nothing, though can match the real thing. Each year the window of opportunity is short, scarcely six weeks. I highly recommend making the trek to Sussex (or a newer site in Bedfordshire)). Just 40 folk are allowed for each session.

The Trouble with Dreams, the beauty of English bubbles

The same number, 40, is the guest maximum for Sugrue Sundays, a series of alfresco summer lunches at Sugrue South Downs winery, eight miles north of Lewes. After an aperitif among the vines, a four course lunch is cooked over vine cuttings and served en plein air with views of the Bee Tree Vineyard and the South Downs. The August 10 lunch sold out in a flash, understandably with kitchen legends Mark Hix and Henry Harris doing the cooking (I’m on a waiting list).

The wines, made by Dermot Sugrue, are an equal attraction. His Champagne method The Trouble with Dreams was recently named Britain’s best sparkling wine, ahead of the likes Nyetimber and Wiston, both of which once benefitted from Dermot as their contract winemaker.

Since 2023 the genial Irishman, now 47, has been master of his own vinous destiny, thanks to backers such as actor Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey and Paddington) and Robin Hutson, founder of The Pig boutique hotel collection (Soho House and Hotel du Vin are also in his cv). Evidence of burgeoning ambition is everywhere at the Bee Tree HQ, run by Dermot and his Croatian-born wife Ana. What was once a side project is now the real deal.

En route for Lewes, we popped in for a tasting with the pair’s marketing director, Callum Edge. Limerick (where Dermot began brewing at 14) met Cork (my wife, proud of her hibernian heritage) in the state of the art winery in front of the map charting his 11 hectare Sussex empire. Five vineyards with differing terroirs provide the Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir for the sparklers that have made is reputation.

Storrington Priory Vineyard has a special place in the legend. The Trouble With Dreams was tangentially born there on a plot planted to make wine for the resident monastic order. When the inaugural vintage was wiped out by birds, the Prior, Fr Paul McMahon took it on the chin, saying “That’s the trouble with dreams.”

As long time Trouble fans, we bought a bottle of the 2020 to celebrate our big anniversary. Not in the bell tent; back home in the North, lightly chilled in crystal glasses.

The Trouble With Dreams is available by the glass for £20 at Manchester’s Michelin-starred Mana; on the same list Sugrue’s Cuve Boz Blanc de Blancs 2015 is by the bottle at £210. I bought mine from the Wine Society for £65.

Given 36 months on the lees, it is steely and fresh and quite wonderful. It too has scooped awards, but Sugrue’s latest sensation has undoubtedly been – take a deep breath – a still white called BONKERS Zombie Robot Alien Monsters from the Future Ate My Brain (sur lie). This multi-vintage solera Chardonnay, sold out in a heartbeat. It was is the result of a blend of Chardonnay from the near perfect 2022 vintage which was lightly oxidised, with fruit from 2023. The blend was aged in large, old French oak barrels and was taut and refreshing with complexity emerging down the bottle. The next expression will be released in late 2025. You’d be bonkers to ignore it. And watch this space for a 100 per cent Pinot Noir in the pipeline.

Does the ghost of Thomas Paine haunt the Hart?

Lewes is synonymous with tumultuous Bonfire Night celebrations, marking both the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and the 17 Protestant martyrs burned at the stake in Lewes during the reign of Queen Mary. Political dynamite was also fashioned in the town; Thomas ‘Rights of Man’ Paine, key figure in both the French and American Revolutions, lived at Bull House from 1768 to 1774 and honed his debating skills at the Headstrong Club held in The White Hart on the High Street. Did the historical revolutionary zeal rub off on these seekers of nightingale song? Our room in the latest incarnation of the hotel was across the first floor landing from the Headstrong’s meeting room, lovingly preserved by Heartwood Inns during a £4m spend. As are the timbery creaks in a building dating back to the 1560s.

The town, radical chic to the core even with its hilltop castle and well-heeled retirees, does not neglect Paine. There’s a rival pub named after him and while visiting the excellent Friday Food Market we spotted a mural of the young firebrand in the Market Tower. Bull House, his residence while working in the town as an exciseman, has recently re-opened to the public as a museum (Thursdays and Saturdays, 11am-3pm). In 2026, Thomas Paine: Legacy and its partners will launch a Sussex-wide programme of events to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Some two decades after Paine’s time there Lewes’s most famous institution came into being. Family-owned Harvey’s https://www.harveys.org.uk/ still dominates the Ouse river bank and on the attractive Cliffe High Street there’s a large store flogging merchandise and the range of their award-winning beers. The true classic that never fails to delight is Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter. It is crafted from four local hop varieties, Downs water and a 60-year-old yeast strain.

The best place to sample it is The Lewes Arms, an institution for over 200 years up on Mount Place. Moving with the times, it’s home to idiosyncratic events such as the World Pea Throwing Championships, Spaniel Racing and the ancient pastime of Dwyle Flunking (look it up). or you could just order a heritage grain, wood-fired pizza with your Harvey’s and seek out the hidden garden up top. Lewes is full of such hidden corners, making it a delight to ramble around.

221st century craft beer boasts its own stronghold. It’s well worth the 15 minute walk out of town to Beak’s brewery tap, set under a white chalk cliff. They don’t spare the hops here for hazy NEIPAs and the like, but the result is consistently impressive – at a price. Great branding too.

Best foodie destination? Definitely, Dill, just awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for chef Dan Cooper’s globally inspired small plates, which have the added virtue of being quite substantial.

FACT FILE

Singing With Nightingales

The 2026 season will run from April 10 to May 28. Dates for the season will be announced and tickets will go on general sale, maximum 40 per session, in November 2025.

Sugrue South Downs, Bee Tree Vineyard, South Rd, Wivelsfield Green, Haywards Heath RH17 7QS. Visits by appointment. There are also Bee Experience Days, exploring the life cycle of the bee, nectar foraging, and honey production to a full hive inspection

The White Hart, 55 High St, Lewes BN7 1XE.

For further details on a fascinating town go to Visit Lewes. Further afield there’s the South Downs Way and Bloomsbury literary shrines, Monk’s House, Rodmell and Charleston – homes respectively of Virginia Woolf and her sister Vanessa Bell.

1 June 2025/by Neil Sowerby

Beer, Drink

Bhoys for the black stuff – how Gen Z foams at the mouth for Irish pubs

AN Irish wolfhound painted green, would you credit it? Not a tall tale but a Paddy’s Day encounter on the thronged streets of Downpatrick a decade ago. En route for Belfast we were driving through the County Down town – appropriately the last resting place of Ireland’s patron saint. The huge dog’s master was sporting an equally green stovepipe hat with a clover on it but not, alas, an elasticated ginger beard attached.

Every March 17 American cities go even further celebrating Hibernian heritage. In Chicago and Boston whole waterways get dyed bright emerald. I don’t expect the Irwell to shed its shit-brown sheen in Manchester’s upcoming contribution to the Pat in the Hat revels. Yet the big day is sure to be fuelled by a flood of the black stuff. Purely on the evidence of the plethora of Irish bars springing up. One a month at the last count.

Somewhere over the rainbow, the price is way up high

Across the land trad pubs may be closing at the rate of 30 a week, but on the flip side an Oirish theme offers the pot of gold at the end of Finian’s rainbow. Just stick a row of Guinness dispensers on the bar, lay it on thick with the toucan posters and signposts proclaiming “It’s 300 miles to Tipperary” … then call yourself Mother McGinty’s Goat. Or something equally seafóideach (check Irish Gaelic translation, don’t attempt to pronounce).

Fact: across the globe, in streets broad and narrow, Molly Malone’s is the most popular Irish pub name. Of course, you’ve also got The Dog’s Bollix in Auckland, New Zealand, The Hairy Canary in Brussels, Cromwell’s (this’ll slay them) in Alicante and in our own dear Sale Moor, Fibber Magee’s.

At the more sophisticated end of nomenclature I give you the Northern Quarter’s fresh Salmon of Knowledge in the former Ply site, and shortly to spawn a second in Didsbury (becoming the new Dublin with the excellent Kennedy’s of Altrincham also expanding there). Smart sports bar Salmon is a quite different kettle of fish to the old school establishments. To wash down your brisket boxty they even feature a ‘craft’ alternative to Guinness. The Brandon Stout from Cork’s Franciscan Well Brewery is a more substantial tipple, but a small drop in the roasted malt dark ocean.

Guinness is good for you (especially if you’re an investor)

Central to this bar boom is, of course, the astonishing surge in popularity of Arthur Guinness’s beautifully marketed brew, on trend in Dublin since since 1759. As I write, they are predicting 380,000 pints of this iconic stout will be downed at the current Cheltenham Festival – a 43 per cent increase on last year.

And before Christmas fears of a national shortage sent shockwaves through its new Generation Z legion of admirers. Result: a scramble to the bar to pay £7 a pint and beyond. The prices at Mulligan’s off Deansgate are almost keeping pace with London phenomenon The Devonshire, its landlord a man named Oisin, the downstairs bar the biggest Irish scrum down since Willie John McBride. (Tip: the wood ember grilled steaks upstairs are a superior experience.)

All this for a gentle keg beer that clocks in at just 4.2 per cent ABV but, yes, looks good on Instagram. Helped by all that ritual about the perfect, two-part pour, which takes 118 seconds to get it right. Oh, and for real nerds, the correct keg ratio of blanket nitrogen and oxygen has to be in place. As they say in Auckland, Bollix. Not content with now producing the UK’s best-selling beer, Guinness owners Diageo have also tapped into the zero market. Guinness 0.0 is also our numero uno non-alcoholic beer. Staggering, you might say, but that’s not the end product.

