It’s been a truly torrid year for the food and drink industry, which makes us even happier to see some exciting new openings on the horizon.
The Northern Quarter is set to welcome two new food operators serving Detroit-style pizza and kebabs, both 100% plant-based. It’s great timing, too, as we approach the increasingly popular Veganuary month.
So whether you’re already vegan, you’re trying it out, or you just fancy some delicious vegan food, you’ll soon have two new options to enjoy in the city centre.
Four Side is set to take over the site next to the Buddhist centre, previously occupied by Earth Cafe, which closed at the end of August after saying it wasn’t viable to open the café again.
The basement venue will now become home to the plant-based restaurant, serving Detroit-style vegan pizzas.
Detroit-style pizza is a four sided deep-dish pizza hailing from the birthplace of Motown. Its chewy crust is similar to focaccia but crispier and with smaller bubbles. The pizzas are baked in heavy steel pans and are traditionally loaded up with Wisconsin ‘brick’ cheese and then a tomato sauce layer on top.
The new vegan pizzeria is being set up by Dan Hope, behind popular street food brands Firebird Hope and Krum doughnuts. The menu looks to feature classic tomato and cheese, a white pizza with oyster mushrooms and a what looks like a Mexican-inspired fusion, topped with corn, coriander and a slice of fresh lime.
Announcing the opening on Instagram, the post read: “We’re thrilled to announce that we will be firing up our new pizza ovens and putting some Four Side energy into this much-loved NQ basement space. Expect 72-hour proved Detroit-style pies, house-made vegan cheeses + meats, killer sides and beautiful drinks. More news as we get it, including an announcement from our pals with the vegan doughnut skills @krum.mcr.”
There’s no specific date of when Four Side will be open but we’ll keep you updated as we know more.
The second plant-based opening set for Manchester’s Northern Quarter is What the Pitta, serving a menu of vegan kebabs.
What the Pitta serves vegan version of classic kebabs including vegan doner. Their signature spiced, meat-free doner pieces are loaded into wraps and topped with a choice of salad including lettuce, onions, tomato, pickled red cabbage, jalapenos, humous and tzatziki.
There are also falafel wraps, vegan gyros, chip boxes and mezze boxes topped with doner or falafel.
For dessert, there are vegan ice creams from Booja Booja and Ben & Jerry’s, as well as Baklava and ‘Retro Skool cake’, sponge with a layer of thick vanilla icing and rainbow sprinkles.
Manchester will be What The Pitta’s first location up North, with sites already in Boxpark Shoreditch, Boxpark Croydon, Brighton, Camden and Battersea. They will take over the site on Back Turner Street, which has been vacant since El Taquero closed its doors in December 2019.
What the Pitta is set to open on 7 January 2021. For more information, visit whatthepitta.com/what-the-pitta-manchester.
