Freight Island

Winter Island at Freight Island

This festive season, Escape to Freight Island will become Winter Island – the UK’s largest heated indoor and outdoor festival.

The winter wonderland is complete with Santa’s grotto, a twilight trail light show and events leading right up until Christmas Eve. From bonkers Christmas bingo to a fourteen-piece band, it’s all happening.

Tinsel-tastic festive traders include: Smoking Coal German BBQ, Formaggi by Lazy Tony’s, Fuku Express, Greek Street, Oh My Churros, Cabin Chocolat and Baldy’s Pies.

Freight Island is a food hall meets music festival in a regenerated rail depot beyond Piccadilly Station.

A team that includes key players from Festival No.6, Albert Hall, and Refuge, have taken a desolate industrial space and transformed it into something quite wonderful: a place that brings together exciting food with top DJs with family events with cultural ’happenings’ with live sports screenings with cocktail and craft beer shenanigans.

Take a look at the vendors you can currently find at Freight Island:

Pattersons

The Southern US-style chicken from Pattersons is a huge hit in Liverpool and they’re the newest independent restaurant to join the rosta at Freight Island.

Pattersons chicken is soaked in buttermilk before being coated in their own ‘secret’ spice rub and fried. It’s served in red plastic baskets on greaseproof paper, diner-style, with skinny french fries and pots of gravy for dunking. They also do loaded fries, burgers, and fried cheese options for veggies.

Freight Island Bar

As you might have guessed from the name, this is Freight Island’s house bar. Here you can enjoy experimental nitro-infused cocktails, as well as classics and modern twists on all your favourites. There’s a good selection of wine and beer available, too.

Burgerism

Grade A chuck beef is used in every smash burger served, and turkey bacon replaces pork at this halal-friendly joint. Try a popular ‘Beefed’ burger featuring all the usual suspects – lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion with a homemade special Burgerism sauce. Or go for fried chicken with spicy oil, “comeback” sauce and freshly made coleslaw.

Smoking Coal

Specialising in beef brisket, lamb shoulder and pork belly that’s been slow-smoked for 18 hours, Smoking Coal is a carnivore’s dream. It’s served up in flatbreads and buns, or used to top their poutine. Open Thursday-Sunday.

Voodoo Ray’s 

Voodoo Ray’s at Escape to Freight Island is the first opening outside the capital for these sell-‘em-by-the-slice pizza pushers. Order two slices of their giant 22” pizza pies and it’s the equivalent of a full 11-inch pie.

Freight Tap Room

You’ll find The Tap Room tucked away in a cosy corner. It’s warm and welcoming and they have a decent selection of rotational craft beers and ciders on tap.

Payal

Exclusive to Freight Island, Payal are experts in eye-catching Indian cuisine. Expect lots of flavour and an aesthetically pleasing plate of food that’s almost too good to eat. Open Thursday-Sunday.

Mega Gyros

Is there anything better than a warm pita filled with char grill chicken and fresh salad? Yes, when you throw tzatziki-covered chips into the mix. Expect Mediterranean starters and sides as well as the main event. Open Thursday-Sunday.

Forever Changes

Specialising in vino and small plates, this low-intervention bistro has over 100 bottled wines to choose from. Pair your favourite with artisan cheese and cured meats or enjoy free oysters when you buy a glass of wine on a Thursday (from 4pm).

Lazy Tony’s Lasagnaria

At Manchester’s first dedicated ‘Lasagnaria’, you can buy deep fried five-layer slabs of the stuff. There’s also loaded fries, garlic bread, stuffed subs and huge mozzarella sticks. Open Thursday-Sunday.

Patel’s Pies

Patel’s fuses Indian and British cuisine with their homemade curry pies. Try their desi chicken – a creamy, mildly spiced chicken pie, or their paneer and chickpea – chana masala curry, paneer and spinach.

Camden Town Brewery

This northern outpost of Camden Town Brewery has a £4-a-pint happy hour that’s worth the trip in its own right. Their always-fresh, never-pasteurised lager and ales are sold on tap, plus there’s one-off limited edition beers available too.

Fuku

Popular across Manchester, Fuku’s Asian Fusion cuisine is inspired by family recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation, Think traditional dishes in a street food format.

Mia’s Arepas

Mia’s Arepas brings this traditional Venezuelan side and street food to Manchester. An arepa is a gluten-free corn flour flatbread filled with chicken, tuna, plantain, avocado, cheese – whatever you like in fact.

Kopparberg Bar

The popular Swedish cider brand has its own spot in the Plant Room at Freight Island. Go during their happy hour (4pm-7pm Thursdays and Fridays) and treat yourself to £6 cocktails, £4 pints, £2.50 shots and £20 bottles of house wine.

Oh My Cheesecake

What’s better than a slice of cheesecake? Cheesecake on a stick. Choose from flavours including Biscoff and Kinder Bueno. They also make waffles and milkshakes.

The Sports Bar

One for the gamers, The Sports Bar has over 20 arcade machines including all-time-faves Guitar Hero and Dance Nation. You can also watch screenings of all major tournaments like the Premier League, Six Nations, Eurovision and Wimbledon.