Comfort Cravings
Manchester
4.9 / (23)

Comfort Cravings

Comfort food, done right. This route takes you across the city on a journey to solve your way to 3 independent restaurants serving absolutely delicious food that you would absolutely crave. Food you'd 100% go out of your way to find, it's absolute feel good comfort food.Β Β  Come very hungry for th...
β€’ Good Availability
Β£49 / player
FOOD QUANTITY FOOD QUANTITY
Come very hungry!
PLAYERS PLAYERS 2–7
Level Level Medium
Duration Duration 3 hours
START
Circle Square
FINISH
Northern Quarter
HOW DO ESCAPES WORK?

A Food Escape is a food puzzle game in the city. A series of clues are sent to you via WhatsApp and must be solved in the real world, with answers hidden in the streets, buildings and little details around you.

As you solve the clues correctly, they guide you through the city and unlock 3 different delicious independent restaurants along the way, where food is included at every stop.

The game is also timed, we love a bit of competition! You'll be racing against the clock for a place on the leaderboard, but the timer is paused at each of the 3 food stops so you have time to relax and enjoy your food.

You should allow 2-3 hours in total, including time to eat and complete the Escape.

WHAT EXACTLY IS INCLUDED IN THE TICKET PRICE? β€Ί

Your ticket includes the full Food Escapes experience: clever clues sent to you via WhatsApp, food at multiple restaurants which you'll reveal in the game, and a route through the city which changes depending on the decisions you make in the game.

Just bring a charged phone, arrive hungry, and enjoy discovering some brilliant independent places along the way.

CAN WE START A FOOD ESCAPE ANY TIME WE WANT? β€Ί

Just before the 'add to cart' button above, you can view the available dates and times for this route.

When you buy the Escape from our website, it's a bit like a voucher as you can either:

  • Buy without booking a date and time, and book later, or
  • Choose a date and time before you buy.

Either way, all bookings are fully flexible and changeable free of charge until midnight the night before your booking.

ARE FOOD ESCAPES SUITABLE FOR KIDS? β€Ί

9 and over, we think so!
Under 9, please read below.

There's a few things to consider, every child is different so please be your own judge:

1. A Food Escape is a 2-3 hour experience and requires walking around the city - may be a lot for some little legs!

2. The quantity of food included on each escape is enough food to leave an adult full. But for young children, it will be too much. If you do want to take younger children, you are welcome to buy 1 extra person for 2 children and have them share the food. e.g. 2 adults and 2 younger children = 3 tickets and the children can share. This also makes it half price for younger kids.

You are more than welcome to take along children who are not eating at the restaurants i.e. infants in pushchairs, at no additional cost.

3. The puzzles are sent over WhatsApp. Kids who can read well will enjoy playing and reading the clues as they come through. It also requires thought and reasoning to solve some clues. While majority of clues will be solved by finding things around you, e.g. answers hidden in the architecture or the streets around you (all of which would be suitable for any age), some will also need some light maths or common culture knowledge where an adult would need to help.

CAN I CHOOSE WHAT I EAT ON THE ESCAPE? β€Ί

At some stops you can choose elements like your protein, and at others there’s a small choice of their best items. Some stops include a set dish we’ve curated and tested to fit the overall experience.

Food Escapes has been designed by a food-obsessed foodie who loves food(!) so we are very sure you'll enjoy the food along the way.

I HAVE DIETARY REQUIREMENTS, CAN YOU ACCOMODATE THEM? β€Ί

Yes. On our All Escapes page, use the filters to enter your dietary requirements. It will only show you Escapes which are suitable to your dietary needs.

For this escape specifically, go up the page and click the 'Allergens / Dietary?' box.

After purchase when you place your booking, you will have an opportunity to further enter dietary requirements.

Part of playing a Food Escape is discovering new restaurants and dishes along the way, but we get this can be stressful for those with strict allergies. If you'd like to know the exact food you'll be eating first, please contact our customer service and we'll help.

