7 Of The Best Must Visit Dessert Restaurants In Manchester

Now that summer is almost upon us and lockdown restrictions begin to ease, now is the perfect opportunity to enjoy a treat and catch up with friends and family. Manchester is jam-packed with must-visit dessert destinations and there are places all over the city offering different sweet treats from loaded waffles to freshly baked pastel de natas, you’re sure to find something to appease your sweet tooth.

We all get the craving for something sweet every now and then, so knowing the best places to visit when that happens is ideal when you need to seek out something sweet. With that in mind, here are 5 of the best dessert restaurants in Manchester.

Ginger’s Comfort Emporium

If it’s a nice, warm day and a tasty ice cream is calling you, then there is no better place to head to than Ginger’s Comfort Emporium. Head up the stairs in Afflecks to the first floor and you’ll find Ginger’s, packed full of eclectic ice cream flavours and tasty desserts. You might have spotted their ice cream van around the city, visiting one of the many events or markets, but there’s no better place for a sit-down treat than visiting their emporium in Affleck’s Palace.

With flavours such as black treacle and parkin, baked apple sorbet, and their iconic Chorlton Crack (peanut butter and salted caramel), you’ll never find bland vanilla ice cream here! As well as ice cream, they offer other desserts and puddings such as affogato, toasted ice cream sandwiches, french toast, and other specials.

Black Milk

Black Milk, based in the Northern Quarter, has been on a mission to create the most extravagant waffles and milkshakes in the city since 2015. Their pancake and waffle stacks are phenomenal, and their milkshakes are out of this world, but since they opened in 2015, they’ve branched out and now offer a range of dessert spreads, chocolate bars and sauces.

With new outdoor seating on the recently pedestrianised Oldham Street, there are plenty of seats available for when you get a serious sugar craving. From their gigantic “Freakshakes” to loaded s’more and pancake stacks, there are plenty of sweet options available for when you want to grab a treat in the city centre.

Sugar Junction

Another Northern Quarter spot, Sugar Junction is very aptly named and offers some of the best cake offerings in the city centre, alongside a delicious food menu and boozy drinks offering. You must visit here if you’re with friends or are meeting up with family, as the place is decorated with a vintage vibe and food and drinks are served using fine china, teapots and crystal glasses.

Sugar Junction is a real hidden gem in the middle of the city centre, where you can step away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Their afternoon tea is a must, but their counter cake options are always fantastic and they offer some great vegan and gluten free options, too! If you simply can’t choose which slice to go for, then they have a cake platter where you can get a taste of three slices instead. For more special occasions, then their Cake & Cocktails pairing is a must! You get to enjoy a delicious vintage cocktail, such as a French Martini or a Blackberry Bramble, with a decadent slice of cake.

Archie’s

A Manchester hot spot, Archie’s is famous in the city centre and beyond, having gained a loyal customer base and celebrity following, including Kevin Hart, Rita Ora and Floyd Mayweather. Although their menu mostly focuses on burgers, fries and fried chicken, they also have an extensive selection of desserts and milkshakes.

Their fully loaded waffles are not for the faint-hearted and pack a seriously sweet punch. Choose from options such as the City Slicker, which is made using Reese’s Cups, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and flakes, or the Moonwalker, which has Maltesers, Milky Bar, whipped cream and finished off with crushed Maltesers on top. If you’re in the city centre and fancy a bite to eat, or even just want to indulge in dessert, then you must visit one of their 4 locations – each one provides an experience you won’t forget!

Slattery

Moving slightly out of the city centre, Slattery is just a short tram ride away from the centre of Manchester but is well worth the trip. Slattery has been crafting and creating chocolate and patisserie since 1967 and if you want to visit somewhere a bit more formal, then a visit to Slattery is a must.

The Slattery shop and restaurant is full of surprises and there is plenty to choose from, including breakfast and lunch items or simply just chocolate and desserts. You’ll find homemade traditional desserts including dutch apple pie, bread and butter pudding and sticky toffee pudding, chocolate-based baked goods such as strawberry and chocolate kebabs, brownies and indulgent fudge cake, and delicious ice cream sundaes. If you’re up for a challenge, why not take on the Slattery Chocolate Challenge which combines chocolate cake, with hot chocolate and, you guessed it, more chocolate! But, be warned, this challenge is for serious chocoholics only!

Conclusion

Manchester is home to so many fantastic dessert restaurants, it’s hard to choose just 5 of the best. If you head anywhere in and around the city, then you’re sure to find one of the many dessert restaurants! Not only does Manchester have a vast array of dessert restaurants, but the city is also home to many famous bakeries and bakery products, including McVities, Regal Foods and Real Lancashire Eccles Cakes – the city really is one of the dessert hotspots of the UK.

