Manchester Food and Drink Festival

I was a little disappointed with the festival there wasn’t many stalls and they were a little expensive.
It was free to enter which was great and they had a cider bar and I liked that they had an Italian cider which I really like
They had different bands playing in the tent and that was really good we knew one of the bands playing so that was good to watch.
Overall not too bad would go again

2015 review time!
The MFDF is one of my personal highlights in the Manchester calendar — what can go wrong with two weeks of food and drink? There was an excellent range of events this year, including the six course ice cream banquet which Jess and I attended on the last Friday evening.
The festival hub remains on Albert Square, with a large beer tent, cider bar, gin & tonic (/​general spirits) bar and Vin Van Voom providing the drinks. I think the food traders this year were slightly disappointing — lots of already established restaurants which can be visited year round and lots of non-​local traders. Prices also seemed to be on the higher scale than usual, as has been pointed out by a few other Unilocalers.
The ice cream banquet is what’s providing this year’s festival with a four star rating. Hosted by Jackie Kearney from The Hungry Gecko, Charlotte from Bakorama, and Ginger’s Comfort Emporium, it was a unique and well put together event. We had six courses of sweet treats, matched with either a wine, beer or cocktail. These included birthday cake with a birthday cake ice cream, gin and tonic lollipop, and a blue cheese ice cream. We even made our own sorbet with dry ice at the end of the meal, resulting in plenty of mad scientist bubbling around the table!
With such an emphasis placed on local street food around Manchester at the moment (thinking The Kitchens and Altrincham Market etc.) I think the festival is running the risk of pushing out many dedicated food fans by not representing the traders that we know are out there.
We had some excellent times in the sun and a few drinks, especially on the VIP launch evening where we were truly treated with endless food and drink, but overall the drinks took over the food this year.

Free entry, plenty of events going on (including a bake off!), dozens of brilliant food stalls so you’re spoilt for choice, plenty of gin, live music. There’s not much not to like! Highlights were Crabbieshack, Piggie Smalls, Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen and the churros! If only it could last year round!

Just before the closing day of MFDF15 I managed to get chance to pop by on the Saturday. The sun was out so Festival Square at Alberts Sq. was packed.
They have a lot of food stalls here, mainly from Manchester street food traders to the bigger restaurants and a few chains.
Piggy Smalls were sending out some cracking hot dogs and London based Mac Factory had some excellent Mac and Cheese concoctions!
Iberica, Tampopo, The Manchester Egg Co and Shrooms were all part of the foodie set up, as well as being able to grab a pulled pork sandwich, pie and mash, churros or something sweet from Gingers Comfort Emporium.
The beer tent was packed with people, and a few bands were blasting out some tunes. The ales on offer all looked excellent but the bar was too busy and we abandoned hope.
I grabbed a Gin and Tonic from the Fever Tree tonic van — which was excellent!
I do love MFDF, however I must say it wasn’t as good as previous years, but still a fab foodie festival.

Managed to visit MFDF a few times for lunch — and also once to meet friends for drinks. Not sure if its because we have lots of street food places now in Manchester and get some of the usual ones appearing in the various festivals/​events. This is not a bad thing as such as they are still mostly good.
Anyway, what I managed to try was a chicken burger from Splendid Kitchen. I really enjoyed it, super tasty. I also had a boneless rib sub from Al’s BBQ which was also really good. I was thinking of getting the philly cheese but they had the 4 different things they did on display and the rib sub looked the best.
The other day, I thought I would try something a bit different and went to the place selling Ghanaian food. The smell from the stall was nice, full of flavour/​spices etc. Knowing nothing about Ghanaian food, I took some time looking at the menu options and ended up going for the chicken wrap. I was told it would be a few minutes wait as they were doing a fresh load of fried chicken for me — no problem with me. Thats actually better! They also gave me some free serving of plantain which was nice. Not sure if it was a full serving (which cost £3) but still nice — just a shame I am not that keen on plantain but ate some of it — would have been rude not to.
The wrap was OK but I was a bit disappointed. I was expected more spices. It was basically some fried chicken in a wrap and some sauce which looked like thousand islands sauce. And didn’t taste that different with the sweetness. It also had some leaves (spinach) and some chilli. Maybe I ordered the «wrong» thing?
My other visit was meeting a couple friends and we ended up going to the cider bar. I don’t drink much cider and just went for a Magners. It was just after 6pm so was not that busy. We also managed to get one of the last tables just getting a bit of the sun which was still out! It was nice and pleasant having a drink while listening to some live music being played in the tent.
One other thing worth mentioning is the price of some of the places. Most of the things are about £5−6.50. However, the Crispy Duck Rotisserie was selling crispy duck in pancakes for £7! Sounds a lot to me. If you go for the platter which includes duck fat chip, its £9 (so you save £1). I didn’t try it but Natalie W did and said that «were good but not great» and «expensive».
I did want to try Crabbie Shack and get some soft shell crab — which was £7.50. Sounds expensive but it is crab — unfortunately I didn’t realise the vendors change during the week and when I went back they had gone. :(

