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Wow. What a weekend to experience Manchester’s hospitality opening up again.

The sun was out. The rules were relaxed, and people genuinely felt more confident. 

For our part we had a great time at a relatively new venue, Escape to Freight Island, tucked away at the side of Piccadilly station. We had some mates from out of town visiting at the weekend, and decided to make a city break of it. 

I’d booked us a table in advance at 9.45pm so when we navigated a route march from Stevenson Square in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, avoiding Piccadilly Gardens at all costs, it gave me a chance to describe to my pals what to expect.

I’d done a bit of homework, read a couple of favourable reviews and spoken to a few mates who’d been and digested the very cool promotional material put out by Indigo, the Manchester PR company who know how to reach the clubbing demographic.

Quick point of order. I am not the key clubbing demographic. I was 30 years ago, and though I love live music and quirky food, this is aimed at the instagram generation.

My mates are the same as me. So I must admit I struggled to convince them at first about what I was leading them into. “Is it a nightclub?” Er, no, but there will be DJs and dancing. “A food hall, then?” Sort of, there’s food, but they operate as different stalls and booths run by loads of different quirky street food brands, some that started out on markets.

When we turned the corner to walk down the disused Mayfield railway station and had to queue up along a wall before we could get in, I really felt my age. But do you know what, that was soon forgotten when we got in. 

The lad who escorted us to our pre-booked booth explained how so many staff had been pinged that they’d been a bit stretched and was profusely apologetic. 

Walking through the open outdoor space, with a bar, a stage, terraces and loads of people having a great time my little crew were totally charmed. 

“It’s like a festival,” said one. “It’s like being on your holidays,” said another. 

The team behind it have delivered great venues like Volta and Refuge, and festivals and nights like Homoelectric, We Out Here festival, Festival N°6 in Wales and it shows. Any great venue is always greater than the sum of its parts, it’s an atmosphere and a vibe.

We settled in for drinks and ordered food through an app, delivered to our table - a mix of Madre tacos, churrios and eclairs from Choo Choo. There’s loads more to try next time and hopefully more will be available.

Inside the cavernous old depot, a stage featured DJs and a dancer we recognised from the Hitman and Her, Wiggy Clive. He doesn’t have the wig now, but he still has the moves and the abs. 

So honestly, people, it just felt so good to be out again at the weekend. 

This lockdown has changed us all. I was so proud of my friends for pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and trying new things this weekend. It reminded us we’re human.

Foodie Friday in Stalybridge looked great and we had an absolute blast escaping to Freight Island. 

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