So which Manchester Irish bar is best for a St Patrick’s Day bash?

Probably Mulligan’s. It used to be my affordable local in ‘Lunchtime O’Booze’ days at the Manchester Evening News. It was just the right side of shabby then under a laconic landlord nicknamed Trigger. Was that really Roy Keane over there in the corner near the Fir and Mna (Gents and Ladies)? Nowadays, under progressive owner Pádraig Brady, it has smartened up and expanded upstairs to accommodate the hordes who descend. Get there early or charm the bouncers. Best Guinness in the land? I’m keen (sic) not be mugged by the hype, but it is a lovely drop. Prices: Ouch.

Pull up a pew – when bar decor is an ecumenical matter

How I miss Waxy O’Connor’s in the Printworks, at one time Manchester’s biggest Irish bar. Labyrinthine was the word for this multi-level job lot of ecclesiastical carved wood and stained glass, its centrepiece a 250-year-old tree shipped over from Ireland. What was that trunk’s fate when Waxy’s suddenly jumped ship?

Reassuringly old wooden fixtures remain de rigueur in a new generation of Irish bars. Sometimes it goes beyond recycled barrels as tables. Take O’Connell’s, which has set up shop in the old Thirsty Scholar site on New Wakefield Street. The main bar front has been sourced from an early 20th-century bank on Dublin’s College Green with seating ‘looted’ from both Tralee and Manchester Cathedrals.

Less generic is neighbour Mother Marys, itself a reinvention of another classic Manc student bar, Font. Music, including Irish trad sessions, is part of the package. Derry’s lively bar scene is apparently an inspiration and Franciscan Well is on tap here, too. Combine a crawl round both bars with a communion with the nearby plaque marking the site of the 19th century slum district, Little Ireland. Friedrich Engels was appalled.

They love a story – who’s for Nancy Spain?

An invitation sits in my inbox. To Nancy Spains, a project by three brothers from Kerry who have brought the craic to Shoreditch and Monument In London and hope to replicate in the NQ’s Hilton Street. They are just going to make it in time for St Patrick’s Day. Cork stout Murphy’s is their signature stout – not even Cork’s finest. I prefer the creamier Beamish, also under the Heineken umbrella but, for some odd commercial reason, we don’t see it much on draught over here.

It’s an odd addition to the scene, but I’m not pre-judging. Just indulge in that traditional Tralee bottomless brunch while digesting the back story of the eponymous heroine: “Nancy Spain was born outside Tralee in County Kerry in 1857, just after the Great Famine. Raised in a rural farming family, she grew up helping on the land but always dreamed of a life beyond the village. In her mid-teens, she left Ireland for London, driven by the hope of a better future.

“Starting out as a maid and factory worker, Nancy worked tirelessly, eventually becoming a barmaid in a local pub. Through her hard work, charm, and dedication, she became the landlady – the first Irish woman to hold such a role in London. Throughout the years, the pub became a place for the Irish community to connect with their heritage. Through traditional music, dance, and storytelling, it became a home away from home for many Irish generations living in London.

“Though Nancy loved London, her heart always longed for home. When she retired, she returned to Tralee, where she spent her remaining years in the peaceful countryside that had never left her soul.”

So Nancy, no pissed-up leprechauns from the great peat bogs of Newton Heath and Harpurhey then?

Forgive me, St Patrick. Do I sin in loving the old school bars?

There were, of course, pubs where folk of Irish extraction exclusively went. Not much of this left around. The Hennigan family empire in Levenshulme is majorly depleted. if you listen carefully enough on Ducie Street you might still hear the ghostly strains of Irish music sessions of the Jolly Angler, now shut after 166 years of jollity. Up in Ancoats a similar fate has befallen the even older Shamrock Inn in Bengal Street. It was mooted Holt’s Brewery would refurbish and reopen it, but that still hasn’t happened.

To the west of here was Angel Meadow. In the 19th century it was hellish home to 30,000 Irish immigrants. On the other side of town there was the aforementioned ‘Little Ireland’. On the fringes today hail O’Shea’s. I was there in 1994 when Jack Charlton, Geordie boss of the raggle-taggle Republic of Ireland football squad, poured the first ever pint in this warehouse conversion that still proudly flies the green, white and orange tricolour. Grab a Full Irish with Clonakilty Black and White Pudding, washed down with Guinness at a mere £6.10 a pint. Do they screen the All-Ireland Hurling? Be good if they did. Whatever’;s on the screens, it will be packed this coming Monday.

A leap of faith at The Salmon of Knowledge

A busy Salmon, too. To sup the stout you don’t have to be acquainted with the legend, but it helps. In Irish myth the salmon of knowledge swam in the Well of Segais, and ate the magical nuts from nine hazel trees that fell into the water. There was a prophecy that Finegas would catch and eat it, thereby gaining all knowledge. However his apprentice Fionn roasted the salmon and burnt his thumb while turning it. Fionn put his thumb in his mouth to cool it, and so received the salmon’s power. From that point on he only had to chew his thumb to gain knowledge of the future.

Mind, at the end of a hectic St Patrick’s Day the immediate future is probably just a Full Irish.

St Patrick’s Day is March 17. In the aftermath treat yourself to a copy of Ian Ryan’s A Beautiful Pint (Bloomsbury, £9.99), which explains the Guinness mystique and guides you to the best places to sample it. As a riposte to the TikTok influencers check out this Cork exile’s @shitlondonguinness Instagram account. Finally apologies to all the Irish bars I may have missed out, including those that opened during the time I started writing this piece.

13 March 2025/by Neil Sowerby

Beer, Food, Restaurants

How I grew to love the Bermondsey bounty at Borough’s expense

A Pondicherry fish curry in a French bistro, basmati rice from remote Piemonte flatlands and a raft of six pale ales each made from different Kiwi hops – all part of a delicious dash for freedom from the crush of Saturday afternoon Borough Market.

OK, I should have known better with a few daylight hours to spare in London. A wonderful Waiting for Godot with Ben Whishaw and Medieval Women: In Their Own Words at The British Library had quenched my cultural cravings. Now for quality time with gourmandise.

On my last capital visit I’d found much to admire at Camille at 2-3 Stoney Street opposite the food mecca, so Gallic symmetry demanded I check out Café Fr ançois further along at 14-16 (restraining my urge for my habitual pint of Harvey’s Sussex Best in The Market Porter at no.9). The pub was heaving anyway, like the inside of the Market, which I had made the mistake of trying to traverse untrampled.

Overtourism is a buzz word of the moment, but who would wish to revert to earlier times at Borough Market? Maybe not the 12th century beginnings on this site when bartering turnips for gruel was trade. No, before 1998, when the old fruit and veg market was on its knees, undermined by the power of the supermarkets. Then the decision was made to switch upmarket into a bazaar of artisan foodstuffs to tantalise the tastebuds of the chattering classes. A plan that has worked so brilliantly that it is wise to choose your moment to duck the tourist hordes. The prices, though, remain on the ambitious side, even if you roll up on a Tuesday morning. Weekends are just mayhem as the queues for average ‘street food’ stretch as long as, well, a street.

A parade of fine new restaurants is a reason to brave the Borough overload

In contrast, a big plus at Borough in recent times has been the arrival of proper restaurants on the edge of the market. Also on Stoney Street, stripped back Sri Lankan diner R ambutan, which I ea gerly anticipated and then enjoyed immensely.

The most hyped recent arrivals have been Akara, https://www.akaralondon.co.uk/ a West African cuisine sibling of Michelin-starred Akoya in Fitzrovia and Oma, https://www.oma.london/ a high end Greek place from Smokestak and Manteca founder David Carter.

A theme here is: big acclaim elsewhere, let’s bite on Borough. Hence Café François, which has sprung from the fancy success of Maison François near Fortnum and Mason. This more casual spin-off is also styled as an all-day Gallic-inspired brasserie and the simple, classic plates sport the joint’s name. More casual it may be but the designers have been given free rein to transform this former Paul Smith store. Stylewise it’s head and padded shoulders above anywhere else in the foodie ‘hood.

Further good news? It’s also fun with exceptional service despite it being flavour of the moment. A well thought out French flavour. Well so is Cafe Rouge. Except the François food is light years better. It’s never going to be Bouchon Racine but it’s not aiming for that crowd (well mine and Jay Rayner’s crowd). Henry Harris’s determinedly old school French bistro above a pub in Farringdon would never run to a glass-fronted dessert kiosk stuffed with patisserie and Paris-Brests. Open from breakfast, Café François is still going strong for mid-afternoon sugar rushes.

Arriving around then I perversely ordered a curry. So should they rename it Café Indienne? Don’t forget there is a very French foothold in the Sub-continent, around Pondicherry. Hence the Vadouvan as their contribution to Indian cuisine – featuring a smoky spice mix and plenty of garlic and shallots. Quite mild this £24 bistro version with plentiful monkfish and a scattering that made an orangey mess as I prised them from the rice.

More colonial influence the presence of a soft shell crab bánh mì on the menu; the Vietnamese love (and supply most of France’s) frog’s legs but the crispy cuisses de grenouille are served with a trad sauce ravigote.