Great environment. It was free entry. Live bands. Djs. All types of food from restaurants in manchester. Different bars selling different drinks. Wine, gin, beef, kids drinks. Was great for any age. Not sure how long its on for but its worth a visit

Slightly underwhelmed by the festival as it featured a lot of the restaurants I frequent anyway, and it’s surprisingly pricey given you’re eating outside on benches with plastic cutlery. However if you are new to the street food scene in Manchester there’s a lot of the local favourites such as Piggie Smalls and Diamond Dogs.
I tried a burger from Crabbie Shack and the duck platter (duck and chips). Both were good but not great and at £7.50 and £9, respectively, are an expensive lunch out. The mac and cheese was better on both fronts.
It’s too bad I missed out on the grilled cheese and spiral potatoes though, both sounded unhealthily delicious!

I love eating food and I love drinking — so food and drink festivals are a winner in my book!
It’s not as big and varied as the Bolton version and so it doesn’t justify a 5 star rating like that did.
That said, nothing wrong done here and it’s a very enjoyable day/​night out. However without the added variety that it’s Boltonian sister provides, you may struggle to spend a longer period of time here.
Overall, a great pop up festival to grab some grub and taste some ale!

I have never been along to MFDF before and what a mistake that was! I loved the variety of stalls. should have caught a chef demo before finding the bar though! I went down on the first Saturday … so wish I could have attended much more. but unfortunately my schedule wouldn’t allow.
I tried many bits of food from the wonderful Reds True BBQ chicken wings (delicious!!) and the MFDF burger at Mumma Schnitzel with hallomi bites. Churros. .yummers! !
I really enjoyed the fab live music in the bar area and the great freebies being given out to people in the beer tasting tent. The blue pig cocktail bar had a wonderful selection but. A little on the expensive side and not in anyway strong enough.
I’ll be back next year…

Manchester Food & Drink Festival in the Albert square in front of the town Hall. Unfortunately it was raining and it wasn’t very busy when I was there and slightly on the cold side. They have lots of food stalls and stalls selling drinks. Someone was singing and had a good voice adding to the pleasant ambiance. I did go back before it ended on Sunday 28^th of September 2014 and it was a lot better and it was quite busy. So next year I will be going back!

Thoroughly enjoyed my first ever visit to Manchester’s annual Food & Drink Festival last night. I was expecting Albert Square to be awash with drunken idiots but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Looking around, you could tell most of the people mooching about were true foodies, there to sample the crème de la crème of Manchester’s top quality cuisine. Local faves such as The Blue Pig, Red’s True BBQ, Chaophraya and Splendid Sausage had stalls, plus there were a number of vans selling everything from crepes and hot chocolate to venison burgers and sticky ribs. Mmmmm…
The largest of the tents, The Tasting Room, has ample seating and its main bar offers a range of different beers; from malty and fruity ones to deeper and more complex tipples. A stage at the back is set for live music throughout the day but there are also picnic tables dotted around the square for those who want to eat and drink under the sun /​stars and appreciate the audio treats from a bit further away.
I only stuck around for one drink, a tastebud-​tingling cocktail from The Blue Pig’s bar — their Basil Bramble (Beefeater Gin, Fresh Basil, Crème De Cassis, Lemon & Sugar). It was absolutely delicious, however, it did set me back a fiver, which I feel is a lot for something served in a plastic cup and lasting all but 3 minutes.
I think the price of the food and drink at MFDF is the only thing I would grumble about but the atmosphere was great. I’m probably going to head back before it finishes in a few days so will have to raid my piggy bank but I’m sure it’ll be well worth it.