Author bio: Natalie Wilson is a freelance writer in the travel niche, and can provide advice on anything from packing essentials to hidden gems. When not writing, Natalie can be found reading a good book with a cup of tea or planning her next travel destination. You can connect with her on Twitter @NatWilson976

The pandemic has been hard on nearly all industries, but not many have been hit worse than hospitality. In particular, restaurants, bars, and pubs have suffered hugely from social distancing rules and lockdowns, usually being the first to close when the cases rise. While it’s definitely been a tough time for all, it doesn’t have to be the end of your business. By investing in clever marketing rather than tightening your purse strings, you can help your restaurant jump back and keep your tables booked up when lockdown ends.

Which Marketing Methods Should You Choose?

There’s a wide range of marketing methods that are great for restaurants. We love social media marketing, SEO, and even more traditional methods, like leaflets through the door. But there’s one marketing tactic that stands out at times like these; Pay Per Click advertising. In particular, we’re going to take a look at Google AdWords PPC and how it can boost your bookings.

What is Google AdWords PPC?

Google Search Ads is a method of advertising, but rather than having ads on obscure websites or social media feeds, they pop up directly in Google’s search engine. The idea is that you bid on certain keywords that are relevant to your business. Then, when a user searches for that keyword, you’ll be one of the very first search results on the screen. When you consider that over a quarter of people click on the very first result that pops up, you can start to see how this could help you.

If running a PPC campaign sounds daunting, don’t be put off! It is quite technical, but you can easily find a specialist marketing agency to help you out. With their expertise, your ROI should increase dramatically. If you’re still not sure about it, let’s take a look at some of the benefits and see if they change your mind.

Fast Impact 

After the struggles of a pandemic and lockdown, it’s unlikely you’re looking for long-term marketing. You want results, and you want them now, right? Unlike tactics like SEO (which still has its place in every marketing method, of course), Google AdWords PPC gets you results instantly. In fact, as soon as your campaign is up and running you should start to see your traffic beginning to rise! As long as you have a brilliant website for users to land on, there’s no reason why your bookings won’t start to increase, too.

With PPC Marketing – You’re In Control

No matter what your budget is, it’s vital you can control it when creating your marketing strategy. Luckily, PPC makes that easy. With this marketing method, you only ever have to put in the amount of money you can spend, making it very manageable. Because you also have control over the ad displayed (the written content) and the keywords or phrases it pops up for, you can also make sure the money you invest is being spent efficiently. If you like to make sure you’re getting good marketing for your money, this is a great option for your restaurant.

PPC Advertising Provides Highly Targeted Marketing For Restaurants

To make sure your marketing is bringing customers through the door and sitting at your tables, you need to target it. Not any old person will be interested in your restaurant! With Google AdWords, there’s a number of ways you can target your marketing. The first is the key terms you pick, which instantly narrow down your audience to people interested in restaurants, food, or any other niche you fall under. You can also target by location which is super useful for restaurants! So, when someone searches for a restaurant in your area, you can pop up first.

The Timing Is Just Right for PPC Advertising

When you create an advert for Instagram or a website, the chances of it appearing right when someone wants to dine out is slim. But, because PPC relies on them searching for a restaurant, you’re catching them at just the right moment. In restaurant marketing, timing is everything, and Google AdWords PPC makes that easy.

See Visible Results with PPC Ads

Google AdWords has a wealth of data and reporting that they’ll give you access to. Through this, you can see exactly how well your ads are performing, the amount of traffic they’re driving, and everything else you need to measure your ROI. Through this, you can fine-tune your PPC ads, tweaking them until you get the formula just right and your traffic sky-rockets.

Don’t Miss Out On PPC

It’s not hard to see how a PPC campaign can help restaurants bounce back after the harsh pandemic side-effects. With targeted marketing that catches your audience at just the right time and results that can be almost instant, it’s a brilliant way to quickly and effectively get your business back on track.

If you want your tables fully booked, don’t miss out on PPC.

Author Bio: Andrew Nicholas is a Director and Co-founder of SideDish Media Restaurant Marketing in London, UK. SideDish Media is a Marketing Agency whose passion and focus lies in the food, drink and hospitality industry, helping restaurants, bars, hotels increase their positive exposure online. SideDish Media helps to put restaurants’ businesses and brands in front of millions of the right potential customers through specialised targeting methods, to achieve the maximum impact from precious marketing budgets.

