GET TAGGING YOUR FAVOURITE SPOTS ACROSS GREATER MANCHESTER SO WE DON’T MISS THEM! We’ve been busy behind the scenes working on a directory that will feature the best independents across the city - a place to navigate the neighbourhoods of Greater Manchester for recommendations on everything from cafés, restaurants, and bars, to art galleries, theatres, music venues, shops and more. We’ll be going live with it in the coming weeks and we need YOUR HELP on who you’d like to see included so we don’t miss anyone. Support your favourite places by tagging them here, and let them know they can sign up for FREE at the LINK IN OUR BIO before we launch. #mcrfinest 🎥 @finestmediastudio

WEEKEND WALKS: CASTLETON, SPEEDWELL CAVERN & WINNATS PASS // @hanna.outdoors heads out to Derbyshire to explore haunted cave systems, hunt for one of the UK’s rarest minerals, and take defensive positions at a hilltop 11th Century castle. All while accompanied by @sambuckley_wtlgi of Where the Light Gets In. En route, we’ll hop on underground boats, meander through dramatic valleys, and hear our guest’s thoughts on the best places to eat and drink in Stockport. #weekenwalks #mcrfinest

WE WENT TO GOOEY WITH FAMOUS RESTAURANT CRITIC JAY RAYNER for a chat about bad reviews, dining trends, and his favourite Manchester restaurants over a slab of French toast the size of a double decker bus. Not just master of the pen and preserver of the paunch, did you know Jay is also a dab hand on the ole Joanna? The Jay Rayner Sextet is coming to Manchester’s beautiful Albert Hall on 16 March this year. Jay will be jumping on the piano, accompanied by five of his musical pals, to play a party style set featuring huge chart hits from mega 80s jazz-influenced artists like Sadé, Matt Bianco and Everything But The Girl. LINK IN BIO to grab tickets. #mcrfinest

Autumn’s in the air. So with that, thoughts turn to more indoor-based pursuits, like sitting indoors and drinking negronis. That’s just one example, obviously, but thanks to Nordie in Levenshulme, we’ll be doing just that.⁠ ⁠ We also have the annual Medieval Quarter Festival (so that’s probably more about the mead than negronis), a rare Manchester appearance from a UK hip hop legend and some classy vintage garms coming to New Century.⁠ ⁠ #mcrfinest

BOTTOMLESS PAELLA & DRINKS AT LA BANDERA THIS WEDNESDAY To celebrate World Paella Day this Wednesday (Sep 20) @labanderauk will be offering up bottomless paella and drinks all day long. There are five different paellas to choose from; there’s the traditional Valencian paella, made with rabbit and snails, a slow-cooked beef paella, a ‘land and sea’ surf and turf-style, a black squid ink and prawn, and a stunning vegetarian option, made with mushrooms and orange zest. You get a 90-minute slot to enjoy as many plates as you want. There are two packages available - the standard package gets you unlimited house beer and wine for £35pp, while the premium package comes with bottomless house wine, Alhambra beer, selected cocktails, cava and sangria for £45pp. Alongside this, they’ll be knocking 25% off their paellas all of this week. Just use code MF25offpaella when making your booking. LINK IN BIO to book - use code MFPAELLAWORLD to book the bottomless. …. ⏰Wednesday 20th 12-10pm 📍2 Ridgefield, M2 6EQ 💰Standard £35pp, Premium £45pp #mcrfinest

LUNCH SPOTS IN TOWN: £5 ARNDALE SHAWARMA We thought it would be useful to show off some of our favourite places to get decent, cost-effective food on the go in the city centre, and @arndaleshawarma ticks all of those boxes. They make the naan fresh in front of you and load it with either chicken or lamb shawarma before you choose your salads and sauces. For the price, this place really hits the spot. £5 for a shawarma as good and as big in the city centre is hard these days, which is why they get pretty busy throughout the day. …. ⏰12-11pm every day 📍68 High St, Northern Quarter, M4 1EA 💰£5 #mcrfinest

