Do you love a roast dinner with your romance? Then surely you’ve already considered celebrating the big day in a Toby Carvery. No?
Well, everyone’s favourite carvery is ready and waiting to host your wedding reception.
Your wedding guests could be feasting on a classic Toby Carvery roast in their finery, and it’ll only cost the happy couple as little as £9.99 a head. Bargain.
This British institution has been filling tummies with roast meats, Yorkshire puddings and all the other trimmings for decades.
So why not let them create the roast momantic – sorry, most romantic – day of your lives?
Toby Carvery promises to make your wedding day ‘extra-special’ and is surprisingly well-equipped to host your reception, from the private bars to the sound tech you need for speeches and music.
They also say they believe in ‘transparent, value-for-money packages’ to suit all sorts of budgets, with ‘no nasty surprises’.
There’s no arguing with that once you start browsing through the menus – there are a couple to choose from, from a classic Toby buffet to a three-course set menu.
You can have your wedding reception at a Toby Carvery in Greater Manchester. Credit: Mitchells and Butlers press
If you plan a mid-week wedding, you can get a carvery of roasted meats, freshly steamed and roasted vegetables, Yorkshire puddings, mac and cheese, and roasties for £9.99 per person (it’s still only £10.99 on a Saturday).
Or there are buffets stuffed with finger sandwiches, pork pies, cocktail sausages, salads, popcorn chicken, tart tartin and roasties with dips, plus chocolate chunk cookie pieces, and cookie dough brownie squares.
For those who prefer not to make their wedding guests queue up for their dinner, Toby Carvery also does a more traditional three-course menu (£24.99 per person on Saturdays and Sundays, or £19.99 Monday to Friday).
That menu includes British favourites like prawn cocktail, the famous roast carvery, and chocolate fudge cake.
There are quite a few Toby Carvery sites offering wedding reception packages around Greater Manchester, including Chadderton Park, Ainsworth, Bolton, and Watergate Toll.
Given that Bolton’s Toby Carvery is set in a historic country house which is genuinely stunning, it’s all starting to come together, isn’t it?
You can have your wedding reception at a Toby Carvery in Greater Manchester. Credit: Mitchells and Butlers press
Toby Carvery says: “Don’t worry about the details; our experienced team is on hand to guide you every step of the way. We’ll ensure everything is looking perfectly poised to host your wedding reception.
“From private bars to sound capabilities for speeches and music, and, of course, delicious roast dinners you know everyone will love – we can help make your day extra-special.
“Now the non-romantic bit – let’s talk about pricing. We believe in transparent, value-for-money packages that cater to a range of budgets. Trust us, there are no nasty surprises here, only pleasant ones!
“So why wait? Choose Toby Carvery as the backdrop for your love story. After all, your wedding day deserves nothing but the best.”
The Smithfield is finally here - and we're pleased to report that it's every bit as special as you were hoping.
This newcomer to Leeds has taken over the site that was home to The Reliance for more than two decades.
The team's transformation of the site started with a paint job - probably the most-talked-about paint job in the city - taking the site's exterior back to its memorable dark red.
That move immediately won over fans of The Reliance, with one person writing: "Seems the team here held the Relly in high regard and rightly so! Hopefully they can recapture some of its magic."
But the efforts to recapture the essence of the iconic old venue go way beyond that.
The Smithfield, a collaboration between Crooked Brewing and Chef James Donovan, is setting out to mix up relaxed hospitality with simple dining.
It's all about connection - to seasonal food, to the heritage of the building, and to the community that will make connections here.
Co-founder Steve Dawson outside The SmithfieldThe Reliance has been reborn as The SmithfieldWayward WinesThe dining room
If you're wondering what sort of things will be on the table, allow us to enlighten you.
There are sharing plates like grilled leeks on romesco, pigs head croquettes (a must-order), and whipped cods roe with radishes, all served on charming mismatched plates.
