There's no shortage of places to eat in Manchester city centre, but one spot that's become a popular hangout over recent years is Mala Secret Garden.
Tucked away in the Northern Quarter, on the corner of Dale Street and Lever Street, it opened in 2021, transforming the former wasteland into a relaxing hideout with quirky indoor and outdoor areas adorned with flowers and twinkling fairy lights, a large garden area and individual huts.
No longer much of a secret, Mala, which means ‘garden’ in Hawaiian, is home to a wide range of vendors selling food from around the world including Mexican, Asian, Greek and more. The menu features everything from noodles, wraps and tacos, to burgers and waffles.
One of the most popular offerings is House of Habesha, serving up mostly vegan Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine using only halal meat. But now the team behind House of Hab has launched a new Italian brand inside the venue and we were among the first to call in and give it a try.
As with all the vendors, you can order from Dough Jobs sitting anywhere at Mala, using the table QR system for ease.
But to the left of the main entrance is where you'll find the kitchen and its own little garden, featuring huts decorated with flowers and lemons giving the place a Sicilian garden vibe.
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We sampled a mixture from the new menu, including garlic bread bites, pizza and pasta - watching them being lovingly made, fresh to order by chefs including Sicilian-born Salvatore Caesar Randazzo, who spent 30 years living in Nashville, America, learning the trade from his father who opened restaurants there in the late 1970s.
Despite Salvatore admitting garlic bites are twice the size in the States, there are no small portions here. You get six of them, each one filled with gooey cheese. In some places just a couple would be a starter on its own. For £6.50 you can't complain.
The pasta dishes are reasonably priced too - the creamy rigatoni pesto, £9.50, and rigatoni bolognese, £10, with slow-braised beef, both delicious.
But the pizzas here are something else. We opted for the spicy grilled chicken pizza, a weekly special priced £13. A plain margarita will cost you a tenner.
Served piping hot, the colourful concoction was like summer on a plate, the pot of sweet sauce making it shine even brighter. And again, it was huge.
We kept our drinks simple with Cokes, but there are all kinds of cocktails and beers on the menu, as well as coffees and flavoured hot chocolates.
Judging by the number of customers in here on a Friday lunchtime - couples, families, friends - I don't think this place is short of diners. But with the arrival of Dough Jobs, it might just find itself getting a whole load more.
Bookings are recommended for groups over six, but the bar operates a walk-in service for other visitors. Dough Jobs has both halal and non halal offering.
Mala is located at19 Lever Street, M1 1BY, and is open daily from 10am to 11.30pm, closing at 10pm on Sunday. For more information, follow their Instagram here.
