Coronation Street stars reveal Manchester’s hidden gems, best date night restaurant & cheap days out
CORONATION STREET stars Brooke Vincent and Ellie Leach have spent years filming on the soap’s cobbled streets in Salford – before hot-footing it over to nearby Manchester for shopping, partying and family time when shooting wrapped.
So who better to reveal the city’s coolest restaurant openings, sports events and shows? Here, in the Sun’s new My Hometown series, the soap stars reveal their secret Manchester hotspots.
Brooke Vincent’s Manchester
Brooke Vincent, 31, lives in Manchester with her boyfriend Kean Bryan, 27, and their two sons Mexx and Monroe. She knows the best spot in town for…
A Night Out
“Spinningfields is a really cool place, with lots of different bars and restaurants for a night out,” Brooke says. Based in the city’s financial district, Spinningfields has tons of fancy cocktail bars, high end restaurants and posh shops to explore. Celebrities can often be spotted at places like the restaurant SakkuSamba, BLVD and Alchemist bars and Australasia restaurant.
The nearest train station to Spinningfields is Salford Central and the closest tram station is St Peter’s Square.
Buying something nice
“Afflecks Palace is a cool place to shop in the Northern Quarter,” Brooke says. Once home to the city’s Affleck & Brown department store, Afflecks Palace now houses more than 70 independent traders over four flours. Traders sell everything from vintage clothes and vinyl to jewellery, art, candles and even tattoos and haircuts. Stars including Lady Gaga, Pete Doherty, Noel Gallagher and Debbie Harry have all been spotted inside the 200-year-old building.
The nearest train stations are Piccadilly and Victoria, and Piccadilly Gardens is the closest tram stop.
Some culture
“Definitely see a show, because even though it’s not the West End, there are some epic shows that go on in our theatres,” says Brooke.
Manchester has a range of theatres, ranging from the grand Manchester Opera House, The Palace Theatre and The Lowry for big name shows and musicals, to the smaller Hope Mill, Contact theatre and Dance House – where the Royal Northern Ballet School have a residency.
Watching a football match
“The main one has got to be Old Trafford of course. Wherever you are in the world, when people talk about Manchester, they always say, “Manchester United’s grounds!” says Brooke.
Tickets to a game at Old Trafford aren’t easy to get your hands on, with priority given to members. But you can still book onto a stadium tour to see behind the scenes, pick up some merchandise in the shop or grab a bite to eat in the Red Cafe.
The closest train station is called Manchester United Football Ground.
A fancy bite to eat
“I’m a creature of habit, I love going to The Ivy, which has really traditional food,” says Brooke.
The Ivy opened its Spinningfields outpost of the famous London restaurant in 2018, and it has been a hit with Manchester’s TV and football stars ever since. The giant four-storey building is home to a brasserie where mains start from £16, a private dining room, pan-Asian restaurant and roof garden.
Deansgate is the closest station to The Ivy, Spinningfields.
A hidden gem few people know about
“There’s a small restaurant called Ornella’s in Denton [five miles east of Manchester city centre]. It’s Italian food and it’s the smallest little shop, but oh my god, the food is amazing. If you’re ever in Manchester, try and get in,” says Brooke.
Ornelia’s is a tiny deli restaurant, so booking is advised. Starter dishes include arancini and fried ravioli and start from £6, while the much-loved pasta dishes start from £8 for a small portion.
Denton train station is a 15-minute walk away.
A place to sleep
“King Street Townhouse Hotel is mine and my partner’s favourite place to stay. The pancakes are amazing, and it’s just a really nice treat if we’re ever in town,” says Brooke.
The boutique hotel is right in the centre of Manchester, with a rooftop spa and infinity pool that has fantastic views over the city’s town hall and clocktower. Rooms from £149. The hotel is walking distance from Manchester Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly train stations.
A fun drink
“One Eight Six is a new bar that’s very 1950s/60s, where you sit at a table and watch live entertainment and dance,” says Brooke.
Hidden behind a mirrored wall in a trendy barbers shop in the Deansgate area, this basement speakeasy-style bar serves up cocktails and live music. Book a table to avoid dissappointment. Closest train station is Deansgate.
A free afternoon with the kids
“The good thing about Manchester is we have a lot of parks. I’ve got the kids so we visit a lot of them, like Heaton Park – which is massive, says Brooke. Heaton Park is a 20-minute drive from the city centre, featuring more than 600 acres of parkland and the 18th century Heaton Hall. It has a large play area, boating lake, animal centre and land train, and in recent years has laid on open air theatre productions.
You can take a tram from Manchester Piccadilly Station to Heaton Park tram stop.
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Ellie Leach’s Manchester
Ellie Leach, 23, is best known for playing Faye Windass in Coronation Street from 2011 to 2023.
After leaving the soap, she won Strictly Come Dancing and still lives in Manchester. She knows the best spot in town for…
A day out
“The Northern Quarter is very cool, it’s quite edgy, and there’s lots of little cafes, restaurants and bars. You’ve kind of got everything there that you would need to have a day out in Manchester and it’s a great representation of what the city’s like,” says Ellie.
The Northern Quarter is one of Manchester’s coolest neighbourhoods, home to independent shops, art galleries, street art and quirky cafes and bars.
Manchester Piccadilly train station is a 10-minute walk away.
A bite to eat
“One place that I love is The Refuge in the city centre. It’s just across the road from the Palace Theatre and it’s inside the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel. The vibe’s just really cool and the Sunday lunch is gorgeous,” says Ellie. The restaurant is based in a grand Victorian building, with an international menu of sharing plates, from around £8. Dishes include beetroot borani, Korean chicken wings and patatas bravas. 2 minutes walk from Manchester Oxford Road station.
A posh meal
“A new restaurant has recently opened up called Fenix that is a little bit more fine dining. The food is gorgeous there, and the interior is so nice,” says Ellie. Fenix is a high-end, modern Greek restaurant in the city’s new St John’s development. Mains cost from £25 to £85. It’s around a 10-minute walk from Salford Central station.
A break from the city centre
“Bee’s Coffee Pot is a little hut in the middle of nowhere, around 25 minutes drive d from the city centre. They cook out of a little caravan and you go to the window and you collect your food. They have little wooden cabins with fires inside and blankets, and you’re high up with a beautiful view,” says Ellie. Bee’s Coffee Pot on Harrow Edge Road, on the outskirts of Mottram In Longdendale, serves everything from homemade cakes to all-day breakfasts
A proper night out
“The AO Arena in Manchester holds a very special place in my heart, because I’ve grown up going to concerts there. During the Strictly tour I was able to perform there myself and it felt like a real full circle moment – to have watched people there and to then be on that stage,” says Ellie. The arena regularly hosts the biggest names to tour the UK, from Peter Kay and Elton John, to Girls Aloud and Take That.
Victoria station is directly under the arena.
Some retail therapy
“I’ve got a bit of a shopping addiction, so I’m always at the Trafford Centre. Even though it’s just shops, the whole building itself is huge, and there’s a lot to do there,” says Ellie. The shopping centre is home to a huge range of shops, from Selfridges to Zara and John Lewis to H&M. But there’s plenty to do away from the shops too. You can play mini golf, watch a film, go bowling and play laser tag.
You can reach the Trafford Centre on the tram from Manchester City Centre.