The bigger dishes include a comically massive pie for sharing, packed with chicken, leek, and tarragon. It's a mighty thing, especially paired with their crispy-edged chips.
You can also order a whole wild Cornish seabass for a real feast, or a fantastic beef sirloin with wild garlic butter.
There's a fantastic selection of natural wines from Wayward Wines, as well as (unsurprisingly) great beers.
Steak, pie, and charred leeksA spread of the plates at The SmithfieldSticky toffee puddingThe Smithfield has taken over the old The ReliancePigs head croquettes with gribicheThe chicken and tarragon sharing pieA sharing pie and chips at The SmithfieldBeef sirloin with wild garlic butter, and purple sprouting broccoli with ricotta and mintWild Cornish seabass with kohlrabi, fennel, and chervil - plus an orange wine from Wayward WinesThe Smithfield is now open
Steve Dawson, co-founder of Crooked Brewing, and his business partner chef James Donovan, were drawn to the old The Reliance site and are seizing the opportunity to contribute to the area's dining legacy.
While Steve's focus is on creating a social meeting point, James will focus on the casual, social dining, taking inspiration from the building's reputation as a cutting-edge gastro pub.
They'll be sourcing seasonally and locally, with menus that will change with the seasons.
The space itself inside is still familiar - those huge windows are the stars of the show, with the bar still standing centrally, while the dining room at the back is stripped-back and simple overlooking the open kitchen.
It's very early days for The Smithfield - they're just out of their soft launch period and gearing up for their first 'proper' weekend.
On their soft launch period, they wrote: "We were so grateful to welcome friends, neighbours, and the Leeds hospitality community to The Smithfield. Seeing the bar and dining room full after weeks of cleaning, painting, and graft has truly made it all worth it.
"A huge thank you to everyone who came along, showed their support, and has made this journey possible. Not least the Kitchen and bar teams, whose incredible service has kept the plates coming and the drinks flowing."
We feel pretty confident in saying Leeds will be very proud to have The Smithfield in our city.
In pictures – Mexican restaurant Madre opens up in Leeds at last
Daisy Jackson
Madre is one of those few restaurants that has been making us jealous of Manchester for years - but finally, it’s Leeds’ turn.
A couple of months after the launch of Salon Madre, a colourful pool hall and taqueria, it’s time for Leeds to welcome its sister restaurant.
Madre will open its doors on Wellington Place this week, promising to educate us all in the art of ‘sobremesa’, which means to linger at the table long after the meal is over.
And trust us, after popping in for a sneak peek today, you won’t be in a rush to leave this place.
The unit has been totally transformed by the Madre team - it’s all jagged angles on the tables and soft curves on the walls, with a colour palette that goes all the way from deep terracotta to neon green.
From an open kitchen you can see the team constructing tacos and piling oysters with jalapeño mignonette and salsa brava.
The menu is split neatly into four sections - snacks (elote, wings, Caesar salad and guac); raw (oysters, tuna tostadas, and aguachile); tacos (including birria); and parilla (wood-fired dishes like BBQ octopus and slow cooked lamb breast).
Click through the gallery below to see inside Madre Leeds
Madre LeedsA selection of the Madre Leeds menuDishes at Madre in LeedsMargaritas are a mustBeef birria tacosFire-roasted mushrooms with egg yolkMadre opens in Leeds this weekBone marrowMadre on Wellington PlaceOysters with salsa
Pull up a seat at a tile-topped table and you can expect to dig into everything from rich Oaxacan-inspired moles and salsas to Baja-style mariscos and Sonoran grilled meats.
Pop down on a Tuesday and you can take advantage of Madre’s two-for-one taco deal - we can’t really think of a better evening than tucking into dinner at Madre before heading across the road for happy hour margs and a game of pool at Salon Madre.
Madre is brought to the city by the teams behind London’s famous Breddos Tacos and esteemed Liverpudlian eatery Belzan.
Daisy Jackson -
22nd August 2024 