Eclectic touches aside there is a solid bistro/bouchon feel to the menu. A starter portion of exemplary if mustardy tartare du boeuf cost me £18. I drank one of my favourite rosés, Domaine de Triennes from Aix-en-Provence.

Enjoyable but my beating Borough Heart belongs to Camille. It’s a promenade de cinq minutes from La Gare de London Bridge; turn into Stoney Street, veer immediately left and you are in some modest estaminet on the Left Bank back in the Fifties. In truth it’s a plain room, untouched by any cute designer’s hand.

Ignore the melee outside and tuck into escargots, crispy pig’s ear, frisée and apple, and smoked eel devilled eggs, as I did, before Highland Angus tartare with chestnuts and topped with a fluffy cloud of grated Lincolnshire Poacher. A tie on the tartare with its rival down the street.

Chef Elliot Hashtroudi, once of St John, is on top of his Gallic game. As dusk dropped and candles were lit I started humming La Vie en Rose. But that was a while back. On this November Saturday it was time to make my escape from Borough Market. One Underground stop away is Battersea. Present Oyster Card.

Hardly the New Frontier but Bermondsey has a pioneering buzz

I had two reasons to go to Bermondsey – the K ernel Brewery Taproom and the Ham & Cheese Co, neither or which I’d made it to previously. Indeed the Taproom is a smart newcomer, opened only in August. Not every venue in this end of town is now confined to an arch.

Ham & Cheese is. It does what it says on the label imports the finest charcuterie and cheese from Italy. Plus olives, oil, pulses, rice, capers and much, much more, all sourced directly from producers that genuinely qualify as ‘artisan’. I discovered it through the charcuterie for platters they supplied to Coin in Hebden Bridge down the Valley from us. Regular online orders proved a lifeline throughout the lockdowns. My only caveat you could only buy my favourite Mortadella whole – 2.3kg for £65. They recommend eating it with three days, too and there was a further obstacle – I don’t own a commercial slicer.

Gioia! On the counter at their base in Dockley Industrial Estate there sat a hunk of mortadella to be sold by the 100g and cut wafer thin. Is per favore.

Their source in the Bologna Apennines, Aldo Zivieri, keeps his rare breed Mora Romagnola pigs or free range large whites in 40 hectares of pristine woodland and slaughters them at 14-16 months in his own small abattoir before applying traditional charcutier’s skills.

My prime mission was accomplished too. The new season’s extra virgin olive oil had arrived only five days before from the Abruzzo. It is made from a tough little olive called intosso, which only yields fruit above an altitude of 350m. A labour of love indeed. It has only survived as a varietal thanks to pressure from the Slow Food Movement. When I got home and opened the bottle of Casino di Caprafico the colourswas vibrantly, verdantly green with a huge, grassy perfume. At £42 for 75cl it’s a luxury to be sprinkled sparingly, but when even commercially produced olive oils are soaring price my advice is bugger £10 Berio.

I went for Abruzzo oil and came away with Piemonte basmati

A final surprise package, literally, was – alongside the customary Carnaroli rice for risotto – was Riso Gange with its remarkable back story. Let me quote the Ham & Cheese Co notes on this aromatic basmati style long grain rice also grown in Piemonte by Igiea Adami…

“In 1821 Igiea’s distant relative, Paolo Solaroli, was exiled to India for his revolutionary ideas. There he made his fortune, married an Indian princess, returned to Piedmont in 1867 and bought the tiny hamlet of Beni di Busonengo to grow rice. It is in an area of wild flatlands called the Baraggia, now a nature reserve, where poor, clay soil fed with cold waters channeled straight off the Monte Rosa massif in the Alps provides the perfect growing conditions for rice.”

And it was suitable for the ‘Riso Gange’. Each pack that Igiea sells she donates money to the Indian charity Samparc in Calcutta. Just before I wrote this piece I used it to make a kedgeree and it worked a dream.

The Ham & Cheese store only opens for a few hours every Saturday; the nearby Kernel Brewery Taproom closes Monday and Tuesday but is open up to 10 hours a day the rest of the week.

At least until the end of 2024 Kernel is hosting a kitchen residency with Yagi Izakaya, serving Japanese-inspired comfort food such as gyoza, udon and karaage. It would be intriguing to see how such dishes match with Kernel’s classic dark beers. I couldn’t resist sampling the 7.1 per cent Export Stout 1890 but balked at the 9.5 per cent Imperial Russian Stour, cleansing my palate with one of six individually hopped NZ pale ales. I took my server’s advice and went for the Rakau. It was a resinous treat. Does Kernel ever brew a dull beer? It has been 16 years since Evin O’Riordan started brewing at his original Druid Street site and it remains the benchmark for all the other breweries along the ‘Bermondsey Beer Mile’. Many were lined up in the Enid Street arches (including the London outpost of Manchester’s own Cloudwater) as I walked back to Borough Market, hoping in vain the hordes might have dispersed.

Some special treats to add to your Bermondsey basket

My tip: stop off at the Maltby Street Market on the Ropewalk for your street food, having stocked up at some of the classy food outlets clustered around Ham & Cheese and Kernel on the Dockley Road Industrial Estate. Most of therm do online retail. I liked the look of The Fresh Fish Shop at Unit 8, foraged mushroom and truffle specialists The Wild Room at Unit 3.

In the adjacent Apollo Business Park I recommend Maltby and Greek at Arch 17, a real Hellenic Aladdin’s Cave (sic) from the UK’s leading importer of Greek foods with an impressive wine selection, too, and at Arches 1-11 the cheesy cornucopia that is N eal’s Yard Dairy. Less hectic than the Borough branch, naturally. I rest my case.

FACT FILE

I stayed at the Z Hotel Covent Garden, 31-33 Bedford St, London WC2E 9ED, a delightful bolthole which backs on to St Paul’s Church and overlooks Covent Garden Piazza. It’s a haven of quiet despite being in the heart of the tourist action (you’ve gathered I don’t like crowds). There’s so much to do in this area of great restaurants and theatres, including the Royal Opera House. For my Borough Market/Bermondsey break-out I caught the Jubilee Line at Westminster.

29 January 2025/by Neil Sowerby

Beer, Cocktails, Restaurants

2024 MANCHESTER FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL AWARDS SHORTLISTS – CAST YOUR VOTE NOW

The shortlisted nominees for the 2024 Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards have been announced. The Awards are the most prestigious in the North West and celebrate the region’s outstanding hospitality talent, with winners to be revealed at the MFDF Gala Dinner at New Century Hall on Monday, January 27, 2025.

There are 136 exceptional venues, traders, places and people nominated across 17 categories celebrating a resurgent year for Greater Manchester’s hospitality industry. This year’s roll call takes in the whole breadth of talent flourishing in our region – from talented takeaways and superb street food vendors to Michelin-star dining and some of the newest and most exciting additions to the scene.

The shortlisted nominations have been compiled by the MFDF Judging Panel, taking into account award submissions from the hospitality industry. The panel is made up of the region’s leading food and drink critics, writers, and experts. The awards are now open to public vote on the MFDF website.

As well as the public vote, a mystery shopping period will now commence when judges will visit nominated venues in some categories or an anonymous dining visit, and will score venues based on their experiences.

The mystery shopping and public voting period will end at midnight on January 10 when the polls will be counted and combined with the judges’ scores, and the winner of each category will be chosen.

The MFDF 24 Award Winners will be announced at the MFDF Awards Dinner on Monday, January 27 and tickets can be purchased by emailing isabella@foodanddrinkfestival.com

And the nominations are…

AFFORDABLE EATS VENUE OF THE YEAR

Café San Juan

27 St Petersgate, Stockport SK1 1EB

Nell’s Pizza

22 Minshull Street, Kampus M1 3EF

Wow Banh Mi

132 Oldham Road, Ancoats M4 6BG

Hong Thai

140 Oldham Road, Ancoats M4 6BG

Salt & Pepper

60-62 High Street, Manchester M4 1EA

Nila’s Burmese Kitchen

386 Third Avenue, Trafford Park, Stretford M17 1JE

Mia’s Arepas

11 Baring Street, Manchester M1 2PZ

Sips & Dips

994 Stockport Road, Manchester M19 3WN

Last year’s winner: Ornella’s Kitchen Denton.

