A Manchester chip shop has reacted with surprise and delight after it was named the second best chippy in the whole of the UK.
The Hip Hop Chip Shop in Ancoats ranked second on the list after The Mayfair Chippy in London as part of a ranking put together by Betting company Betway.
The betting company looked at Google ratings, Instagram hashtags and reviews on TripAdvisor in order to compile its findings, also naming another local chippy, Tony’s in Miles Platting, at number 7.
The new accolade has left owner Jonathan ‘Ozzie’ Oswald surprised but pleased, leadinghim to take to Instagram to respond to the award.
Reflecting on the fact that nearly 10% of UK chippies have recently closed for good, he commented on how nice it was to get recognition for the chip shop’s work, writing: “It is always nice to get any sort of recognition of course. This was a surprise bit of promo. I am proud of how we’ve managed to survive, given the circumstances.”
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Thanking the people “that get out and support us” he went on to say it was his goal to “put out consistent good quality food and organically grow to survive in this extremely unforgiving tough hospitality industry.”
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
The post also good-naturedly questioned the way that the betting company had compiled the data to get their results, with Ozzie writing: “I don’t wanna bite the hand that feeds or piss on my own chips… but my only wee gripe is it’s been done by a betting company that use this as a way to get press.
He continued: “[…] (everyone needs to promote themselves tho 🤷♂️ so no need to get on the high horse)… but if the validity of their methodology to calculate the scores is consistent and stands up to testing and we did indeed come out very nearly on top then we are still doing, at least something right.”
Fans have since piled into the comments to reassure their favourite chippy that they are, in fact, up there with the very best and well deserving of the award, however it has come about.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
One person wrote: “Hip Hop Chip Shop Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everybody”
Another said: “Well deserved!!! You’ve created something truly special here and this is a recognition of all the hard work, etc. Massive respect and hopefully more and more people will come and fall in love with the place like we all have!!”
A third asked: “What do they mean second best?”
A fourth added: “Clearly I have never been to whatever is meant to be better than you, because I can’t imagine anything is.”
A fifth commented: “Only really one list I’m interested Ozzie and that’s my order with my favourite chippy (you)! 😁 congratulations all the same, you graft hard and deserve all the accolades you get”
Having first begun life in its hip-hop boombox trailer, today The Hip Hop Chip Shop also has a permanent location in Ancoats. To see its full menu, click here.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
Legendary landlady of The Peveril of the Peak pub has passed away
Daisy Jackson
Nancy Swanick, the legendary landlady behind Manchester’s much-loved Peveril of the Peak pub, has died.
The pub shared a statement today to confirm that Nancy, 96, who was the pub’s landlady for more than 55 years, passed away earlier this week.
She’s become something of an icon across the UK and was the oldest and longest-serving landlady in the country.
The Peveril of the Peak – or simply The Pev, to most of us – had just been named the best pub in the UK earlier this week.
The Pev has now assured fans that the pub will remain in the Swanick family, even without Nancy at its helm.
They said in their touching statement: “We will continue to cherish it as we did Nancy.”
In their full statement, The Peveril of the Peak wrote: “We are sad to say that our beloved Nancy, landlady for over 55 years, passed away peacefully on 28th July.
New croissants-by-day, pizza-by-night cafe and bar opens in Altrincham
Daisy Jackson
A new food and drink concept is opening its doors in Altrincham today, serving perfect personal-sized pizzas by night, and coffee and croissants by day.
The much-loved Irish Deli has sadly closed its doors, but the team are immediately rolling in a brand-new concept for the town.
Under one roof, Paddy’s will be the new home of Flakey (famed for their enormous, filled sweet and savoury croissants) as well as a pizza and cocktail bar.
The two concepts will share the cosy space beside Kennedy’s Irish Bar, right in the heart of Altrincham.
Customers will be able to pop in Monday to Sunday to pick up Flakey’s stuffed croissants, along with speciality coffee and matcha.
There’ll be savoury fillings like the Buff Italian (vegetable caponata, buffalo mozzarella, and pesto) and the New Yorker (Emmental, pastrami, sauerkraut and pickles), plus sweet options like the Sticky BC (vanilla Basque cheesecake and Biscoff).
Speciality drinks and stuffed Flakey croissantsThe team outside Paddy’sAn individual pizza with Paddy’s Punch frozen cocktail
By night, Paddy’s will take the stage, named after the former Irish terrier of the owner’s grandmother.
These individually-sized, handcrafted pan-pizzas will be loaded with toppings like the Paddy’s Pep with chilli and burrata, and The Dubliner with Irish sausage and pickled red onion.
During opening week (30 July – 2 August) Paddy’s is offering 50% off all pizzas for guests at Kennedy’s between the hours of 3pm-5pm.
Owners, Dan Mullen and John Kennedy said: “We’ve designed it to evolve throughout the day – start with coffee and croissants, come back for pizza, and stay for a pint or a cocktail. It’s one site, two distinct food experiences, and neither compromises the other.
“Two brands sharing one building with completely different moods, and we think Altrincham is going to love both. Our goal is to create a venue that’s full of life from open til close.”
Ahead of opening, Paddy’s is hosting a pizza hunt, where twenty branded Pizza-Pan boxes will be hidden around Altrincham, each containing a voucher, t-shirt, drinks voucher or – for the lucky few – a “pizza for life” keyring. Clues will be revealed daily on Instagram, with finders posting under #PaddysPizzaHunt to claim their prize and a free pizza on opening night.
Georgina Pellant -
31st May 2023 