Related: A Blogging Guide For Every Business Owner

? # Don’t But New Pots & Pans Until You Read This

Things To Consider When Choosing Pots And Pans To Improve Your Cooking

The importance of proper cooking instruments is unparalleled. The kind of utensils you use heavily affects the quality and taste of food that is being prepared. When it comes to pots and pans, it’s not about if you have a varied collection of different sizes. Rather, owning a small but efficient set goes a long way. Your choice of pots and pans should depend on the kind of food you cook, how frequently you cook it, and the quantity of the batches you make.

Choosing the perfect pot or the perfect pan to buy requires a thorough analysis of such factors, and that is why it differs from person to person and lifestyle to lifestyle. Here is some guidance that will help you to make an informed decision when buying a high-quality cookware set.

Know your Requirements

The first step to buy the most efficient set of pots and pans is to know what you need. Most people are attracted to a set of matching cookware that is sold at a lucrative price. While there is nothing wrong with doing that, picking up each piece on your own and, as per your requirements, will lead to the maximum utilization of your time and money. Often, we are left with something that we don’t need that much in a larger size when we buy a set. To avoid such mishaps, it is always wise to analyze your situation and then buy what you need.

Some must-have characteristic traits to look for when buying a pan

Your kitchen should be stocked with some good quality and efficient pots with varied shapes and materials. Remember, every small and big characteristic feature will affect the food you cook in the pan. Some of the criteria that need to be fulfilled before choosing on a pan are:

1. Comfort – A pan should be comfortable to work with. You should be able to handle the weight of the pan and grip it properly. A simple hack to make the grip more comfortable is by adding a rubber gripper.
2. Handles and lids should be heatproof and sturdy – You need to choose a pan that has a sturdy handle. Lids are crucial aspects of pans, and you should look for one that allows the excess vapor to be released. The handles and the lid need to heatproof to reduce accidents in the kitchen and increased safety.
3. Heavy gauge materials – When in a store, ask the shopping assistant for pans that have heavy gauge materials. It helps in evenly spreading the heat in the pan, which assures that the food being cooked in the pan will receive an equal quantity of heat at all places and at all times. Distribution of heat can make or break a preparation.
4. Good Conductor of heat – You should look for a pan made from a material that is a good conductor of heat. Copper and aluminum are good heat conductors. They can almost instantly catch up with the changes in the heat source. Pans made of these materials take very little time to heat up or cool down. That is why it is easy to work with them and much more efficient.
5. Know the kind of food you will cook – There are different kinds of pans suited for different types of cooking. For example, if you are thinking of a saute pan, you need to focus on the responsiveness of the item because you would need to change the heat abruptly and want the pan to respond almost eventually to make a proper sautéed dish.

Choosing the correct pot for yourself

Several materials make pots. Stainless Steel, Copper, Aluminum, Cast Iron, Anodized aluminum, Nonstick, etc. are some of them. Each of these materials affects the aspects of the pot, which influences the food being cooked.

Your choice of the pot should depend on the kind of food you want to prepare in it.

1. Go for a heavy stockpot if you are someone who cooks a lot of soups. A heavy bottom is an essential quality for such dishes.
2. A thinner gauge pot works well if you have to boil some pasta or steaming something.
3. Use an Anodized aluminum pot with a lighter interior to cook the sauce. In case you use induction cooktops for cooking your food,
4. Your pot should be made of stainless steel as only then it will effectively work with an induction cooktop.

That was it for today. We hope that this article helps you out, and you can buy the right kind of pots and pans for your kitchen. Happy cooking!

Buying Pots And Pans To Improve Your Cooking – What You Need To Know

Cocktails – in recent years, are like super fancy artisan drinks, crafted by bartenders around the world. The recipe changing region to region with more exotic ingredients has set its trend. Each year the trendsetters are different, and 2020 is not being shy!

2019 saw cocktails trends that were sweeter, gin, and rum-based. Sherries and daiquiris were sensations. And, there were slow talks about wellness and health – which in 2020 is unfolding into a trend which we can’t ignore anymore.

5 Trendsetter Cocktails – Stay on top of your cocktail game.

CBD infused cocktails

CBD has taken all worlds into its trend. And, we are looking at so much CBD inspired stuff from medicine to skincare. That doesn’t end there! The fad has taken over bars and coffee houses around the country. Bartenders mixing “CBD oil” into various cocktails – you can imagine the buzz.

Yet there are so many rumors about it! Will CBD infused cocktails take you to cloud nine? Well, CBD-Cannabidiol is the non-psychoactive chemical found in hemp plants. That being said, it doesn’t contain THC – so it will not make you super high! Yet the said effects are the feeling of relaxation.