ARE FOOD ESCAPES DOG FRIENDLY? β€Ί

Some are, it's all based on the restaurants on each Escape. Our current Manchester Food Escapes that are dog friendly are as follows:

Los Tacos
Rise & Dine Brunch
Craft Beer

IS SOMEONE THERE TO GUIDE US IN PERSON? β€Ί

No physical host is involved. All you need is WhatsApp! Everything will be sent to you, you'll just need to solve the clues and eat delicious food!

I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A PUZZLE GAME, BUT WHAT IF I GET STUCK? β€Ί

You can ask for hints, answers, and clear directions if you get lost - but these will add a time penalty to your final score, so up to you how much you use them.

You won't go hungry if that's what you're worried about!

Getting started

How does it all work?

01.

BUY & BOOK FIRST

BUY & BOOK FIRST

Choose your game, place an order & book a time to play in the next 12 months. Rearrange as many times as you want free of charge. It's fully flexible.

02.

GET YOUR INSTRUCTIONS

GET YOUR INSTRUCTIONS

We'll send you everything in an email about how to start. All you need is WhatsApp. No awkward setup. No app download.

03.

ARRIVE & START

ARRIVE & START

Go to the starting point sent to you via email and start the game (we'll explain how in the email too) and the timer will begin. Everything you need will be explained to you in WhatsApp.

04.

PLAY, EAT, RANK

PLAY, EAT, RANK

Solve the clues, unlock food stops, and explore the city. Finish the game and see how you rank on the leaderboard!

  • 5 stars: 21 (91%)
  • 4 stars: 2 (9%)
  • 3 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 2 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 1 star: 0 (0%)
N
Nacho Average Team
Was really good from start to finish

Was really good from start to finish. The directions were very clear and clues challenging but not too much. One of clues perhaps could have said largest not highest as that was a bit confusing. Also watch out for predictive text on phone as we were penalised when our answer changed without realising.
Unfortunately our access to a few roads and clues was affected on the day by Manchester Pride so had to call the emergency number given. No answer straight away but after texting I was called back and the chap on the phone was really helpful. Not sure if any time was taken off as we had to detour round but very unlikely we would have made it to the top of the leader board anyway πŸ˜ƒ
It was good to hear he called the group we knew were behind us to advise them too. Food was good and definitely do not eat before you go. We did the comfort Food Escape.
Would definitely recommend it and will certainly go again to do the other food cuisine tours πŸ˜ƒπŸ˜ƒ

Hi Carol, thanks so much for your patience with the road closures. Your comment about highest/largest - I see what you mean and thanks for pointing it out! I've changed the wording to now say 'greatest' because I realise also largest might make someone look for the biggest in size! Appreciate the feedback and thanks for playing :)

C
Caz
Fantastic time as a family

Fantastic time as a family. Fun and exciting. Huge amount of food. Would really recommend

E
Elysia

Absolutely incredible! Had the best day, seeing so many amazing things in a city I thought I knew so well. The food was insanely good and we’ve found 3 new spots to add to our foodie repertoire! Thanks for creating such a fantastic scavenger hunt!

J
Jcaldwell
Comfort cravings - SENSATIONAL

Had an excellent time on the comfort cravings escape (despite the torrential rain)!
The clues were fun and detailed (though did have a minor issue with a relocated mural which upped our time a little haha).
All food spots were amazing with really friendly, knowledgeable and generous staff - not to mention INSANE food.
Would (and will) recommend to all.

T
The old codgers
Excellent experience

Really enjoyed the experience. Easy to follow clues and visited areas of Manchester we’d never been to before. Food was fabulous and totally stuffed. Recommend and will look forward to trying the other food options.

L
Lana :)
exactly what manchester needed!

myself and my husband had so much fun on this food escapes! despite being from manchester i saw so many things id never seen before + discovered some amazing food places!

the last stop was my fave place to go for desert as a teen (but im a little sad they no longer do cereal - no fault of food escapes!)

the only feedback would be to have a few more questions between the second and final stop :)

R
Rebecca B
Amazing way to see the city and try some yummy food! Really gets your brain (and your feet) going!

Amazing way to see the city and try some yummy food! Really gets your brain (and your feet) going! So enjoyable, would recommend it to anyone!

