That’s right, free. For the more gluttonous of pancake lovers among us, you can even enter into a pancake eating competition! So relieve your frying pans and potentially your ceilings from batter and get down to any of these!
Cottonopolis
Northern Quarter favourite Cottonopolis are running a ‘Dorayaki’ pancake menu this Shrove Tuesday. What’s that I hear you cry? Why, stuffed Japanese pancakes, that’s what! You can fill yours with Chocolate Peanut and Salted Caramel, Matcha and White Chocolate or Yuzu Curd and Marmalade for a lovely twist on your normal pancake day.
Cottonopolis, 16 Newton St, Manchester M1 2AE
0161 236 5144
https://www.cottonopolis-nq.com/
Black Dog Ballroom NQ & NWS
Black Dog Ballroom are loving this ‘buy a drink, get free food’ mantra at the moment, and you certainly can’t complain! The offer is available in both the NQ and NWS venues, as well as Dog Bowl over on Whitworth Street. Everyone loves free pancakes when you buy a drink and on top of that, if you can handle it, get involved in the Pancake Eating Competition at Black Dog NQ from 7pm on Tuesday 13th. Participants need to register by emailing andrew@blackdogballroom.co.uk
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 52 Church St, Manchester M4 1PW
Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 11-13 New Wakefield St, Manchester M1 5NP
https://blackdogballroom.co.uk/
23 Peter Street
Maybe you are indifferent to the french vs. American debate. Maybe you are sick of syrup or maybe you just fancy something savoury for a change. If you want to go down the less traditional route then my advice would be to head down to the newly refurbished and renamed 23 Peter Street (nee Sakana) for some crispy duck in Chinese pancakes. You really can’t go wrong with those lovely, thin, Chinese pancakes filled to the brim with duck which is both crispy and juicy in equal measure. Pile it up with crunchy cucumber and spring onion and smother in in Hoisin sauce, wrap it up and dig in.
Sakana, 23 Peter St, Manchester M2 5QR
0161 884 1292
http://www.sakanapan-asian.co.uk/
Don Giovanni
Head on down to DG and have free Cannelloni this pancake day and we can’t flippin’ wait! If you’re the type to find yourself getting mad with the mess of spilt flour and sticky batter all up the walls, not to mention the pain-staking wait for each pancake to finish cooking before being devoured, perhaps this year it’s time to give yourself a break and let the professionals take care of things. And who better than Italian favourites Don Giovanni, for whom pancakes are an everyday staple? If you’ve got that sweet-tooth craving, maybe this isn’t the one for you. But if you’re feeling something a little more savoury this Pancake Day you can head down to the Oxford Street restaurant and enjoy a free plate of Cannelloni when you buy a drink in the restaurant! Just make sure to wish the team a ‘Happy Pancake Day!”
Don Giovanni, Peter House, 1-2 Oxford St, Manchester M1 5AN
0161 228 2482
dongiovanni.uk.com
Kosmonaut
Kosmonaut is flipping everything upside down with a Stranger Things 2 themed quiz and some of Fat Tony’s filthiest and most delicious pancakes. Kosmonaut’s very own Stranger Things super fan-cum-quizmaster will be stepping up to the mic and testing folk’s knowledge on the weird and the wonderful, the obscure and the obvious and seeing if they can tempt you into deciphering those Shadow Monster messages. You won’t be able to resist these pearly prizes either, the winning team will pick up a £100 bar tab and strange spot prizes will be awarded throughout the evening.
When the quiz is over, don’t be a Mouth Breather and do an early Dart! You don’t know what’s out there. Kosmonaut’s Fat Tony will be turning the heat up to Eleven (because no one likes it cold), in celebration of Pancake Day, and serving up a storm with some saucy battered delights until late into the evening. The quiz is free to enter, so Hopper-long and you won’t be short of a Bob or two. Teams of up to 8 (Max) can register by emailing info@kosmonaut.co
Kosmonaut, 10 Tariff St, Manchester M1 2FF
0161 236 9876
kosmonaut.co
Common
Down at Common you get a FREE PANCAKE with any drink purchase. Yours from 10am ’til whenever they run out of eggs. Maybe never? Why not try a pancake themed, free-to-attend, materials provided free pancake special Colouring Club too? If you’re answer is a thousand times yes, then go down from 6-9pm. There will without a doubt be lots of pancake related paraphernalia knocking about for you to get creative with. In fact, I’ve just had word in my ear-piece that Colouring Club will be giving you a free pancake activity book – now where the f*ck else are you going to get one of those? Come get involved!
Common, 39-41 Edge St, Manchester M4 1HW
0161 832 9245
aplacecalledcommon.co.uk
Bundobust
It will be Dosa Day over at Bundobust – the perfect opportunity to try their new vegan masala dosa if you haven’t already. January’s new menu launch introduced a brand-new recipe for the masala dosa and with a new vegan coconut chutney and an Aloo Gobi (potato and cauliflower) filling, it’s now 100% vegan. There will also be a special one-off ‘Sweet Sweet Dosa’ on the menu avaliable on 13th and 14th February – with mango, pistachio, cardamom and mascarpone cream.
Bundobust, 61 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2AG
0161 359 6757
https://bundobust.com/
The Banyan Tree
Proper, American style thick pancakes with your choice of classic Nutella and banana, strawberries and squirty cream, or go mental with a stack topped with rich blueberry compote, maple syrup and crème fraiche. Probably a good thing Shrove Tuesday kicks off lent, because your waistband will be screaming for a break!
The Banyan Tree, Unit 3, Moho Building, Ellesmere St, Manchester M15 4JY
0161 835 9906
www.thebanyantree-manchester.com
The Botanist
Now listen to this – Pancake Hanging Kebab. I’m not even making this up. Mini fluffy pancakes served with marshmallows, fresh strawberries, vanilla ice cream and finished with hot molten chocolate drizzled all over… hanging from a skewer. AND it’s only £5.95. My keyboard is covered in drool (sorry).
The Botanist, 78 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2FW
0161 833 1878
thebotanist.uk.com
Bill’s
Join Bill for his Annual Pancake Party with the classic lemon and sugar or caramelised banana and salted caramel ice cream with a nice glass of prosecco. If they don’t tickle your fancy, try a ‘glamcake’ which is inspired by two of the restaurant’s favourite cocktails. Go for a Bramble Mojito – two buttermilk pancakes, blackberry and mint cream with rum and lime syrup or an amaretto sour – amaretto cream, Italian meringue, lemon syrup and toasted almond flakes. Both of these are also served with a glass of prosecco, so you’ll be leaving feeling as light and airy as the pancakes themselves!
Bill’s, 8-12 John Dalton St, Manchester M2 6JP
0161 834 2756
bills-website.co.uk