TAKEAWAY OF THE YEAR

Chips @ No. 8

8 Clifton Road, Prestwich M25 3HQ

Ad Maoira

23 Radium Street, Ancoats M4 6AY

Maida Grill House

38 Liverpool Street, Salford M5 4LT

Lucky Mama’s

565 Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton M21 8AE

Codi’s Kitchen

391 Bury New Rd, Prestwich M25 1AW

Fat Pat’s

88 Portland St, Manchester M1 4GX

Mrs A’s Kitchen

30 Church Street, Eccles M30 0DF

One Sushi

St James’s Building, 75 Oxford Road, Manchester, M1 6EG

Last year’s winner: Burgerism

COFFEE SHOP OF THE YEAR

Grind & Tamp

45 Bridge Street, Ramsbottom BL0 9AD

Fort Coffee

255 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EN

Allpress Espresso

3, Redfern Building, Dantzic Street, Manchester M4 4AH

California Coffee & Wine

3 Oxford Road, Altrincham WA14 2DY

Another Heart to Feed

10 Hilton Street, Manchester M1 1JF

Bold Street Coffee

53 Cross Street, Manchester M2 4JN

ManCoCo

85 Hewitt Street, Manchester M15 4GB

Oscillate Coffee

52 Flixton Road, Urmston M41 5AB

Last year’s winner: Grapefruit Coffee, Sale

FOOD AND DRINK RETAILER OF THE YEAR

Wandering Palate

191 Monton Road, Eccles M30 9PN

Petit Paris Deli

10 King Street, Manchester M2 6AG

Out of the Blue

484 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton M21 9AS

Chorlton Cheesemongers

486 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton Manchester M21 9AS

Littlewoods Butchers

5 School Lane, Heaton Chapel SK4 5DE

Ancoats Deli

6 Murray Street, Ancoats M4 6HS

Lily’s Deli

102 Manchester Road, Chorlton M21 9SZ

Oseyo

Unit 90, Halle Mall, Manchester Arndale M4 2HU

Last year’s winner: Cork of the North, Heaton Moor

FOOD TRADER OF THE YEAR

House of Habesha

Kargo MKT, Salford M50 3AG

The Little Sri Lankan

Cardinal Rule

10 Tariff St, Manchester M1 2FF

Ad Maoira

23 Radium Street, Ancoats M4 6AY

Jaan By Another Hand

St George’s House, 56 Peter St, Manchester M2 3NQ

Baity

Kargo MKT, Salford M50 3AG

House of Bun

11 Blackburn Street, Radcliffe M26 1PN

Honest Crust

1 Eagle Street, Manchester M4 5BU

Last year’s winner: Fat Pat’s, Manchester

FOODIE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE YEAR

Monton

Prestwich

Salford

Urmston

Levenshulme

Altrincham

Denton

Sale

Last year’s winner: Stockport.

INDEPENDENT DRINKS PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Cloudwater Brew Co

7-8 Piccadilly Trading Estate, Manchester M1 2NP

Pomona Island Brew Co

33 Waybridge Enterprise Centre, Daniel Adamson Road, Salford M50 1DS

Sureshot Brewing

5 Sheffield Street, Manchester M1 2DN

The Salford Rum Company

33 Viaduct Street, Salford M3 7WX

Steep Soda Co

Pod Pea Vodka

Ten Locks, Fairhill Road, Irlam M44 6BD

Hip Pop

Unit 98, North Western Street, Manchester M12 6JL

Balance Brewing & Blending

Unit 10, Sheffield Street, Manchester M1 2DN

Last year’s winner: Track Brewing Co, Manchester

INDEPENDENT FOOD PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Companio Bakery

Unit 6 Flint Glass Wharf, 35 Radium Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 6AD

H.M.Pasties

Unit 11-12, Pennant Industrial, Oldham OL1 3NP

La Chouquette

812a Wilmslow Road, Didsbury M20 6UH

Great North Pie Co

Unit 2a, Deanway, Manchester Road, Wilmslow SK9 2HW

The Flat Baker

23 Radium Street, Ancoats M4 6AY

Long Boi’s Bakehouse

40 Forest Range, Manchester M19 2HP

Yellowhammer

15 Lower Hillgate, Stockport SK1 1JQ

Half Dozen Other

Unit 17 Redbank, Cheetham Hill M4 4HF

Last year’s winner: Pollen Bakery, Manchester

NEIGHBOURHOOD VENUE OF THE YEAR

Cibus Pizza

847-849 Stockport Road, Manchester M19 3PW

Ornella’s Kitchen

10 Manchester Road, Denton M34 3LE

Fold Bistro & Bottle Shop

7 Town Street, Marple Bridge, Stockport SK6 5AA

The Pearl

425 Bury New Road, Prestwich M25 1AF

Restaurant Örme

218 Church Road, Urmston M41 9DX

Tawny Stores

1 Upper Hibbert Lane, Hawk Green, Marple SK6 7JQ

Vero Moderno

Unit 4, Vimto Gardens, Chapel Street, Salford nM3 5JF

Bar San Juan

56 Beech Road, Chorlton M21 9EG

Last year’s winner: Stretford Canteen

PLANT-BASED OFFERING OF THE YEAR

Maray

14 Brazennose St, Manchester M2 6LW

Lily’s Indian Vegetarian Cuisine

85 Oldham Road, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7DF

Wholesome Junkies

Hinterland Bar, 16-20 Turner St, Manchester M4 1DZ

Allotment Vegan Eatery

1 – 3 Cathedral Gates, Manchester M3 1SW

Walled Gardens

Whalley Range, Manchester

Little Aladdin

72 High Street, Manchester M4 1ES

Herbivorous

445 Wilmslow Road, Withington M20 4AN

Sanskruti

93-95 Mauldeth Road, Manchester, M14 6SR

Last year’s winner: Bundobust

POP-UP OR PROJECT OF THE YEAR

Bungalow at Kampus

Aytoun Street, Manchester M1 3GL

Tartuffe

Side Street Studio Kitchen, ABC Buildings Corner of Quay Street and, Lower Byrom St, Manchester M3 4AE

Midori Didsbury at Wine & Wallop

97 Lapwing Lane, Didsbury M20 6UR

The Landing

Merseyway Shopping Centre Car Park, Stockport SK1 1HG

Love From

Aytoun Street, Manchester M1 3GL

Root to Flower

Sampa

24 Dale Street, Manchester M1 1FY

Manchester Wine Tour
Last year’s winner: Platt Fields Market Garden

PUB OR BEER BAR OF THE YEAR

Heaton Hops

7 School Lane, Heaton Chapel SK4 5DE

Port Street Beer House

39-41 Port Street, Manchester M1 2EQ

North Westward Ho

Pall Mall, 19 Chapel Walks, Manchester, M2 1HN

Mulligans of Manchester

12 Southgate, Manchester, M3 2RB

The City Arms

46-48, Kennedy Street, Manchester M2 4BQ

The Britons Protection

50 Great Bridgewater Street, Manchester, M1 5LE

The Old Abbey Taphouse

Guildhall Close, Manchester Science Park, Hulme M15 6SY

Café Beermoth

Brown Street, Manchester M2 1DA

Last year’s winner: Marble Arch, Manchester

GREAT SERVICE AWARD

Flawd Wine

9 Keepers Quay, Manchester M4 6GL

The Pearl

425, Bury New Road, Prestwich M25 1AF

Higher Ground

Faulkner House, New York Street, Manchester M1 4DY

Skof

3 Federation Street, Manchester M4 4BF

10 Tib Lane

10 Tib Lane, Manchester M2 4JB

Schofield’s Bar

Sunlight House, 3 Little Quay Street, Manchester M3 3JZ

Adam Reid At The French

16 Peter Street, Manchester M60 2DS

Ornella’s Kitchen

10 Manchester Road, Denton, Manchester M34 3LE

Last year’s winner: Hawksmoor, Manchester

BAR OF THE YEAR

Red Light

4-2 Little David Street, Manchester M1 3GL

Flawd Wine

9 Keepers Quay, Manchester M4 6GL

Speak in Code

7 Jackson’s Row, Manchester M2 5ND

Project Halcyon

Unit 2, Bonded Warehouse, St Johns, Manchester M3 3GS

Hawksmoor

184 – 186 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3WB

10 Tib Lane

10 Tib Lane, Manchester M2 4JB

Stray

1 Eagle Street, Manchester M4 5BU

Sterling Bar

4 Norfolk Street, Manchester M2 1DW

Last year’s winner: Schofield’s Bar, Manchester

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

The Pearl

425, Bury New Road, Prestwich, Manchester M25 1AF

Skof

3 Federation Street, Manchester M4 4BF

Medlock Canteen

5 Owen Street, Deansgate Square, Manchester M15 4YB

Onda Pasta Bar

Circle Square, Oxford Road, Manchester M1 7FS

Tawny Stores

1 Upper Hibbert Lane, Hawk Green, Marple SK6 7JQ

Caravan

6 Goods Yards Street, St Johns, Manchester M3 3BG

Hakkapo

13 Jack Rosenthal Street, Manchester M15 4FN

Flat Iron

200 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3NN

Last year’s winner: Higher Ground, Manchester

CHEF OF THE YEAR

Iain Thomas (The Pearl)

Joe Otway (Higher Ground)

Tom Barnes (Skof)

Sam Grainger (Medlock Canteen)

Patrick Withington (Erst)

Danielle Heron (OSMA)

Sam Buckley (Where the Light Gets In)

Julian Pizer (Another Hand)

Last year’s winner: Shaun Moffat (Edinburgh Castle)

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Skof

3 Federation Street, Manchester, M4 4BF

Higher Ground

Faulkner House, New York Street, Manchester M1 4DY

Another Hand

253 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 4EN

Where the Light Gets In

7 Rostron Brow, Stockport, SK1 1JY

The Pearl

425, Bury New Road, Prestwich M25 1AF

Restaurant Örme

218 Church Road, Urmston M41 9DX

Mana

42 Blossom Street, Ancoats M4 6BF

Adam Reid At The French

16 Peter Street, Manchester M60 2DS

Last year’s winner: Erst

5 November 2024/by Neil Sowerby

Beer, Food, Restaurants

Fish, fowl, fur and flesh – Scotland’s rich larder finds focus in Glasgow old and new

There are many approaches to eating and drinking in Glasgow. At the elevated end the city finally boasts two Michelin-starred restaurants – Cail Bruich in the West End and Unalome by Graeme Cheevers in still hip Finnieston. At the other end of the Clydeside spectrum you could test out the old Glasgae stereotypes, deep-fried Mars Bars and Lorne Sausages, Buckfast and Irn Bru. I don’t expect these fixtures feature if you sign up for any of the recommended Glasgow Food and Drink Tours run by Gillian Morrison. In their palce you’ll be left with the sense of a city celebrating amazing Scottish produce and revelling in its burgeoning food and drink culture.