C
Claire Royle
What a great way to see the city and enjoy some food in places you may not consider

What a great way to see the city and enjoy some food in places you may not consider. Although we went that great at the questions what a laugh and a grat social experience. The food on this event was what it says on the tin. Fill your bellies and go home feeling well and truly comforted by food !

A
Anonymous
Great fun! Good food and fun

Great fun! Good food and fun times!

H
Hannah
Absolutely brilliant!!!

Food escapes went above and beyond to get us on an escape after another venue had let us down and we were stuck in Manchester with a disappointed 11 year old. This is the second one we have done and was loads of fun with great food yet again! Bring big appetites for this one …we were absolutely stuffed! Thanks again to the team at food escapes you were brilliant 🀩

V
VM
10/10 Great experience!

It was a super fun experience and the food was fantastic! Highly recommended.

J
Jo and friends
Brilliant day!

Brilliant day, for someone that knows Manchester well it was still a fantastic experience and we saw things that we've not noticed before. The clues were a great balance of tricky but able to get. We had the best day and the food was yummy!

N
Natalie-Levi
A great experience

A great experience, so much fun to do with friends! It’s a really unique thing to do as a group, getting to try three local businesses and explore Manchester. Would highly recommend this!

A
Anonymous
Great food and a fab day!

Great food and a fab day.
We loved the chance to explore the city and new venues. I’d love more steps in between the stops, especially from the starting point to the first venue.

C
Colin Bastow
Good fun

Well rounded game, had a bit of everything, weather was smashing too.

J
Janet
So good!

absolutely 5* to the Food Escapes team, you've done such a good job making this, honestly it's amazing. I've literally lived in Manchester nearly 50 years (showing my age!) and it's the same streets I know well but somehow you pick out details that made us see things is a way we've never seen before, all while obviously being incredibly fun. We didn't do that well on the leaderboard but we still had an amazing time, and the food was so delicious! So happy there's something like this for Manchester, will definitely be doing another one soon!

A
Anonymous
β€œFun city exploration in Manchester with sometimes unclear puzzles and mixed impressions”

It was fun, though some of the puzzles weren't clearly wordedβ€”especially when it came to directions. For one puzzle involving the letter 'P', the letters appeared exactly as shown in the clue depending on where you were standing; since no specific color or other distinguishing feature was specified, the puzzle was ambiguous.
We are non-native speaker, so some of the clues were a bit challenging for us, but we did get to see interesting parts of Manchester that we likely wouldn't have noticed as typical tourists.
At times, one had to pass through rough side streets and encounter shady characters who sized one up with their phones in hand.

Hi there. Thanks for sharing your experience with us - good or bad we love to hear it! As a tourist, sorry you came across some shady characters, that's an apology from Manchester on our behalf :( But we're going to drop you a message just to see which road that was on, so we're aware of it in case anything needs to be changed.

As for the puzzles, that's great feedback too. The puzzles are definitely designed to be intentionally ambiguous (not always, but at times) - too obvious and it would be too easy, we want to make you work for it, in a nice way! But feedback taken onboard and we'll take a closer look at the clue you're talking about too.

I
Ian Wilcock
Food Escape Manchester

Great concept, showcasing some of Manchester little Gems, Great food, Great experience which we will be definitely doing again.

A
Anonymous

Such a fun activity to do, the food spots in this are great!

S
Sarah Whitaker
Super Flexible

I had to change the date last minute due to a work thing, and it was totally stress-free. Finally did it yesterday and loved it. 10/10 service.

P
Phil G.
Good fun, clues were okay

Clues were a bit easy for us, but the food made up for it. The second place had an amazing story behind how they started.

L
Lewis Hamilton
Bit of a wait

The food was incredible, but stop two was really packed and we had to wait 15 mins for the food. Luckily the game timer pauses so it didn't ruin our score!

N
Natalie Wood
So full!

Great value for money. You get a full curated dish at every stop, not just a small sample. I had to walk home because I was so full!

LOST ALREADY? WE'VE GOT YOU

Everything you need to know before playing, eating, wandering, and winning. Rules, tips, practical stuff, no boring answers, promise.

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