Food Highlights
Food Highlights
The Knot Food Highlights (in no particular order). Venues in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. Check back for updates, share with friends, family and visitors looking for good spots to eat.
Got a recommendation for us? Email: james@theknot.group
1. Little Dumpling King, Hanley 🥢
A key part of Hanley’s culinary resurgence, “LDK” is a great Japanese spot on Piccadilly. Chef and Owner has a brilliant tone on Instagram and seems to love nothing more than proving the local “rag” (SOT Live) wrong about Hanley and getting “hurt” or “packed out” by punters. The food is fresh, tasty and if you head down on a Tuesday or Thursday it’s 2 for 1 on Bao. Natural Wines are a speciality.
Walk-ins only currently and the good food is accompanied by indie/rock music and waiters/waitresses that make you realise you’re not as cool as they are (in a good way).
Try; salt and pepper hash browns, panko aubergine w/rice, salt and pepper chicken wings, all dumplings, all Bao. Actually all of it. Go twice.
Park on the Potteries Centre for peanuts after 4pm or on big Tesco (free for 3 hours or extend for ~£2 on an app). Please no moaning about parking.
2. Proven Pizzeria, Stone 🍕
It’s hard to get Pizza wrong, but it’s also not easy to get it right every time. There’s Pizza and then there’s Neapolitan Pizza with properly good dough, Proven in Stone is the latter. The menu is full of different options with something for everyone. If you’re a basic Margherita kind of person, meat lover or the only Vegan in the family, you’ll all fit in. I’m an Earth Mother lover.
If you’re in or around Stone, takeout is a good choice too with Pizzas made to order sometimes as quickly as 10 mins from calling up. So if you’ve got nothing in and it’s been a long week, you’re going to be ok. Always order a BBQ dip, or two.
Located just off the canal, not on Stone High Street. Park near to Crown Wharf and walk or park for free on the road under the bridge.
3. BEAR, Stone ☕️
Not just a highlight but a critical part of my life. Genuinely not sure I could have survived the cold turkey transition from living in London to Stone without the coffee, brunch options and cinnamon classics from BEAR.
The vibe is great, the space is enjoyable to be in and there are enough people with tattoos and silly little hats working on their laptops (with stickers on) to make me feel like I’m not a weirdo for doing the same.
Founders Craig and Michael are Uttoxeter boys and that’s home to their first place, they have others in surrounding areas, including Northwich and Ashbourne.
For me, it’s a Long Black, a Cinnamon Classic (warmed up) and then a Veggie Breakfast on a Sunday.
Disclaimer: The coffee is so strong I once had two, or three cups in a row and i’m sure it nearly brought on a panic attack.
4. Anasma Greek Bakery and Eatery, N-U-L & Trentham Estate 🇬🇷
by Zuzanna Pog
I am itching to get away for some sun and amazing food. Greek cuisine has been a forever favourite since my first visit there in 2011. Post-travel blues make me miss fresh pastries and meals that require a long nap after. Anasma Greek Bakery and Eatery brings delish meals without having to hop on a plane to Greece.
The business is owned by Marianna Anastasiou who successfully opened a bakery during the pandemic and has been growing since. Their bakery site in Newcastle under Lyme is perfect for lunch or a quick pick-me-up, and their Trentham Gardens site is nestled at the back of the shopping village. The food is authentic, cooked with love, attention and so much care. It’s perfect for a date night or an evening to impress your friends with something unique.
For me; a chicken gyros and tzatziki for lunch with a Greek tea are the perfect combo. For dinner at Trentham, an Anasma Clay pot is my absolute go to.
Warning: Once you try their food you have to keep going back for more.
5. STOCK by FEASTED
Eateries need something to make them stand out. Great food, great hospitality, and well-thought-out opening hours are only the tip of the iceberg; a lot more is needed to cultivate a “following” and get people coming back again and again.