I’ve been lucky to visit the city frequently in recent years and have charted the sea change (yes, fresh seafood is to the fore). Below are my personal tips. In no away definitive, especially where pubs are concerned. As everywhere, hospitality is in a state of flux. Along the way old stagers such as Rogano have gone and Gamba up for sale, while new places are springing up post-Pandemic. Next time I’m up Brett on Great Western Road is first on my bucket list after a rave review by Grace Dent in The Guardian.

THREE OLD FAVOURITES

If you’d asked me two years ago, The Ubiquitous Chip would have been nailed on. Since its launch in 1971 this converted stables had championed Scottish cuisine from homemade haggis with champit tatties, carrot crisp and neep cream to more contemporary takes on seafood such as seared Islay scallops with pumpkin fondant, malt crumble and seaweed butter. The glorious courtyard dining space only enhances the dining experience – though I am also partial to the dram-filled warren that is the Wee Pub at the Chip.

The culinary emphasis didn’t shift after founder Ronnie Clydesdale, the ‘Godfather of Scottish Cooking’, died in 2010, then two years ago his family sold the Chop to Greene Kings Metropolitan Pub Company. Ouch. Cheeringly head chef Doug Lindsay stayed on, but a recent scan of the menu didn’t encourage, so I’ve not been back.

The Gannet is a fledgling in comparison. Its chef/patron Peter McKenna gets credited with kickstarting the vibrant Finnieston dining scene from this narrow converted tenement. Also championing the best of Scottish produce? It goes with the territory. Now over a decade old, The Gannet stays true to its original mission statement: “Something that evokes Scotland’s Hebridean coastlines, giving a sense of place and landscape and at the same time offering a cheeky culinary reference as a moniker for those with large appetites: ‘The Gannet’ was christened.” For a sophisticated take on those fecund fishing grounds check out the Cured Wild Halibut/Soy /Yuzu/Horseradish or the Tarbert Lobster/Barra Cockles/Summer Vegetables.

My other two stalwart faves are near neighbours in the revitalised Merchant City (home to my recent hotel base, The Social Hub). A real pioneer in this quarter is Hebridean Seamas Macinnes, since 1983 at the helm of the Cafe Gandolfi in Albion Street with his sons now joining him. The L-shaped room offers a stylish rusticity featuring Tim Stead wooden furniture and quirky artwork. I particularly love the stained glass ‘A Flock of Fishes’ by Glasgow School of Art alumnus John Clark in the dining room (my main image). Comfortable in its own skin, Gandolfi? Definitely. A snip of a house white, a Veneto Bianco, went equally well with a dish of Mull scallops and mackerel and a fillet of coley in an Arbroath smokies cream. Stornoway black pudding with potato rosti and pickled mushroom was equally comforting. In another season I might have gone for the Haggis (from Cockburn’s of Dingwall), neeps and tatties. The name, by the way, is nothing to do with Lord of the Rings. It’s a homage to the legendary camera maker.

Just around the corner on Blackfriars Street, the Babbity Bowster pub takes its name from an old Scottish wedding dance. If the weather’s warm the temptation is to linger in its countrified beer garden at odds with the urban surroundings. That would be to neglect the high-ceilinged cool white bar with a fine array of Scottish ales. The building itself, converted in 1985, is a 1790 tobacco merchant’s house, all that remains of an entire street built by Robert Adam. There is a restaurant and en-suite bedrooms upstairs.

SEAFOOD

There are fine seafood places along Argyle Street – among them the aforementioned Gannet and The Finnieston – but the pick of the catch for me is Crabshakk, This stripped back temple to fish has a sibling up at The Botanic Gardens, but I‘m in my happy plaice (sic) here. On my last visit, eating solo in this narrow space, I regretted not begging a large bib as I messily tucked into a whole crab at the counter, followed by a quite wonderful tranche of halibut in a tomato miso with a draping of monksbeard.

PIZZA

You do wonder when a hugely successful indie food business is sold. Take Manchester’s own Rudy’s Pizza, currently being rolled out across the land. Three months on from their own sale Glasgow’s own Neapolitan crust champions Paeseano still boasts just the two outlets – each with its own oven installed by Gianna Acunto,of Naples, no less. After a torrid train journey up I’m given a quiet corner table in the heaving Miller Street original, off George Square, self-medicating with a Negroni before demolishing a very large anchovy-caper-olive overload pizza at a modest price. Magnifico.

PASTA

In the shadow of that great Victorian boneyard, The Necropolis (3,500 monuments and commemorating the city’s grandees plus 50,000 other soulsin unmarked graves) you’ll find Celentano’s, tucked away inside the sandstone pile of the Cathedral House Hotel. It’s the dream project of chef Dean Parker and his wife Anna, whose two-week Italian honeymoon inspired them towards this pasta-led project. Too dreamy? They also worked at some serious restaurants in London before moving to Glasgow a couple of years ago, swiftly earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Antipasti, primi, secondi are on the menu but there’s not a check tablecloth in sight. Their home-made pasta is the draw. Who could resists a Dexter beef ragu with your papardelle? Sourcing is immaculate – Mossgiel organic farm provides the ricotta for the agnolotti with cavolo nero and squash.

MEAT

Glasgow is not short of steakhouses. My own favourite for dry-aged prime cuts is

Porter and Rye on the Argyle Street strip. A regular on the World’s Best Steak Restaurants list, it is a carnivore’s dream with side dishes such as bone marrow mac and cheese and beef dripping thick cut chips. The cocktails too are among the city’s best. Another carnivore’s treat is the Beef Wellington with beef fat carrots and horseradish (£90 for two to share but worth it) at Glaschu Restaurant & Bar, which takes its name from the Gaelic word for Glasgow, meaning “dear green place”. It’s set in the building of the 19th-century Western Club and is technically the club’s restaurant, but, unlike other members’ rooms, is open to the public.

VEGAN

Stereois housed in a Rennie Mackintosh building once home to The Daily Record in a lane near Glasgow Central Station, this bar combines a vegan kitchen with a basement live music space. Pair a Queer Brewing Fight Like Hell DIPA with an arepa with mole and tomato salsa or banana blossom tacos before taking in an indie gig downstairs. Under the same ownership, big brother Mono Cafe Bar is half a mile way

CRAFT BEER AND TAPROOMS

If Stereo gives you the taste for craft beer, the rest of Glasgow doesn’t disappoint. Current mecca is down on Southside – Koelschip Yard with 14 cutting edge keg lines. Centrally try The Shilling Brewing Company, a groundbreaking brew pub in former bank premises. Order a flight of four third pints, ranging from the crisp blonde ale The Steamie to the more complex, coconut-roasted porter Black Star Teleporter. Pizzas are the main ballast, but they also offer ‘crust dippers’ that tip the hat to Glasgow with a chilli and Irn Bru flavour jam. An even more spectacular brewpub setting is to be found on Glasgow Green in the East End. The West Brewery and Restaurant occupies a corner of a carpet factory built to echo the Doge’s Palace in Venice. Why? That’s the only way wealthy citizens living nearby back in the 1890s, would allow such commerce to sully Glasgow Green. Today they’d have to put up with the clink of glasses in one of the city’s best beer gardens, serving tipples brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot – the German Pure Beer Law of 1516, specifying the use of only malt, hops and water. ‘Glasgow Heart, German Head’ is one slogan. There’s lots of Teutonic fodder to accompany. Ideal accompaniment? Their St Mungo, a full-bodied hoppy hybrid of a Bavarian Helles and a North German Pils

In sharp contrast a converted box factory is the base for the Drygate Brewing Company – a collaboration between acclaimed independent Williams Bros of Alloa and big brother Tennent’s. It is Glasgow’s interpretation of a US-style tap with 16 keg and four cask lines from the in-house brewery, viewed through a glass panel, and the requisite amount of bearded hopheads. Some excellent value food, too. On the sunny afternoon of our visit we just lazed on the large rooftop beer garden and supped pints of Bearface Lager. It is the antithesis of the mass market Tennent’s lager brewed next door, just to the south of the Necropolis. As a family business it predated the graveyard by centuries and there were once genuine fears the arrival of corpses would contaminate its spring water supply.

OLD SCHOOL PUBS

My fave remains The State Bar, off Sauchiehall Street, with its glorious Victorian interior, fine cask ales, Oakham Green Devil IPA a regular, and Glasgow’s longest-running blues jam. Some legendary musical talent has graced The Scotia on Stockwell Street, arguably the city oldest pub. All back in the day – the likes of John Martyn, Hamish Imlach and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band plus Billy Connolly and Gerry Rafferty when they were still folk duo The Humblebums. The look of the place, low and dark, has barely changed since the Sixties – the 1860s when there was a famous music hall next door. In 1792 when the Scotia was established, it was a favourite watering hole for sailors and folk heading for the Clyde penny ferry. Such ghosts of the past live on here – recorded paranormal activity is off the scale.

INDIAN

Traditionally, a night of Glaswegian excess involving Tennent’s and dram chasers would end in the generic curry house. Like the rest of the UK there’s now a choice of Indians reflecting the subcontinents’s regional cuisines. For me the most attractive is that of the South – the land of coconut and curry leaves, dosas and moilees. In the Merchant City Dakhin has the menu for me. Recommended dish the palkatti dosa, where the rice and lentil batter crepe is filled with their homemade paneer. They also own the shinier Dhabba further down Candleriggs, which champions the very different food styles of North India.