Oh look! It´s Aperol! I can´t contain my excitement when it comes to Aperol Spritz, my favourite drink (It´s Aperol + Prosecco, but also Aperol + White Wine is absolutely delicious!) for warm summer nights in Italy. So many times before have I tried to find it in Manchester and even had my family fly bottles over for me! And guess what time of the year it is when you get to try the out of the ordinary? Food from countries all over the world, or British classics with a modern twist? Yes it´s the Manchester Food and Drink festival again!
Last year was a bit of a let down: Not a great choice of stalls, very few opportunities to actually sit down and eat. (I know it´s street food and you are supposed to eat it on your way but still I´d like to sit down and have a relaxed beer and a chat .)
I have been going for the past three years and I was really pleased with the choices this time! Maybe some other people have moaned about it too, but this time there were plenty of benches around and even a small tent, to shelter from the temperamental Manchester weather.
The complimentary Spritz was courtesy of Cibo restaurant, in Didsbury, which is definitely on Top of my list to try next.
Also I loved to see so many baking stalls including HL Cupcake, a Macaron Bakery, and the great looking Cake Pops Shop Polka Pops. As with all the delicatessen it is just the perfect opportunity to take some Food Fest goodies back home with you!
If I can find anything to wish for for next year is: Please bring back the great pie shop from 2011 and organise a stall of German food.

MFDF is the big Manchester food festival I look forward to every year. Not only is the big square a foodie paradise of street food, beer huts and food stalls; there’s also loads of bars and restaurants who get on board and offer special deals to it’s customers from Chorlton to Prestwich and back again. They also have the big award ceremonies taking place (voted for by the public), whilst their high concept events such as the independent wine festival are always super popular.
MFDF is on every year for 2 weeks from the end of Sep to start of Oct —
and their food stalls change completely each week so make sure you go at least twice over the fortnight.
Highlights this year had to be the amazingly names Piggy Smalls (gourmet hotdogs) — go for the Cuban dog, Fire and Slice Pizza (the pancetta and gorgonzola was wolfed down by us) and All star lanes doing their excellent as always pulled pork and buffalo wings. We finished it off with Gingers ice cream — Chorlton crack being probably my fave!
Here’s hoping next year is just as good.

Got there at 12, just as it opened yesterday, and I must say what a treat for the taste buds it is!
We bought fudge of multiple flavours, flavoured salts and spice rubs and some seriously good cheeses, all to take home.
To eat there we had a lamb meatball sub, from the paella stall, and a mega hotdog from the, erm, hotdog stall, all washed down with a pint of Reckless Danger and a pint of Vanilla Stout.
You owe it to yourself to get down to Albert Square before it ends!!!

