Post-shift eats

Fiona Aspinall

@fi_onthewards

6Items

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When you’ve spent the whole day coaxing knees to bend and backs to behave, you need food that hits hard and fast. These are the places I actually drag myself to after a late on-call, a Saturday clinic overrun, or a grim draw at the football. Expect a lot of curry, carbs you can inhale in 20 minutes, and the odd spot that understands the sacred bond between a cold gin, a good playlist and somewhere to sit that isn’t an NHS waiting room. Parking’s still a lottery, mind you – but when is it not in this city?

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The list

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Post-shift eats — 6 items
Name	Cuisine	Neighbourhood	Address	City	My take
1Dishoom Manchester	Bombay-style Indian	Bridge Street / Spinningfields edge	32 Bridge Street, Manchester M3 3BT	Manchester	My go-to when I want something that feels a bit special but I’m still in my scrubs. Bacon naan roll post-night shift is basically rehab. Black daal plus a chai and I can almost forgive whoever nicked my parking space outside MRI.
2This & That Cafe	Indian rice-and-three	Northern Quarter	3 Soap Street, Manchester M4 1EW	Manchester	Peak comfort food on a budget. No frills, plastic trays, and curries that taste like someone’s auntie’s been grafting all day. Perfect for when you’ve stayed late doing notes and your brain can’t cope with menus over two pages long.
3Mughli Charcoal Pit	Indian / Pakistani	Rusholme (Curry Mile)	30 Wilmslow Road, Rusholme, Manchester M14 5TQ	Manchester	If I’ve survived a brutal run of ward days, I reward myself with a Mughli night. Charcoal-grilled everything, proper spice, and the kind of lamb chops that make you forget your step count for the day was just pacing between bays.
4The Oystercatcher	Seafood bistro	Chorlton	123 Manchester Road, Chorlton, Manchester M21 9PG	Manchester	When I can’t face another curry but still want to feel like a functioning adult, I book here. Gorgeous fish, cosy vibe, and walking distance home so I can have a gin without worrying about breathalysers on Princess Parkway.
5Mackie Mayor	Multi-kitchen food hall	Northern Quarter / Swan Street	Smithfield Market Hall, 1 Eagle Street, Manchester M4 5BU	Manchester	Ideal for indecisive days or when you’ve got a whole rota’s worth of diets to juggle. Tacos, pizza, bao, you name it. Big shared tables so you can park your aching legs and pretend the echoey ceiling is good for your posture.
6YES	Pizza and bar snacks	Charles Street / Oxford Road	38 Charles Street, Manchester M1 7DB	Manchester	For when the shift’s been rough and you need loud music, cheap slices and something cold in your hand, pronto. Four floors of chaos, but the pizza downstairs has saved me from living off vending-machine crisps more times than I’ll admit.

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