FACT FILE: The latter was arguably the closest restaurant to my most recent hotel base, The Social Hub. Shiny new, this is the first UK venue for the Social Hub network, founded in Amsterdam over a decade ago by a Scot with a vision of combining affordable hotel space with student accommodation. There are now 23 scattered across Europe.

I travelled from Manchester to Glasgow courtesy of Transpennine Express and sampled their new addition to the First Class experience, their West Coast Kitchen Menu.

For full Glasgow tourism information visit Peoplemakeglasgow.com and, if it is your first time, go for the City Sightseeing Tour, which you can hop on and off.

10 July 2024/by Neil Sowerby

Beer, Travel, Wine

Yakima Valley dreaming! C’mon smell the hops – and the cilantro

Hoppiest days of the year? Definitely harvest time in Yakima, USA. Confession: I’d been pronouncing it ‘Yah-KEE-mah’ all this time, when it should be ‘YACK-i-maw’. Unfamiliar with Yakima? The name does crop up on craft beer cans, the contents of which increasingly rely on its prime product, hops. Oh, and it’s a lovely laid-back place to hang out in – preferably with a beer or two.

Yet it’s not a monoculture this super fertile agricultural valley in Washington State, irrigated by the Yakima River. It abounds in fruit, in particular apples, and its grapes produce some of America’s most thrilling wines, but there’s no escaping the hop in all its varieties – Cascade, Chinook, Centennial and the rest, now globally familiar. Some 75 per cent of US hops are grown hereabouts in ideally suited volcanic soil.

So it seemed a good idea while passing through the region to drop in on the American Hop Museum in the township of Toppenish, whose major claim to fame is the 70 hand-painted murals, of recent origin, evoking its Wild West past. They are more vivid than the museum, which is as dry as last year’s hop pellets. Still this project of local pride, assembling the rusty machinery and fading pictures of yore, sets the scene for the hopfest to come.

Of all the stop-offs on our San Francisco to Seattle road trip this wasn’t the most obviously touristic and yet we found it fascinating from the moment post-museum when we lunched in a pizza place where a dab of Cascade hoppiness joins tomato and mozzarella as the prime toppings, nibbles are called hoppetisers and the merchandise includes hop-branded babygros.

Hop Town Wood Fired Pizza, was our recommended lunch stop. It used to be a street food operation before taking over the folksy tasting room of the former Piety Winery, Donald Wapato Road (there’s now a second branch down the road in Sunnyside).

A house IPA, naturally, accompanied our $12 Porky Pine Prosciutto nine-incher, where pesto, parmesan, pecorino, prosciutto, pine nuts (all the Ps), tomato, hops and a balsamic reduction smothered the charred, springy crust.

We also shared a Hey! Elote!, a spicy corn dip with chicken broth, lime, cholula hot sauce, salty cotija cheese and cilantro (coriander). Testimony to the Hispanic presence in hop country. A third of the population in Yakima, at home in its sunny desert climate, is Hispanic. It’s an area full of tacos trucks and shacks. Locals’ pick? Tacos Los Primos 2 at 404 N 4th St in the city proper. If you’re adventurous go for the tripe filling.

Generations of Mexican hop harvest pickers are celebrated in liquid form by Yakima’s brewing trailblazers Bale Breaker. Each year, cocking a snook at Trump and his Border Wall bigotry, they are a major player in Sesiones del Migrante, a series of beers brewed in collaboration with Mexican and American breweries. Co-founder Meggan Quinn poured us the latest, a Mango IPA that defines ‘tropical’, in the brewery’s garden, sheltered by tall bines, for this is a working hop farm (its 1,000 acres have even even suppled the likes of BrewDog in the UK).

The operation’s roots run deep. Megann’s great-grandparents planted the first nine rows of hops on the family farm back in 1932, a year before the end of Prohibition. Just a decade ago she, her husband and siblings persuaded initially sceptical parents a custom-built brewery on site might just work and it has. The beer are so popular across the Pacific North-West they don’t need to export. Topcutter IPA and Field 41 pale ale are their flagship beers.

What astonished us about one of the world’s premier hop-growing regions was the lack until recently of local breweries tapping into the resource… or speciality beer bars. That’s all changing fast on the back of Bale Breaker’s impetus. One of their brewers, former wildlife biologist Chris Baum, and four buddies set up their own brewing operation, Varietal with the premise of wild yeasts, sours, fruit beers and barrel-ageing – the fun, cutting edge stuff.

Check out the Hop Country Beer Trail or sniff around the taprooms of the Old North Yakima Historic District, where the closure of the Northern Pacific Railroad once hit the town hard. Now, as in so many other similar places, this is where the cool fight back begins. Highly recommended is Single Hill with its attractive taproom and terrace, serving the like of Cerveza blonde ale or or Island Reverie, a benchmark guava and passionfruit sour.

Cider, or what they call hard cider, is a refreshing alternative to beer. The custom-built Tieton Cider Works on the edge of town offers sampling tours. With apples and other fruit sourced from the family’s own organic orchards it’s a clean tasting product, a world away from our own trad scrumpy; we loved the smoked pumpkin cider.

The best restaurant in town is Crafted on North 1st Street. Dan Koommoo is in the kitchen and his wife Mollie front of house. The couple chose Yakima because Mollie’s family is from these parts; Thai-born Dan is a James Beard-nominated Cordon Bleu chef with a glittering cv. Together they have created a casual contemporary dining space, from oysters to cocktails a total delight.

Sunday mornings are for mooching around town. We kicked off with excellent coffee and double fudge brownies at the Essencia Artisan Bakery, a short walk from the historic Capitol Theater. Rebuilt after a fire in 1975, it allegedly hosts the ghost of Shorty McCall, a technician during the 1930s, who hanged himself there after an ill-fated love affair.

Dating back to 1912, the Sports Center – so-called because of a hunting theme not because it’s a place to play basketball – is equally haunted with staff reporting eerie chills and the sound of clinking glassware. All this dates back to the days when it was a brothel with Mafia connections.

Our Downtown Yakima lodging, the Hotel Maison has a more benign but equally striking history. Six storeys high, it was built in 1911 during the boom times by prosperous Freemasons as their club. Crowning glory was the hugely ornate Masonic ceremonial temple on the top floor, designed to replicate the throne room of King Solomon’s Temple. Long mothballed, it has survived the building’s conversion to a hotel,

Elsewhere the comfortable hotel’s decor playfully celebrates its Masonic past and, of course, the pre-eminence of the hop. On our Saturday night there we sipped complimentary Tieton cider and watched the weekly ‘paseo’ of vintage automobiles, all adding to the period charm of the place.

The best place to sample Washington wine Downtown is the Gilbert Cellars, showcasing the family’s wines such as Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon. It saves having to trek out to their vineyard tasting room, but when in wine country it would be wrong not to sample in the wineries, all within easy reach of Yakima town.

I’d recommend the folksy Owen Roe Winery, an organically farmed estate whose reds are particularly impressive, the nearby Treveri Cellars, (tours for $50) sparkling wine specialists run by a German winemaker, whose top bottles have been served at White House receptions.

Still the hop remains king hereabouts. A quintessential time to visit Yakima (fly into Seattle two and a half hours’ drive away) is autumn when the valley hosts its annual Fresh Hop Festival. This year’s date is October 5. A unique array of beers made with newly harvested ‘green’ hops showcases the individual character of each variety. Now that’s not to be sniffed at!

10 May 2024/by Neil Sowerby

Beer

Historic Brewing Conference, Mcr – cheers to August’s unmissable mash-up

Standing your round goes back to ancient times. Beer was big in Ancient Mesopotamia. Who would have thought it? Witness the clay tablet above, dating back to 3,000 BC. Unearthed in what is now modern Iraq, it is in the custody of the British Museum. The cuneiform script details the allocation of a brew as payment to workers. Almost in the realm of Indiana Jones, this intoxicating breath of ale’s ancestry.

This August’s Historic Brewing Conference in Manchester delves no further back than 2,000 years later – when the Iron Age transformed Europe and our shores. There’s still a lot to get through. Among a distinguished line-up of beer historians from across the globe will be Johnny Horn, co-founder of Scottish sour specialists Vault City, currently brewing at his new Holy Goat project in Dundee. His previous academic speciality was the archaeology of Iron Age Britain and he has published papers on drinking vessels of the period. So expect his talk on Beer and Brewing in Pre-historic Britain to be one of the highlights of the two day conference (August 5 and 6).

The venue is the new incarnation of Fairfield Social Club, appropriately in one of the city’s most historic districts, between the River Irk and Angel Meadow. And handily close to Blackjack Brewery. The creators of this unique event, exploring both the technical and social aspects of beer’s history, are Keith Sowerby, one of the North’s most informed beer enthusiasts, and Steve Dunkley, formerly of Beer Nouveau, specialists in reviving old styles.

Keith tells me: “The project is six years in the making and was gaining traction when the Pandemic struck. We had aimed to hold the conference in the old Fairfield Social Club railway arch, so there is some irony in our finding that their new set-up meets our needs so well.

“We have noted events which have touched on historic brewing before, especially in the States, but none aiming to systematically address the breadth of both the technical and social aspects of brewing ales, beers and other cereal based beverages, linking in forum and individual discussion over a few beers to our modern experience. We are guaranteeing that this will not be a dry event.”