Bartenders are using an eyedropper to manage the doses of the CBD oil – and mixing it with tinctures and teas. CBD can give an earthy texture and flavor to Gin or Amaro based drinks. And, it is a go-to recipe to buzz your mind. CBD oil suits much with non-ABV (Alcohol by Volume) cocktails. So two drinks are enough to push you out of bed the next morning! One thing to keep in mind is that in many regions of the country, CBD products are not yet legalized! So it is important to remember that you won’t get in trouble!

Classics are back!

In the past few years, we saw a plethora of fancy drinks – with infinite, more elegant ingredients. And somehow, after roaming and discovering into lands of mystical fancy drinks, we are back to the classic ones. Yes! Classic drinks are back in business. People now more than ever are into cocktails with 3 or 4 ingredients.

And, we are talking about “Highball,” making its way into the upstream. Do not confuse this classic drink with any fancier versions – a highball is just whiskey and ginger ale! Some recipes use plain soda water, but ginger ale is the best ingredient. Any drink enthusiast knows how a classic highball tastes. The variations made from these two drinks are just divine and straightforward.

At home, it is easily brewable – and already has a perfect formation around the world. Our recipe follows like – fill a highball glass with ice, pour 2 ounces of crown royal reserve and top up with ginger ale or your favorite soda. You can go ahead and throw in some lemon zest or flavor schnapps and orange juice. A perfect drink for your happy hours!

Trendsetter Cocktails  — No to low ABV

We are peaking in 2020, and one thing that goes without notice is “health consciousness”. The wellness-minded people are buzzing around low proof cocktails. And, it has set a new trend for 2020 among fitness seekers to make youngsters’ conscious about what they drink.

What are low proof cocktails – Simply saying alcohol with low ABV(alcohol by volume) shaken together! We are looking at drinks with base ingredients like Aperitif wines, Sake, Vermouth and sherry, etc. The alcohol percentage varies from 15 to 20 percent. Sweet and sour, dry to intense flavors, and tons of innovation are just lying around the low ABV drinks – you need the necessary imagination!

The rise of low proof cocktails is the cause of people looking out for a style of sophistication mixed with healthy juice. It’s no more about just getting drunk, and more about discovering flavors, mixtures, and prepping for new drinks. It’s a trend you need to hop on now!

Trendsetter Cocktails — Kegged Cocktails

Don’t come to a subtle conclusion of excluding kegged cocktails. Everyone can agree on the point that cocktails are art! The craftsman in the bar elegantly pouring drinks topping with exclusive flavors is just mesmerizing. The said drink is then poured into beautiful glassware with dozens of ingredients to spark it!

et at times, it becomes widely impractical and too precious for high crowd places! In the reign of fast-paced bars and pubs, there is just no time for royal sophistication. And hence the “kegged cocktails” have come into existence.

The preparations for batched drinks are old school now. The bartenders mix the said ingredients before ready to serve to achieve the max speed during busy hours. The world accepted the concept of kegged cocktails versions. Don’t worry! You can maintain the freshness as long as you want in newly developed refrigerators.

The recipe mixed and stored in the freezer is ready to serve anytime! Well, we can agree it’s just a natural and straightforward – time-saving technique! The drink menu is just “ready to serve”! Don’t get mistaken here – you can get any recipe stored for an instant drink. Kegged cocktails are the only necessary evil here!

Umami cocktails

The gift from the Japanese – “the umami factor”! This mysterious flavor has its range – And is being the latest obsession for enthusiastic drinkers. The Japanese explain umami as savory deliciousness – naturally occurring elements in miso and mushrooms. Yet it’s more complicated than it sounds.

The flavor profile of umami is a full-bodied, meaty profile – which comes from amino acid L-glutamate. The top umami-rich foods are meat, tomato, seaweeds, seafood, green tea, and nuts. That explains why we are addicted to burgers, fish, and chips.

Tomatoes – you must be thinking of an umami-rich Bloody Mary! Yes, variants of “Bloody Mary” will give you an excellent idea of an umami cocktail. Right now, many bartenders are experimenting to get the perfect umami cocktails. Yet the Japanese establishments already have an exclusive menu for this mysterious tasting cocktail. They are making people venture into this fifth taste more!

We can safely assume 2020 is the year of wellbeing, health, simplicity, and exclusive flavor profile. Cocktails have always been a part of innovation and sophistication. People are always looking for the novelty to please their taste buds – of course. It is part of enjoyment and pleasure.

There will be a new trend every year.

But, for 2020, the golden words are healthy and simple!