At EPIX, we’re all in the office twice a week, and those are the days we grab lunch together.
Whether it’s our usual spots or a simple meal in the office, lunch has become a regular thing for our team. When it comes to picking a place, we keep it simple. We need options for everyone – Halal, Vegetarian, and, sometimes, space for Mike’s dogs. Lunchtime is all about good food and good company.
Our EPIX lunch outings provide more benefits than just grabbing a bite. They give us a chance to connect on a personal level, away from the usual work setting. Getting out of the office gives us a chance to get some fresh air and creates a more relaxed environment where we tend to collaborate on ideas through casual conversations about what we are each working on.
If you’re in Manchester, you may have seen us grabbing lunch at our usual spots. One of my first EPIX lunch outings was at Hatch, which is a lively spot with street food and bars. Similarly Society is awesome too. There is also Hello Oriental, an industrial hub that serves up a variety of pan-Asian street foods that we enjoy.
At Hatch, before it’s recent closing and reopening, there were some real winners. A Parmo, for instance, was a standout—a plate of fried chicken goodness, perfect with chips and garlic sauce – and Fukus served up some awesome Asian street food too. We also have some favourites at Society : there’s Slap & Pickle’s mouthwatering burgers; a curry fix from Chaat Cart; Manzoku for gyozas, bao buns, and their killer katsu curry. And we can’t forget Noi Quattro’s pizza and chips meal deal — that’s an EPIX favourite.
Hello Oriental, an industrial hub with a market and cafe, also serves up a variety of pan-Asian street foods that we enjoy. What’s great about these spots is they’ve got something for everyone’s taste buds. It’s not just about the grub; each spot’s got its own vibe that keeps us coming back. Towards the end of the month, we shake things up. We might hit Tesco for meal deals or bring in homemade stuff. And when it comes to individual favourites, we’ve got classics like Fat Pats, Olivitta, McDonald’s, Greggs, KFC, and Archie’s. Each of us has our go-to spot, adding some extra flavour to our lunch routine.
Every now and then we go out for a planned team outing which normally consists of a sit down meal. After the last Manchester Metropolitan apprenticeship evening we went to Rozafa for a greek style meal. I can truly say I have never had such amazing halloumi or falafel – but the best part had to be all the different greek dips we had.
For our christmas outing we went to Zouk, who serve a mix of indian and pakistani. We have also been to Samsi, an authentic Japanese restaurant that makes fresh sushi, ramen & kushiyaki grills. The best part about this outing was due to Ian opting to sit in the traditional Japanese area – this meant sitting on the floor around a table that ended up having space for our legs beneath the table, so getting back up was a struggle for everyone!
Of course being out with the team there can always be some blunders. A few of our favourites are…
- Madi went to lunch with Mike, Ian and James but the restaurant wouldn’t accept cards for payment below £15 and nobody had spent more than that so Mike ended up paying for everyone. An unexpected free lunch!
- Jess has enjoyed the many lessons she has received form the team about how to use chopsticks!
- Mine is a more recent story from a trip myself, Chris and James went on down to a customer in Stonehouse. After a long three hours of travelling we made it to our airbnb which we quickly left to walk (in the wind and the rain) to the local Mill Pub. Sadly they’d closed their kitchen early but we managed to order an Indian takeaway via Just Eat. However the mission for drinks to go with dinner was a little more fun as the local petrol station (the nearest shop) was due to shut in 15 minutes – Chris ran there to save the day!
I’d love to hear from you if there are any other places you recommend to eat in Manchester – it really is a highlight of our week. Email me at ella@epixsystems.co.uk