Keith and Steve have lined up a sparkling array of speakers, including MC Emma Inch, a writer and home brew champion whose most recent podcast, Same Again?, explores the complex relationships between beer, pubs and mental health; four times Beer Writer of the Year and social historian Pete Brown; Jane Peyton, beer educator and Britain’s first beer sommelier of the year; and Mancunian ‘exile’ John Keeling, legendary head brewer at Fuller’s for decades.

From Norway comes farmhouse beer styles expert Lars Marius Garshol; from Minneapolis Doug Hoverson, chronicler of mid-West brewing; and from Toronto Gary Gillman, whose blog explores the technical aspects of brewing history. My wild card across the two days is the presentation from Irish historian Dr Christina Wade on Going to Hell in a Beer Barrel: Alewives, Demons, and the History that Connects them.

If all this sounds a mite lecture room, fear not. This is a beer-led event. So much fun to be had. Alongside the papers there will be ample windows for socialising and networking. A special conference bar will be well stocked with recreations of historic and heritage beer styles. Expect some collaborations with local breweries (to be announced). And if one of the talks does tackle Prohibition we can’t see that having any tangible effect on intake.

Tickets are on sale now, priced at £70, giving access to both days, Monday, August 5 and Tuesday, August 6. Quite a bargain. Buy them here.

19 March 2024/by Neil Sowerby

Beer, Food, Restaurants

My favourite new restaurant in London? Donia – a Filipino fantasia

Last summer I wrote a love letter to Soho, reflecting both the louche legend and its current crisis of identity. During that June visit I lingered over lunch or dinner at the likes of Quo Vadis, Mountain, Noble Rot and 64 Goodge Street (in adjacent Fitzrovia). Enough said. And all within easy reach of my habitual Soho base camp, the Z Hotel at the end of raucous Old Compton Street.

A recent return was similarly gastronomically reassuring with forays to old fave Kiln and newcomers The Portrait by Richard Corriga n, the all-conquering Devonshire gastropub and Filipino standard bearer Donia, my most exciting destination of the year so far.

A further spice hit was tagged on with an expedition to champion of the Sri Lankan diaspora, Rambutan, out at Borough Market. There was a tentative Soho connection even here; the plan had been to investigate neighbouring Camille, from the same small plates and natural wine stable as laid-back Ducksoup in Dean Street. But, once down by London Bridge, I couldn’t resist the Tamil-influenced treats of chef patron Cynthia Shanmugalingam, who I‘ve written about before she opened up on Stoney Street a year ago.

But back to my Soho jaunt… and a Sunday evening just off Carnaby Street. Kingly Court at first glance is just an atrium of bland offerings, but the Top Floor has been the spawning ground for some laudable food – Indian served up by the all women brigade of Asma Khan’s Darjeeling Express and the cuisine in exile of Imad’s Syrian Kitchen. Now they are joined by Donia, open for just 10 weeks.

It is an ambitious offshoot of a London-based Filipino food group, defined previously by their bakery and ice cream specialities. I really can’t gauge the ‘authenticity’ of the Donia menu. My conception of Filipino food is of a melting pot of south-east Asian, Chinese and Spanish culinary influences; my only real experience a street food tub of national dish adobo, a stew featuring marinated meat and vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, black pepper and bay leaves.

This is on a thrillingly different level. Maybe I did over-order, Blame it on the covert grande dame of food reviewers, Marina O’Loughlin, whose adulatory Instagram post first alerted me to Donia’s delights. She described the lobster ginataan as “so sweet and rich with coconut milk we basically had it for dessert.” After that I couldn’t resist. As a solo diner I restrained myself to just the half-crustacean (still £42), after which I hug on in in for the real signature pudding. The ube choux (£12) is a crunchy craquelin pastry with coconut chantilly and an initially off-putting cream made from purple sweet potato. Be brave. It might be a contender for London’s best dessert de jour.

Then again the large house pie (£27, main image), made for sharing really (heroically I had to go it alone), is also a triumph. Traditionally caldereta is a Filipino goat meat and liver spread stew. Donia’s version encased in pithivier-style pastry is altogether more refined, but both the lamb shoulder filling and the stew ‘jus’ pack a chilli kick.

Offal is very much a Filipino thing. The meal gets off to a blazing start with a £3.50 chicken heart skewer, six smoky nuggets perched on an adobo sauce. The dish that follows is a more elaborate culinary statement. Brown butter lime sauce is the base, on top lashings of roseate white crab mayo and a crumb crowning a trio of prawn and pork wontons. £15 and worth every penny.

I enjoyed a glass of my favourite French rose, Triennes, with this hugely impressive procession, but I’d suggest cocktails are the way to go in this joyous, simple dining room, First a palate cleansing ‘Pipino’ (£12, cucumber, sesame, gin, lime, coconut), then a ‘Plum’ (for a quid more a potent Negroni where mezcal replaces the gin and the Japanese plum wine umeshu supplements the vermouth).

Denman Street is just a five minute walk away from Kingly Court. En route, you’ll find my Soho ‘local’, The Lyric. I couldn’t resist a pint of the regular Harvey’s Sussex Bitter. That stalwart real ale pub was heaving but tumbleweed compared with much hyped newcomer The Devonshire, which is shifting Guinness at, well, a Guinness Book of Records level. Co-founder Oisin Rogers is from Dublin and particularly proud of his keeping of the black stuff. He’s convinced the punters. They were six deep outside a rammed downstairs bar.

Upstairs across two floors of dining rooms is where the food action is with tables being snapped up a month ahead. First floor is home to the Grill, furnace-like pumping out the heat. No charcoal used; it’s all embers of kiln-dried oak, I’m told as I gingerly inspect the operation and feel for the rosy-faced team loading beef steaks from their own ageing room and iberico pork from equally impeccable sources. It all looked amazing and so I regretted having already ordered beef cheek and Guinness suet pudding for my main (check out that encounter here).

I dined in the top floor Claret Rooms, as atmospheric as if Dr Johnson or that hyperactive Mr Dickens were expected imminently. Solo, resisting an inviting wine list, I stuck with a couple of pints of Guinness. The stout was particularly suited to accompany a crab salad that spoke of the team’s commitment to the freshest of produce served simply. So worth all the hype? Positive vibes, but perhaps It needs to settle into its skin perhaps.

Oisin’s compatriot, Richard Corrigan, is a chef/restaurateur long settled into his own skin and his latest venture puts to bed the old stereotype: you’ll never handsomely dine in a major public museum or gallery.

The Portrait is pretty as a picture (sic), on the top floor of the magnificently refurbished and recently re-opened National Portrait Gallery, just above Trafalgar Square. The rooftop views from the dining room are spectacular, but would that also be the case with the £39 set lunch? Fear not, it may be a definite downsizing from the a la carte but it is a canny offering matched by a consummately smooth service. Corrigan is class. Each ingredient speaking for itself. A slice of romaine lettuce on a slick of romesco, wrapped in pale, subtle Bayonne ham, then conchigliette pasta with rosemary infused braised rabbit and a flurry of pecorino, blood orange sorbet with the fruit both softly sliced and and stiffly confited.

Kiln, in Soho proper, is a far different beast, its gap year inspiration some uncompromising food shack in North East Thailand. Primitive fire and smoke applied to almost feral ingredients in clay pots and iron woks as you sit mesmerised at the walk-in counter, it was a game changer when it arrived in Brewer Street back in 2016.

The formula remains the same. With an hour to spare mid-afternoon I revisited old favourites – raw mutton laap (£12.50) and clay pot based glass noodles (£7.85). The hand-chopped laap, a kind of Northern Thai tartare, is spiced with makhwaen, garlic, star anise, coriander seed and dried chillies and served in cups of radicchio.

The glass noodles are simmered with slivers of rare breed Tamworth pork belly and brown crab, both UK sourced, with the boost of pungent fish sauce and soy. After which, yes, I did require a further Harvey’s quencher at The Lyric. So easy to become a Soho flaneur.

Harvey’s is also a fixture in another fine old London boozer, the Market Porter, cheek by jowl with Borough Market. It’s my usual refuge from the multitudes swamping this foodie magnet.

On this occasion I walked past 50 metres to the very different Rambutan. Set across two floors, it is a casual, almost canteen-like dining space specialising in the cuisine of northern Sri Lanka, though the first dish I order, a green mango and yoghurt pachadi (£6.70) is the kind of raita you’d also find across the water in Kerala. It is a cooling antidote to a red northern prawn curry (£17.40), dense with tamarind, that ratchets up the scoville count (to nowhere near Kiln levels) after a subtler starter of gundu dosa (three for ££5.30).

These are nothing like the now ubiquitous dosas of India (or Drummond Street next to Euston Station), similarly made from fermented rice-lentil batter but more akin to mini doughnuts. You bite through the crisp exterior and encounter a soft texture spiced with chilli and mustard seed. Extra oomph comes when you dip them in a jungle-green chilli and coriander chutney. Rice and a flakey, paratha-like roti completed the good value lunch order. And so back to my Soho manor.

Factfile

Donia Restaurant, 2.14, Top Floor, Kingly Ct, Carnaby St, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW.

The Devonshir e, 17 Denman St, London W1D 7H.

The Portrait by Richard Corrigan, National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London WC2H 0HE.

Kiln, 58 Brewer St, London W1F 9TL.