Manchester Food and Drink Festival is a well established fortnight-​long event held in October each year. The serious foodie & drinkie thing to do is get your copy of the MFDF event guide as early as possible and plan which of the offers, specials and events across the city are for you. For the rest of us, rock up to Albert Square any day during the festival for some random foodie action. I visited on a cold and rainy weekday lunchtime, surely the acid test for any festival’s feelgood factor, and had fun. I met some enthusiastic street food chefs and tried some unique dishes without having to make a whole lot of effort to track them down.
There is a free cooking theatre in a marquee — up to you if you want to check the timetable for that! As to the food stalls and trucks, you need a cool head here. The procedure is to make one complete circuit of all the stalls and vans *without eating anything*. I could easily have filled up on a veggie kebab (see photo) from Zouk, or a noodle dish from Tampopo (see photo) or Holy Basil Street Food. But as both Zouk and Tampopo have restaurants in town, I was glad to have held out for some unique out-​of-​town street food specials. See my photos for the snack-​sized pizza from Woodburns Pizza and the Di Pain Frier from Mauritian Street Food
, plus I also tried the Roti Chaud (not pictured) at Mauritian Street Food.
I loved everything about Woodburns — the cool retro van, the warm hospitality of the seasoned campaigner couple running it, and the funky woodfired ovens. The pizza itself was a unique and worthwhile munch. There was definitely a unique flavour and texture from the woodfired oven, although I felt temperature control was not a strong point here, with quite a few burnt patches needing to be picked off the edges and underside. My recollection is that a snack pizza was £2.50, with extra toppings at 50p each, giving an authentic foodie treat at £3.50 in my case. The snack-​sized pizza meant plenty room for the Di Pan Frier. Wikipedia is not helping, so the best way to explain this is to see the photo. It was described on the Mauritian Street Food menu as ‘Mauritian Crispy Chick Pea Bread’. I would describe it as a distant relative of the pakora, but a very distant relative and much lighter in texture. Again, see the photo for the attractive presentation, topped with fresh salsa, green chili and a cocktail umbrella! This is definitely a savoury which deserves a wider audience, and with a broad appeal. The Roti Chaud was a bit like a small wheat tortilla and came filled with a mild butterbean curry. Again, this was yet another unique and authentic foodie savoury. Although raised in a traditional Mauritian household — and with full access to the recipe secrets! — MSF are from Nottingham, and with the accents to prove it! Great food and great banter from the main man Jason — looks like they have everything needed to go down a storm on the festivals circuit!
For cocktail fans, Manchester tiki-​bar Keko Moku were in attendance, and I was grateful to their cocktail shaker (see photos) for selling me a generous measure of Eager pineapple juice and a bottle of water for a token amount — thanks, mate :-)
The procedure this year seemed to be that there were two ‘waves’ of street food, with different offerings in each week-​long ‘wave’. So, for example, Ginger’s Comfort Emporium featured in the first week, with Sunset Ices taking over the retro ices slot for the second week.
Random fact — one rustic offering, Pudding & Pie Café, had put a half-​price sign up by the early afternoon — so there may be take-​home food bargains to be had.
I couldn’t resist uploading a ton of photos for this event — have a look! Seeing the embers of the Woodburns ovens glowing away with taxis in the background makes me smile and reminds me of my best food festival experience in Manchester to date.

There’s no better excuse to be a greedy guzzling gourmand than this fantastic food fiesta. Diets be damned, to hell with hangovers, because this is life-​affirming nutritional wonderment and signifies that to eat is a pleasure, not just a fuelling process. Every year, at just the right time of the season when the leaves are beginning to fall but there’s still some green in the trees and that nip entering the air can be staved off with the right amount of beer, Manchester’s finest feast-​peddlers get together to provide you with beautiful beverages and tasty treats, and it’s always fabulous.
There are events all over the city and its sprawling suburbs but the main hub of activity is based in Albert Square, right outside our beautiful Town Hall. I was lucky enough to spend the best part of the afternoon here today and experience the one-​day-​only Manchester Chocolate Festival — stalls dedicated to the likes of Artisan du Chocolat, Slattery (Whitefield’s wicked treat shop), The Chocolate Café and soforth. I came away with a ton of gifts to be put aside for Christmas but I can’t promise they won’t be nibbled away over the next few months. And if you don’t visit the beautiful vintage van that is Ginger’s Comfort Emporium, you’re clearly insane. Unusual ice cream flavours on hot French Toast? Who’s going to say no to that?!?
You can get some amazing savouries, and sponsors Holland’s Pies have this year unleashed three Coronation Street-​inspired flavours to make you feel as if you’re having lunch in the Rovers’ with Ken and discussing the ins and outs of his latest foray into novel-​writing or chastising him for taking Eccles the dog on all those walks to meet Stephanie Beecham on her barge. And what better to accompany a pie than a good pint? Reams of real ale are available here, and you’re bound to find something to savour whatever your tastes.
Catch it while you can until October the 11^th, but never fear — it’ll be back next Autumn. You don’t want to wait that long though, do you? It’s a classic five-​starrer, this one… and always will be.