Part food tour, part treasure hunt and part escape room, this new Manchester experience combines hidden clues, WhatsApp puzzles and some of the city’s best independent restaurants and it sounds like a very good way to spend an afternoon.
Manchester has never exactly struggled when it comes to food.
But every so often, something comes along that makes you look at the city slightly differently and this definitely caught our eye.
Food Escapes is Manchester’s first puzzle-powered food experience, combining clue-solving with a trail of hidden dining spots across the city.
The concept is simple enough in theory: players receive cryptic clues via WhatsApp and solve them to unlock the next restaurant destination. In reality, it sounds far more like a cross between an escape room, a food tour and a very competitive day out with friends.
And yes, we immediately wanted to try it.
Food, But Make It Interactive
Rather than simply booking a table, participants follow a trail through areas including the Northern Quarter, Chinatown and Ancoats, solving clues hidden within Manchester’s architecture and streets.
Each solved puzzle reveals the next stop with three eateries included as part of the experience.
And importantly, these aren’t random venues added for convenience. The routes include some genuinely good Manchester food spots, including Mackie Mayor, Hello Oriental and House of Social.
There are eight themed experiences to choose from too, including: Dumpling Trail, Los Tacos and Rise & Dine Brunch, which means it feels less like a novelty and more like a genuinely fun way to discover the city’s food scene.
A Different Kind of Day Out
What we like most about the idea is that it gives you something to do alongside eating. Not everyone wants another sit-down dinner reservation.
Sometimes you want a bit of movement, a bit of competition and something that feels slightly unexpected especially when you’re trying to plan birthdays, group outings or weekends with friends where everyone wants something different.
The timer element also adds a competitive edge (if your friendship group can handle it), although thankfully it pauses while you eat, so nobody has to inhale tacos under pressure.
More Than Just a Food Tour
Founder Aaron Winsloe describes the idea as a way to experience Manchester differently discovering details, streets and venues you might otherwise walk straight past.
And that feels quite true of the city itself. Manchester is one of those places where there’s always something tucked away around a corner you’ve somehow never noticed before. This just gives you an excuse to go looking for it.
We’ll Report Back…
Tickets start from £49 per person (including food), and there’s currently an introductory discount running with code LAUNCH20.
Safe to say, this has very much gone onto our “things we need to test immediately” list so we’ll report back properly once we’ve tried it for ourselves.
Find out more at: https://foodescapes.com/
