Three Plates, One Shawarma & Zero Basketball
Let me preface this by saying: I’m a simple person. For my birthday this year, I didn’t want presents, parties, or pointless tat. All I asked was for people to take me out for food & to be fair, that’s been going pretty well so far.
Next up on the culinary gift list was my mum. With Manchester weather doing its usual impression of a soggy dishcloth, I figured it was the perfect excuse to get cosy with some tapas. Enter Canto, the cool younger sibling of El Gato Negro, and home to the ever-enticing 3 dishes for £20 offer (which, given the climate, should really be on prescription).
☔ Rainy Day Tapas & Mum Chats at Canto
Driving into Manchester is rarely a good idea. Driving into Manchester when United are playing Chelsea? Absolutely not. I sensibly took the train, while Mum Ubered in, and somehow — against all odds — we landed within minutes of each other. A small miracle, but we’ll take it.
Canto’s menu, as always, is a hard one to narrow down. I went in with a clear strategy and left happy:
Salt Cod Fritters with tartare sauce – golden, crispy, salty little parcels of joy.
Chargrilled Peri Peri Chicken – a personal favourite. Smoky, spicy, soft.
Patatas Bravas – the dependable carb we all need in our lives.
Mum, of course, went rogue:
Calamares – her ride-or-die dish.
Cauliflower – an underrated veggie star when roasted right.
Spiced Lamb Meatballs – warming, hearty, and gone in seconds.
All in all, a solid catch-up with the mother over tasty plates and miserable weather. Tapas always feels more indulgent when it's grey outside, don’t you think?
🌯 Sqew Launch & the Great Shawarma Sprint
Just when I thought my birthday eating spree had hit its peak, Foodini (the Manchester-based food whisperer) slid into my DMs with a hot tip: the soft launch of Sqew was happening on 25th September, 6pm sharp.
Never one to turn down a food invite (especially when it includes a flyer and a balloon arch), I clocked out of job number two at 6pm and beelined to Deansgate. The goal? Shawarma in hand, back on a train by 7pm, home by 7:45pm, and suited up for a 9:10pm basketball game.
Easy, right?
Wrong.
Turns out the soft launch was softly chaotic. My food landed in my hands sometime after 7pm. So much for that 7pm train.
That said — worth the wait. I grabbed:
Chicken Shawarma – my first ever, and frankly, I’ve been sleeping. Packed with spice, flavour, and warmth.
Crinkle Ridge Potato Chips – yes, those ones. Perfectly fluffy on the inside, with just the right crisp. While I was happily tucking in, a few of the Leeds-based staff (brought in to help with the launch) confessed their envy — turns out their site doesn’t serve them. Just another reason why Manchester does it better.
Soft drink – essential, since I was inhaling the shawarma en route.
No time to linger — I took my food to go, dodging the crowd that had already clocked on to Sqew’s potential. Sad to miss a proper meet with Foodini, but always grateful for the heads-up.
The next day, Sqew officially launched with a bang — giving away 500 free shawarmas to celebrate. I swung by to take a peek at the queue and let’s just say… not for the faint-hearted. Manchester clearly loves its meat wraps.
🏀 The Final Plot Twist: Game Over Before It Began
Fast forward: I arrive home at 8:50pm. Game's at 9:10pm. It's a 25-minute drive. No time to think. De-suit, re-suit, drive.
I pull into the car park at 9:25pm — breathless, mildly sweating — only to be greeted by my team chilling outside.
The game? Cancelled. Other team couldn’t field players.
So I guess the real win of the night? That shawarma.
🍴 The Takeaways:
Canto: Always a reliable go-to, especially in grim weather. Solid tapas, even better company (hi Mum).
Sqew: Big flavour energy. Will return — but maybe next time I’ll skip the race-against-the-clock bit.
My basketball game: RIP.
Until next bite.