SUGGESTED BY YOU: MIDDLE EASTERN VEGAN FOOD IN BRAMHALL This week’s suggestion came from @thedoughyvegan, who told us to take @mattyfwhite over to sunny Bramhall to check out some of their favourite vegan food from @otto_veganempire. You might already be familiar with some of their cooking, which originated with The Ottomen who you’d regularly see at places like @grubmcr, @depotmayfield and Stretford @foodhalls_. It’s great to see that tradition being carried on over here in Bramhall. This hidden gem is easy to miss, tucked away above the @crownandconspirator pub on the main road. We sat down with Johnny who started us off with the Otto Mezze, a palette of different vegan mezzes served with khoubz bread and garnished street style. The hand-made curd cheese was a real winner here, made from blended cashew, oat and organic oils which are pressed and aged, then topped with charred peperonata, toasted pine nuts, local herbs and Nazareth olive oil. It’s always a challenge to get vegan cheese right but this passed the test. Shoutout to the ‘bad-ass’ Badadas smashed crunchy fried rooster potatoes which are dusted with Otto red salt and served with aioli, as well as the herb-battered Otto frickles filled with twice fermented karisik tursu pickles, spiced badadas, spring onions and fresh herbs. In terms of mains, we’d recommend going for the veggie koftas. Beautifully cooked balls of plant-based goodness served with otto ragu which were directly inspired by a visit to Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar back in 2017. For dessert, Johnny whipped us up a real ‘Manchester meets the East’ special. You probably know that Vimto was originally created in Manchester in the early 1900’s and has been one of the city’s proudest creations ever since. What you might not know is that it’s also the drink of choice throughout the Middle East with a reported 52 million bottles sold each year in Saudi Arabia alone. As a nod to this, Otto’s have a delicious knickerbockerglory made with original Vimto jelly. LET US KNOW WHERE WE SHOULD GO NEXT …. ⏰ Wed-Sun from 12pm 📍26A Bramhall Ln S, Bramhall, Stockport SK7 1AF 💰Small plates £7 / Mains £10.50-£14 / Desserts £7.50-£9.50 #mcrfinest

FIRST LOOK: FOUNDATION COFFEE’S NEW RED BANK SITE OPENS TOMORROW @fdncoffee will open its fourth location tomorrow, in the Red Bank neighbourhood at the bottom of the £200 million Gate & Stile apartment development, and for its first week, it will be offering up 50% off all hot drinks and 25% off brunch to new customers. Since opening in the heart of the Northern Quarter in 2015, the coffee house has expanded to spots on Whitworth Street and Portland Street, serving up the Foundation all-day brunch menu, and speciality coffee, both of which will continue in the new venue. They've joined a burgeoning food and drink scene in Red Bank, with the likes of indie food court Grub, Asian street food from Unagi, and The Sparrows - the sake and spätzle restaurant that's been listed in the Michelin guide. …. ⏰Mon-Friday 7.30-5pm, Sat-Sunday 9-5pm 📍Meadowside, Aspin Lane, M4 4GS 💰Hot drinks from £3, Breakfast from £3-10, Brunch from £5-£14 #mcrfinest

THE MULTI-KITCHEN BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH AT NEW CENTURY  There are loads of bottomless brunches in town - but what if you and your annoyingly indecisive mates can’t decide where to go? Enter the new bottomless brunch from @newcenturymcr. You can select a brunch dish from any of their vendors, and pair it with unlimited beers, spritzes, prosecco or hot drinks from the bar. It costs £30pp, and includes one dish from their brunch menu and all the drinks you can get down you in your 90-minute slot. Upgrade to £35, and they throw in cocktails including espresso martinis, pornstar martinis or bloody marys. As for the food, you’re spoiled for choice. @tallow_mcr are providing the traditional fry ups, with sausage from Frost’s in Chorlton, crispy smoked streaky bacon, homemade ham hock black pudding (yep, black pudding with chunks of ham hock in it), crumpet, hash brown, spicy baked beans, butter-roasted portabello mushroom, plum tomato and a fried egg. @wild.by.ply will be serving huge antipasti boards with focaccia, a selection of Italian deli meats and cheeses, sundried tomatoes, grilled artichokes, bocconcini mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar, as well as bruschetta. @banh.vi are doing their spectacular breakfast banh mi, which comes stuffed with a miso + chive pan-fried folded omelette, dressed fresh herbs and spinach, Maggi butter and spiced ketchup on a warm demi baguette. @ninaspiceyard have created a full Indian breakfast - a twist on the English classic. It comes with a masala omelette, spicy baked beans with ajwain seeds, crispy potatoes, onion bhaji, flatbread smothered in chilli butter and crispy bacon. Walk ins are welcome, or you can book a table using the LINK IN OUR BIO.  …. ⏰ Fri 12-4pm / Sat & Sun 10-4pm 📍 New Century, 34 Hanover St, M4 4AH 💰 £30pp for the standard package or £35pp for the premium package #mcrfinest

Pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo will make a stop at the Co-op Live arena next year, joining a growing number of international artists heading for what will be Europe’s biggest indoor live music venue.⁠ ⁠ The show on Friday 3 May, 2024, will be part of her GUTS world tour, supporting her second album, GUTS, released earlier this month.⁠ ⁠ Fans of the ‘Vampire’ singer will be able to register from now until 10pm on Sunday 17 September for tickets.⁠ ⁠ Once registration closes, fans will be selected at random to receive a code which will allow them to buy their tickets from Thursday 21 September, on a first come, first served basis.⁠ ⁠ Co-op members (you can download the Co-op App via the LINK IN BIO) will be able to get early access to the presale, from 10am on Wednesday 20 September.⁠ ⁠ #mcrfinest

HOUSE OF HOAGIE - BRINGING PO’BOYS AND ‘MANNY CHEESESTEAK’ TO THE NQ Manchester’s sandwich game is strong - and making it stronger is new outpost @houseofhoagie open today inside a tiny kitchen at the Northern Quarter’s ‘secret garden’ bar Mala. Helmed by chef Dom and front-of-house Steph (who met working at Hawksmoor), you might already know them from House of Bun, their hit burger joint in Radcliffe Market. A project dreamed up in lockdown, they’re now moving from burger buns to hoagies, and these things are serious. The ‘chopped cheese’ (£10.75), a US diner classic not seen much around these parts, takes their secret House of Bun burger patty mix from Littlewoods butchers and dismembers it on the hot grill, chopped up with their gooey cheese sauce, before being stuffed into a soft sub from the Bread Factory, and crowned with H.O.B burger sauce, caramelised onions and peppers. The prawn po’boy (£15.99) layers up homemade tartare sauce with fried shrimp tossed in classic Old Bay seasoning, with lettuce, tomato and some more house sauce. It’s mirrored in a deeply savoury oyster mushroom version (£10) for the veggies. There’s more Old Bay in the dredge for the ‘buff & blue’ buffalo chicken (£12), marinated in buttermilk, fried crisp and then slathered in Frank’s classic buffalo sauce and blue cheese. The ‘Manny Cheese’ (£14.50) gives Philly a run for its dollar - thinly sliced steak flashed on the grill, then tossed about in that homemade cheese sauce, with some shredded pickled chillies before being crammed into that soft hoagie. Do not underestimate the ‘cold cuts’ though (£13.25). Tony Soprano would be all over this - lomo, bresaola and mortadella, with homemade pesto, homemade pickled vegetables, mozzarella and some garlic oil on the finish. Fries come waffle style, and loaded with cheese sauce, fiery jalapeno relish and bacon bits (£6.99). Or straight up, if you like (£4.50) ⏰Weds to Sun, 12pm to 10pm 📍8 Dale St, Northern Quarter, M1 1JA 💰From £10.75 #mcrfinest

£4 PINTS AND APEROLS THROUGHOUT SEPTEMBER AT CIAOOO @ciaooopizzamcr are back from their summer break and to celebrate, they’re doing pints of Moretti and Aperol spritz for just £4 for the rest of the month. They also treated us to their new stuffed crust garlic bread made with pesto dough and topped with spicy tomato and burrata which goes down very nicely with some cheap drinks. LINK IN BIO to book. …. ⏰ Tue-Thurs 5pm-10pm / Fri-Sat 4pm-11pm / Sun 1pm-9pm 📍 62-64 Swan St, M4 5JU 💰 £4 pint of Moretti and Aperol spritz Mon - Thurs 5pm - 7pm #mcrfinest