Rambutan, 10 Stoney St, London SE1 9AD.

• I paid for my meals at all five restaurants with Donia kindly on the night offering me a ‘friends and family’ discount.

I stayed at Z Hotels Soho, 17 Moor Street, London W1D 5AP. This is a bargain lodging for somewhere so central and handy; it’s best to book well in advance. Claustrophobes take note: some of the rooms lack a window. Pay a bit more and land lucky, like I did this time, and you get a wizard view over Cambridge Circus and the the Palace Theatre, currently hosting Harry Potter & The Cursed Child. The Z Hotels group have 10 further hotels in London and three others – in Bath, Liverpool and Glasgow.

5 March 2024/by Neil Sowerby

Beer, Food, Restaurants

A night of celebration – and campaigning – as MFDF Awards are handed out

I’ve lost count of the number of Manchester Food and Drink Awards gala dinners I’ve attended, but this celebration of the region’s hospitality industry remains joyously upbeat despite the perils that still threaten to torpedo so many independent operators.

The Awards themselves had been pushed back from their usual October slot when the mothership Festival foundered. Hopefully, it will return in 2024. Meanwhile these 2023 Awards flew the flag in a fresh venue that really worked – New Century Hall – and opened with a defiant political edge.

In person on stage Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. En route to Depeche Mode at the nearby Arena, he rallied the 350 hospitality troops gathered for the occasion. On film Sacha Lord, his night-time economy adviser (I reserve ‘czar’ for Russian potentates), and a clutch of North West chefs demanded the Government slash VAT on the industry back down to 10 per cent. Lord kicks off the challenging This is an Emergency video chillingly: “I know people staring at the cliff edge.”

After the dinner sourced from traders in the New Century Kitchen, down to the main business of the night. The 18 award winners announced reflected the city’s current high global profile.

Last week the The Edinburgh Castle in Ancoats debuted in 24th place in the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs; now its kitchen dynamo Shaun Moffat followed up by scooping Chef of the Year. A huge double also for Higher Ground. On the same day they won a Michelin Bib Gourmand they were named MFDF Newcomer of the Year. They are also in the frame for the national Best New Restaurant at the Good Food Guide Awards 2024. I was also delighted that Ancoats small plates and natural wine stalwart Erst finally won Best Restaurant.

Across the evening there was strong recognition for Manchester’s unrivalled craft beer scene. Track won best independent drinks producer, the Marble Arch best beer bar/pub, Bundobust best plant-based offering for the Gujarati-inspired small plates that accompany the beers it brews in town and James Campbell received the Outstanding Achievement Award for two decades as the driving force behind cutting edge breweries Marble, Cloudwater and, currently, Sureshot.

Sign of the difficult times, one of the nominees for best drinks producer, Squawk Brewery, has just been forced to close. So high jinks celebrating an amazing food and drink scene tinged with sadness at the steady drip of closures. Time to make a stand on that crucial VAT drop issue. Watch the Sacha Lord film, also featuring the likes of Simon Wood, Michael Clay, Mary Ellen McTague and and emotional Simon Rimmer, who was forced to close his flaship restaurant Greens recently, and sign the associated petition.

All the fantastic winners at Manchester Food and Drink Awards 2023

Here is this year’s awards list in full (for addresses visit this link)…

Restaurant of the Year – Erst

Shortlisted: Higher Ground, Climat, Another Hand, 10 Tib Lane

OSMA, The Spärrows. mana, Erst.202

Chef of the Year – Shaun Moffat (Edinburgh Castle)

Shortlisted: Joseph Otway (Higher Ground), Danielle Heron (OSMA), Luke Richardson (Climat), Julian Pizer (Another Hand), Patrick Withington (Erst), Seri Nam (Flawd Wine), Mike Shaw (MUSU), Shaun Moffat (Edinburgh Castle)

Newcomer of the Year – Higher Ground

Shortlisted: Climat, Restaurant Örme, Fold Bistro & Bottle Shop, The Jane Eyre Chorlton, Madre, New Century Kitchen, Stretford Canteen, Higher Ground

Plant-based Offering of the Year– Bundobust

Shortlisted: Lily’s Indian Vegetarian Cuisine, Bahn Ví, The Walled Gardens, Maray, Speak in Code, Flawd Wine, The Mekong Cat, Bundobust.

Takeaway of the Year – Burgerism

Ad Maoira, Unagi Street Food & Sushi, Ciaooo Garlic Bread, Fat Pat’s, Wright’s Fish and Chips. Maida Grill House, Al Madina, Burgerism.

Independent Drinks Producer of the Year – Track

Shortlisted: Sureshot Brewing, Stockport Gin, Cloudwater Brew Co, Tarsier Spirit, Pod Pea Vodka, Manchester Union Brewery, Squawk Brewing Co, Track.

Independent Food Producer of the Year – Pollen Bakery

Shortlisted: Cotton Field Wharf, Great North Pie Co, La Chouquette, Gooey, Yellowhammer, The Manchester Smoke House, The Flat Baker, Companio Bakery, Pollen.

Foodie Neighbourhood of the Year – Stockport

Shortlisted: Levenshulme, Altrincham, Urmston, Prestwich, Monton, Sale, Stretford, Stockport.

Coffee Shop of the Year – Grapefruit Coffee

Shortlisted: Cafe Sanjuan, Another Heart to Feed, Idle Hands, Bold Street Coffee, Smoak, Ancoats Coffee Co, Siop Shop, Grapefruit.

Food Trader of the Year – Fat Pat’s

Shortlisted: Baratxuri, Chaat Cart, Triple B, Tawny Stores, Yellowhammer, Little Sri Lankan, Pico’s Tacos, Oh Mei Dumplings, Fat Pat’s.

Affordable Eats Venue of the Year – Ornella’s Kitchen

Shortlisted: Nila’s Burmese Kitchen, Great North Pie Co, Cafe Sanjuan, Noodle Alley, Tokyo Ramen, Lily’s Deli, House of Habesha, Ornella’s Kitchen.

Food and Drink Retailer of the Year – Cork of the North

Shortlisted: Ad Hoc Wines, Out of the Blue Fishmongers, Littlewoods Butchers, Wandering Palate, New Market Dairy, Petit Paris Deli, La Chouquette.

Pop up or Project of the Year – Platt Fields Market Garden

Shortlisted: Our Place, Tawny Stores at Yellowhammer, SAMPA, Little Sri Lankan, Suppher, Fare Share, Micky’s, Platt Fields Market Garden

Pub or Beer Bar of the Year – The Marble Arch

Shortlisted: Track Brewery Taproom, The City Arms, Runaway Brewery Taproom, Fox & Pine, Reddish Ale, Station Hop, Heaton Hops, The Marble Arch.

Bar of the Year – Schofield’s Bar

Shortlisted: The Jane Eyre Ancoats, Blinker, Red Light, Sterling Bar, Hawksmoor, 10 Tib Lane, Flawd Wine, Schofield’s Bar.

Neighbourhood Venue of the Year – Stretford Canteen

Shortlisted: Restaurant Örme, OSMA, Ornella’s Kitchen, The Oystercatcher, Yellowhammer, Fold Bistro & Bottle Shop, The Jane Eyre Chorlton, Stretford Canteen.

Great Service Award – Hawksmoor

Shortlisted: Higher Ground, Schofield’s Bar, Where The Light Gets In, Climat, Wood Manchester, Sterling Bar, Tast Catala, Hawksmoor.

The Howard and Ruth Award for Outstanding Achievement – James Campbell

Recognising people who have contributed something outstanding to the hospitality industry in Greater Manchester.

30 January 2024/by Neil Sowerby

It’s not all ‘going to plan’ as the cranes gather

So what makes the Marble Arch so special?

A world class brewery that has led the way

Not just any pie and pint

The Trouble with Dreams, the beauty of English bubbles

Does the ghost of Thomas Paine haunt the Hart?

Somewhere over the rainbow, the price is way up high

Guinness is good for you (especially if you’re an investor)

So which Manchester Irish bar is best for a St Patrick’s Day bash?

Pull up a pew – when bar decor is an ecumenical matter

They love a story – who’s for Nancy Spain?

Forgive me, St Patrick. Do I sin in loving the old school bars?

A leap of faith at The Salmon of Knowledge

A parade of fine new restaurants is a reason to brave the Borough overload

Hardly the New Frontier but Bermondsey has a pioneering buzz

I went for Abruzzo oil and came away with Piemonte basmati

Some special treats to add to your Bermondsey basket

FACT FILE

AFFORDABLE EATS VENUE OF THE YEAR

TAKEAWAY OF THE YEAR

COFFEE SHOP OF THE YEAR

FOOD AND DRINK RETAILER OF THE YEAR

FOOD TRADER OF THE YEAR

FOODIE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE YEAR

INDEPENDENT DRINKS PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

INDEPENDENT FOOD PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

NEIGHBOURHOOD VENUE OF THE YEAR

PLANT-BASED OFFERING OF THE YEAR

POP-UP OR PROJECT OF THE YEAR

PUB OR BEER BAR OF THE YEAR

GREAT SERVICE AWARD

BAR OF THE YEAR

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

CHEF OF THE YEAR

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

THREE OLD FAVOURITES

SEAFOOD

PIZZA

PASTA

MEAT

VEGAN

CRAFT BEER AND TAPROOMS

OLD SCHOOL PUBS

INDIAN

Factfile

All the fantastic winners at Manchester Food and Drink Awards 2023

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