When I walked into STOCK on “Castle’s high street on a very drizzly Wednesday morning, I immediately knew that this was the kind of place that had just that. I was greeted like I was a regular with the promise of a delicious matcha pastry that I had seen floating about on Instagram a couple of days before. (The pastry was perfect by the way, warm, flaky, and oh so comforting).
Chris Cohen, STOCK’s zealous owner and idea-driver, even found the time to make conversation whilst the gorgeous smells of umami rose from the broths and noodles were cooking away. I was already admiring the coffee (a great partnership with Steelite) when he directed my attention to the words above the door “Bar - Kitchen - Community”.
Putting emphasis on the community aspect is what STOCK is all about, and you can see it in the details – all the way from the personal hospitality, to the pop-ups they hosted before their main launch, to the way they approach their food. This is what will create a successful eatery, and we’ve seen success with this model from other local restaurants like Little Dumpling King and The Rabbit Hole Tea Room. The power lies in the people, and putting them first will always yield good results.
For me, the fried squid starter and the cauliflower curry broth were the perfect blend of satisfying and warming.
Warning: You’ll start coming for just the conversation alone!
6. Slamwich Club, Hanley 🥪
Started in 2018 by two Stoke-born best mates, Nicole and Steph, Slamwich Club is a continuing “f*ck you” to anyone hating on Stoke’s City Centre. Their love of music, sandwiches and a good time has been enough to fuel their continuing success on Piccadilly, even through a pandemic.
It’s the kind of place you’ll walk in and be temped to say; “ooh it’s like being in London in here” (don’t say it). The branding, design and fit-out is on point and the music is upbeat, sometimes with a DJ on the decks, not just the snazzy Spotify playlist.
The food is a seismic twist on the traditional sandwich. “A meal in between two slices of bread” is the best way to look at it. Each dish is well constructed with a wide range of options for all taste buds and dietary requirements. Obviously the most important thing for some people is how instagram-friendly the food is and with a Slamwich Club logo scorched into the top, it scores high on that front.
For me; I’ve not eaten off this latest menu, but I’m told the Porkie Pig is top notch. I’ve got my eye on the Satays-faction personally. See what I mean about the branding?
Food coma alert.
7. FEAST STONE 🍔
Bringing Street Food to Stone since 2016, Feast Stone is back in May until September on the first Friday of every month.
Next date - May 3rd, 5pm - 9pm, Stone Cricket Club, Lichfield Road.
Food options can feel limited in Stoke and Staffs, so a load of vendors coming together to serve up delicious treats from across the Midlands is much needed and greatly appreciated. The instagram and website is a little mysterious, but I’m seeing photos of brownies, vegan food, fried chicken and a van that says “original punjabi flavours” and that’s enough to convince me that this will be decent.
It’s a nice summer location on the cricket pitch and looks both family friendly and “I want good food and then a few drinks in Stone with my mates”- friendly too.
8. Zagros, fresh naan bakery 🌯
📍 https://maps.app.goo.gl/4LG4Uecd282eRpBA6
💰 less than £5
When I worked in Shoreditch I’d queue most days for a falafel wrap from a street stall. The falafel was made fresh and they handed you one whilst you waited. For £5, I thought it was a great falafel wrap.
Now I’ve been to Zagros In Shelton, I realise how wrong I was. This is how a falafel wrap should be made. Zagros is a fresh naan bakery. They make the naan right there in front of you, it’s as fresh as it gets. They make the falafel fresh too and you can add pickled salad or the standard stuff plus sauces. You’ve also got a chicken shawarma as an option on the same fresh naan.
It’s the kind of place that if you didn’t know about, you wouldn’t go in. For £3.50 i’ve not had a better wrap. The naan is light and doesn’t sit too heavy on you, for a lunch time pick up it’s bang on.
Travelling through Stoke, or stopping off at the station, it’s just round the corner and you heard it from me - it’s the best wrap going. Or, curry for dinner? Pick up some fresh naans on the way home. Do it.