A new luxury hot chocolate cafe with 20 different flavours is coming to Manchester
Artisan chocolate cafe Knoops is opening in Manchester this spring, bringing a huge range of chocolate milkshakes, iced chocolate, hot chocolates and mochas with it.
A new luxury hot chocolate shop with 20 different flavours is coming to Manchester this year.
London brand Knoops will open its first northern store later in Manchester city centre this spring, taking over a vacant unit on the corner of Cross Street and South King Street close to the Town Hall.
Offering twenty different styles of hot chocolate and six styles of rich and creamy chocolate milkshakes, on the menu sweet tooths will find a huge range of different percentage chocolates to choose from.
And that’s not all. Alongside luxury hot chocolates and milkshakes, the new chocolate cafe will also serve a variety of different chocolate milk and mochas.
With twenty different percentages of chocolate to choose from, options will range from a 28% cocoa white chocolate to a 100% extra dark variety with a menu featuring single origin blends from Peru, Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Ecuador, Venezuela, Columbia, The Solomon Islands and Mexico.
Image: Knoops
Image: Knoops
Customers will be able to select their preferred chocolate style, choosing between a variety of white, milk and dark chocolates, then watch as it is made into their drink of choice right there and then.
From iced chocolate to indulgent milkshakes made with Knoops ice cream, there really is a chocolate drink for everyone – vegans included.
For those of the plant-powered persuasion, any chocolate above 54% can be made into a vegan-friendly drink with a variety of plant milk on offer including oat, almond, soya, hazelnut and coconut.
To accompany all that liquid chocolate, the new Knoops cafe will also feature a bakery selling fresh pastries and cakes with a counter featuring the likes of cannolis, pastel de natas, donuts, cupcakes, croissants, cake slices and more.
The move is part of an expansion by the artisan chocolate brand, which also has its sights set on new sites in Knightsbridge and Bath in 2023.
Feature image – Knoops
Eats
The very best ice cream places in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
We know it’s not often sunny out in these parts to enjoy the proper summery joy of lapping up lots of ice cream, but there are still bloody wonderful places to get it here in Greater Manchester – and we know some of the best.
It doesn’t matter if you prefer it chock-full of chocolate chips and coffee, mouth-frothingly fruity sweet, you’re in your pistachio phase or cannot get past the raspberry ripple, there are plenty of places to get whatever you’re after.
Be it Manchester city centre or beyond, we do ice cream pretty darn good for a place that basically rains for two-thirds of the year.
In no particular order, by the way, because we already hate playing favourites and all those serve our infinitely sweet tooth are created equal.
The best ice cream shops and parlours in and around Manchester
1. Grandpa Greene’s – Oldham
First up, there are few other fitting enough places to start than the Diggle Lock’s legendary Grandpa Greene’s, which serves not just some of the best desserts we’ve EVER had but stunning, homemade ice-cream that we here at The Manc have even helped make in the past.
In fact, this place has been such a hit in the area that they’ve gone on to open their own bistro and, unsurprisingly, it’s proved just as impressive and popular.
2. Milk Maids – Bolton
From Oldham over to the borough of Bolton and native favourite, Milk Maids, whose award-winning dairy farming expertise has seen them garner an iconic status among locals, and it’s no wonder.
We’ve been on to this place in Over Hulton for ages, but now they’re approaching a decade of serving their oh-so-sweet scoops, we can’t pretend to take even the remotest bit of credit. Their reputation precedes them and is about as long-standing as their lines.
3. Ginger’s – Northern Quarter
Number three is a go-to ice cream place for anyone in Manchester city centre: Ginger’s over in Afflecks Palace. Well, Ginger’s Comfort Emporium, to give them their full title, and we can only concur that it does provide us with immense comfort whenever we call upon it.
Made in small batches using award-winning, home-churned dairy ice cream just like Milk Maids, these guys have actually been here even longer, serving the massive multi-floored shopping complex and indie paradise since 2010. There are new flavours and specials on all the time, each as delicious as the last.
In at number four is arguably the ice cream and dessert parlour with the very best name in Manchester, and that’s Big Licks, which recently relocated from Liverpool Road over in Castlefield to Printworks.
Now positioned in a much more central location, it’s no surprise that the spot has seen an increase in queues of late. You’ll find pretty much every combo you could ask for here; they also do some pretty banging burgers if you fancy eating both tea and afters here.
