Scran: A term used for food generally in the North of England, originally used by the British Navy.
Saturday morning, my friends and I landed at Butcher’s Quarter Bitesize Cafe at the Craft and Design Centre in Manchester for a quick coffee before we met our Scranchester tour guide Rob. They’re all about exploring Manchester’s food scene and telling the stories behind the city’s best dishes. It’s not just about tasting but learning too.
We didn’t expect to be greeted with a box from Siop Shop, known for its freshly baked artisan doughnuts. I’m not a huge doughnut fan but these were soo good, filled with a vanilla pod custard!
Winding through the back streets of the Northern Quarter. The Northern Quarter is Manchester’s artistic and cultural hub. It’s filled with history, architecture, and some of the best food spots in town. The city is filled with so much history, architecture and of course great food and people! Rob gave us little snippets of the history of the places we wandered through which was fascinating, the cherry on top being that the rain held off!
Next stop Mackie Mayor. Mackie Mayor, a historic market turned into a food hall, is a gem. From seafood to vegetarian dishes, it’s got something for everyone. I love this place, the food choices, concept, and atmosphere are great. Here we were served tempura fish tacos from Pico’s Tacos paired with a cold cider, it was a delightful treat.
On we went wandering through the streets towards the city centre, taking in the architecture of some great historic buildings and actually looking up, not something I’d usually do when I go into Manchester, whilst stood at the front of the cathedral we were given a shot of mead from the Lancashire Mead Company, did you know the cathedral keep bee hives on the cathedral flat roof and produce their own honey!
Past the cathedral, we went into the Royal Exchange Theatre. Look up and you’ll see traces of Manchester’s cotton trading era. It’s history and art combined. if you visit the theatre and look up you can see the old cotton trading display, some real history within this theatre!
We then arrived, (still no rain!) outside Sam’s Chophouse. Sam’s Chophouse is a classic spot in Manchester. They serve traditional dishes with a modern twist. We tried their version of the corned beef hash, and it was a hit! But not like my mum used to make it for us when we were kids. This was beef brisket corned beef hash, served with a poached egg and streaky bacon on top and homemade brown sauce. My dad washed it down with a pint of Guinness. With our tummy’s getting full, it was great to walk around the city in between each stop chatting away with the others and enjoying Rob’s good sense of humour.
Where to next? This was the great thing about our little city tour, we didn’t know where we were going or what we were eating next, which I loved as I’m always the one choosing where we eat.
Next was Tariff and Dale, we went down into the restaurant in the basement. Here we were served a huge homemade honey pork sausage roll with Nduja ketchup- which Rob carved up for us all, I washed my down with a spicy bloody Mary, just what the Dr ordered after a few g&t’s Friday night! I do love a good sausage roll, this was just right, made like a Wellington, with more meat to pastry.
The sun was shining in Manchester on Saturday, so what better way to end the tour than with award-winning ice cream from Ginger’s Comfort Emporium located upstairs in Aflex palace, somewhere I’ve never been. I had salted caramel and peanut butter, fig leaf and apple ice cream, it had beautiful flavours and the best milkshakes too!
We didn’t want the day to end, 4 hours flew by, and it was time to say goodbye to Rob, a great day out and one I’d do again (I’ll try the Alcoates one next) I bought this tour for my friend’s birthday, so we made it a group day out. Rob offers tours 5 days a week throughout the year, if you love Manchester and a bit of history and eating then get yourself booked. Until next time my friends.
