Manchester Diaries 2.0

I’ve had a bit more of a chance to get acquainted with this lovely city, having had a couple of friends up to visit. It’s such a perfect excuse to act like a tourist because you feel like you’re showing other people around even though it’s all entirely new things.

We’ve also been lucky in another, very surprising, way: the weather. Whoever told us that Manchester would be cold, miserable and wet 99% of the time were completely wrong. We’ve had gorgeous sun pretty much every weekend.

Food

Naturally one of the big things I’ve ‘discovered’ is nice places to eat out. Manchester has an overwhelming number of coffee shops, bars and restaurants, including the curry mile. We’ve been doing pretty well at eating at home, pre-planning meals etc. like old people, but again, having friends round gives us the perfect excuse to go out.

El Gato Negro

If you go to one restaurant in Manchester I would recommend this one. I would never have expected to utter the words ‘make sure you try the carrots’ under any circumstances but apparently it’s happened. El Gato Negro is a tapas bar and this is good because although tapas may not be the most cost effective it is definitely my favourite way to eat. YOU CAN TRY SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS. I would recommend every dish we had but highlights were the scotch eggs, the octopus, pork skewers and those carrots.

As a four we managed to eat till we were full for £20 per head – including a shared bottle of tasty red wine, mandatory when acting out a scene from Sex in the City. Though we cheated a little bit because we got our puddings for free due to it being Helen’s (belated) birthday. On top of that we got a surprise glass of sherry and we weren’t sure why until we later discovered that a man had thrown up right in front of us, been escorted out and none of us had noticed. The food really is that good. Either that or we were drunk.

Chapter One

I walked past this place about a million times before using Miss H Fry as an excuse to have some coffee and cake. It poses as a book shop but I’m not sure I whole-heartedly trust their rather hipster and very small selection. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a coffee shop with a top ‘vibe’, where you can write your novel or do some arty shit, this is the place for you They even have a working fountain slap bang in the middle.

Harriet is the cutest ever.

Café W in Waterstones, Arndale

This place is the best. Because I work there and I’ve started to actually be able to do the patterns on top of lattes. So get me. Also they have an excellent selection of teas, including one called ‘Apple Loves Mint’ which smells of bubblegum.

I literally made this. It was my first solo latte and I'll never be prouder.

Corn Exchange

This is filled with a load of chains but it is absolutely beautiful inside.There’s loads of outdoor seating which on a glorious day is a definite pro. Plus, if you’re looking to spend an awful lot of money, it’s right by Exchange Square which holds Selfridges, Harvey Nicholas, Burberry and God knows what else.

Coincidentally, it’s also where I got harassed by a drunk man when I was fundraising for Shelter.

greatest photo of HH with her 'birthday' churros

My House

You heard it here first kids, for some great home-cooked grub, come for a visit. I think that’s probably been one of my greatest discoveries of Manchester, how much Ollie and I love cooking… and cooking together for that matter. To hear more about that, head over to ‘doing’.