As a native Stopfordian myself, my grandma only ever called dessert a ‘sweet’ or ‘pudding’, regardless of what it was, but regardless of what you call it around your way/in your family, we have a Stopfordian ice cream spot that you need to visit.
Macari’s Gelateria opened up over in Heaton Moor back in 2023, and it’s quickly grown a passionate cult following – ourselves included. From their punchy and/or fruity flavours, to the super soft texture that their perfectly flaky wafers just about hold up to, it’s pretty perfect. Remember the name.
Credit: The Manc Group
6. Lazy Sundae – Manchester Arndale
We’re past the halfway mark now, and if you’re not already feeling a bit sluggish after this sugary feast for your eyes, you almost certainly will after looking at the super indulgent Lazy Sundae, who do everything from bubble tea and creative Korean desserts, to standard ice cream cones.
But make no mistake, there’s nothing plain or basic about this place: it’s remained one of the best places for ice cream in Manchester, and while we may have said goodbye to their OG spot in NQ back in January 2025, the Arndale parlour now serves as the perfect flagship location.
Sticking with the city centre and whipping our way back to NQ (pun very much intended), we’ve got the brilliant Black Milk up next, who we confess most regularly visit for a proper good milkshake, but they do shine when it comes to pretty anything sugary, to be honest.
Ice cream-wise, you can’t go wrong with their cookies and cream sundae, and their special St. Patrick’s Guinness gelato is still one of the most unique desserts we’ve ever had. Speaking of gelato…
Heading out to Trafford now and the ever-growing foodie scene in Sale, their increasingly well-known Gelato Creamery® store has been making waves for some time now, and by waves, we mean perfectly swirled scoops of ice cream’s somewhat healthier but still just as tasty Italian cousin.
They have a more central pod at Jacuna Kitchen over in Ardwick on the outskirts of the city centre, but really do recommend visiting their shop on School Road for a lesson on what proper good gelato should taste like.
The penultimate blood sugar pincher is the famous Get Baked, who barely even turned the key to unlock the doors before they had a crowd waiting outside the shop window of their first Manchester location.
Whether you’re three for big cookies, the famous Matilda-inspired ‘Bertha’ cake’ or their free-flowing soft-serve that is easier to drink than water – we know we have a problem, we’re working on it – you won’t be disappointed by no matter how long you wait.
Credit: The Manc
10. Baby Mayhem – Ancoats
Last but certainly not least of the latest newcomers to the Manc dessert scene and while it may not be strictly just an ice cream parlour, it is one of the best places for anyone who is powerless to resist their cravings for things fresh, cold, filled, fried and covered in sugar.
Baby Mayhem is where ice cream and doughnuts collide in one superior pudding. How does a ‘donut ice cream sandwich’ sound? Incredible? We thought so. It’s popped in the old Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria site and is already following in its footsteps of filling locals’ bellies to the max.
That should just about do you for now, and if this list wasn’t sickly enough, don’t you worry…
You best believe we’ll be going around all around Greater Manchester in search of more ice cream and the best places that do it whenever the sun is out.
So, just keep your eyes peeled for when we inevitably update this one, because there’s always room for one more scoop.
Ancoats bar Sammy’s closes after ‘online smear campaign’
Daisy Jackson
A popular late-night bar in Ancoats has announced its official closure after several months of silence.
Sammy’s Bar, which was styled as a retro 70’s diner and stayed open into the early hours, has said the bar ‘is officially no longer’.
In a statement shared on the bar’s Instagram stories, founder Sammy Shonn said that there was been an ‘online smear campaign’ and has decided to sell the bar ‘for my own mental wellbeing’.
The account, and the bar itself, will now be transferred to new owners.
Sammy’s opened in 2019 and was a popular, hidden-bar-style spot for late-night cocktails and DJs.
Their full statement reads: “It’s with regret that I inform you Sammy’s is officially no longer.
“Whilst I vehemently maintain my total innocence against all of the hurtful allegations made against me and my character in a recent online smear campaign, for my own mental wellbeing, I’ve made the difficult decision to sell the bar, along with all its associated assets, including this social media account.
“Thank you to everyone for your custom, your love and your support since 2019.
“Together we created something special. I am now transferring this account to the new owners, who I am sure will post something shortly regarding their plans.”
Georgina Pellant -
23rd February 2023 
