From halloumi fries to hot cookie dough – the Manchester Christmas Markets foods you must try this year

In case you hadn’t noticed, the Christmas Markets have arrived back in Manchester – bringing the enticing aromas of freshly-cooked sausage and fragrant mulled wine with them.

Naturally, the food and drink stalls tend to grab most people’s attention, and there’s a whole host of quirky gourmet treats to try out, including Manchester favourites as well as those German frankfurters.

We’ve sized up the best food on the markets to seek out on your visit.

Halloumi fries

The Eat Grk stall on King Street is causing a bit of a stir with its halloumi fries and lamb pitta breads so expect a big old queue if you fancy some.

The halloumi fries are a big old wodge of cheesy goodness and be sure to ask for all the trimmings – a delightful mint sauce and fresh pomegranate for good measure.

Price: £6.50

Where: King Street

Yorkshire pudding wrap

The biggest hit of last year’s Christmas Markets is back for 2018 even bigger and better – with a range of new options to try from Manchester’s very own Porky Pig. Get there for 9am and you can get your hands on their fried breakfast inside a Yorkshire pud.  Or wait til 10.30am to get the full range of freshly roasted meats, stuffing, roasties and gravy wodged inside.  Or, for something a little different (but no less tasty), try the calzone – a pizza-y mix of meat and tomato inside the batter treat.

Price: from £6

Where: Exchange Square

The Northern Soul toasted Crimbo cheese sandwich

If you try only one festive themed foodie treat at this year’s Christmas markets, then make it the Crimbo toasted cheese sandwich from Manchester’s Northern Soul.  The grilled cheese specialists have cooked up a festive humdinger with their Crimbo sandwich.

Watch as their trademark melted cheese oozes into thick slices of roast turkey, drizzled in gravy and cranberry sauce and a good old wodge of stuffing.  It’s topped off with a pig in blanket round speared through the top.  Trust us, you need this in your life.

Price: £7

Where: Albert Square

XXL sausage

Yes, the Christmas Markets are sausage heavy – you are never more than 100 metres from one at this time of year.  But we wanted to get the heaviest of them all.  The biggest XXL bad boy we could find was this beast on King Street.  So big a baguette cannot contain it. Now that’s what we call a sausage.

Price: £5.50

Where: King Street

Hot cookie dough

Elsie May’s hot cookie dough is back again with TWO locations to get your tastebuds salivating this year.  Oldham-raised Charlotte Whittle is the woman behind the cookie confections, which this year include a whole host of towering sweet combos – including the everlasting gobstopper mountain of gooey dough, topped with your choice of sauce and ice cream or whipped cream.  Her Exchange Square stall also includes a range of beverages this year including the ubiquitous shimmering prosecco.

Price: from £5.50

Where: Albert Square and Exchange Square

Chocolate-covered chocolate cake

If just one layer of chocolate in your cake just isn’t enough for you, plough in with a chocolate dipped chocolate cake handily skewered onto a stick.  Bypass the healthy fruit dipped in chocolate options and go straight in with this bad boy at the Gingerbread House on Exchange Square.  Extra smarties on top too because you can never have too much chocolate.

Price: £4

Where: Exchange Square

Flammkuchen

Get fully embedded in the German market experience with this continental treat.  It’s like a very thin pizza topped with sour cream and your choice of cheese, onions and bacon.

Price: from £7

Where: Albert Square

Christmas pudding challenge

Rossendale’s Ginger Viking puddings is the place to head if you want traditional, hot Christmas puddings with a rich slathering of custard to tuck into.  And for those with a really sweet tooth, there’s also the prospect of a Christmas pudding challenge – get a layer of festive pud, a layer of jam roly poly and melting chocolate pud slathered in cream and custard for £9.

Price: from £4

Where: Market Street

Amsterdam Frites

New to the Christmas Markets this year, Amsterdam Frites boast an array of dangling sauces for you to have drizzled all over your freshly cooked chips.  Choose from cheese, mayo, hot or cold curry sauce, satay, peri peri and jackfruit options for vegans.

Price: from £5

Where: Albert Square

Boozy fudge

Yes there are lots of fudge sellers on this year’s Christmas Markets. But it was the oozing, spoonable boozy versions, served up in a wine glass, that caught our eye on Exchange Square.

Choose from Baileys fudge, Jack Daniels, prosecco and champagne fudge.

Price: £4

Where: Exchange Square

If you’re looking for the vegan options at this year’s Christmas Markets, check out our handy guide here.

Christmas Market 2018 dates and times

The Manchester Christmas Markets are open from November 9th until December 22nd.  But this year the main hub on Albert Square will stay open for an extra day until December 23rd.

The Ice Village at Cathedral Gardens will stay open until January 5th.

Opening times are 10am to 9pm for Albert Square’s main hub – although the market closes earlier on the other zones until December – but the bars stay open until 9pm.