Every year, the great and good from the world of fish and chips eagerly await the release of the Fry Magazine Top 50.
If your business involves battering, this is the big one, a shining endorsement of your efforts. Those in the industry refer to it as the Oscars of Fish & Chips.
And for the last couple of years, a tiny Greater Manchester chippy has elbowed its way onto the list, and stayed there.
Chips @ No 8 in Prestwich has been consistently named as one of the UK’s best by the magazine, earning national acclaim.
So is is actually worth the hype, or the queue that sometimes gets down the street?
ADVERTISEMENT
Yes. It is.
I could just stop writing there, really, but let’s carry on.
ADVERTISEMENT
Curry sauce on a Chips @ No 8 chippy tea. Credit: The Manc GroupGot the bag at Chips @ No 8. Credit: The Manc GroupBattered halloumi from Chips @ No 8 in Prestwich
There are a few things that make this little local hotspot so special.
They cook all their potatoes in beef dripping (or vegetable oil on request), which leads to the most jaw-droppingly perfect chips that retain their heat and texture for as long as it takes you to leg it home with your paper bag full of fried goodies.
None of that soggy nonsense sticking to the paper. These spuds have integrity.
ADVERTISEMENT
Owner Dan Edwards must have sold his sole to the devil to come up with batter as light and crisp as his is, perfectly cradling buttery-soft fillets of cod and haddock.
Vegetarians are well-looked after too, with herb-battered halloumi that turns to a buttery, salty disc and a regularly changing roster of pies.
And local suppliers pop up regularly, like Grandad’s Sausages with their intimidatingly long meat products.
With food this good (I haven’t even mentioned their perfect curry sauce yet), Chips @ No 8 was always going to shine against so many hundreds of brilliant fish and chip shops nationwide.
ADVERTISEMENT
But it’s the little extra attention to detail that set the bar even higher here.
It’s the map on the wall labelled with whiteboard marker, showing where that day’s potatoes and fish have come from.
It’s the disco ball hanging from the ceiling, so that even a Friday night sitting in your pants eating fried food and watching Netflix feels that bit more fun.
Battered halloumi in curry sauce from Chips @ No 8 in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc GroupA map of suppliers inside Chips @ No 8 in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
It’s their efforts to support local, from raising funds for EatWellMCR (through battered Creme Eggs, of course) to commissioning local artists to paint the windows.
Times are really, really tough for fish and chip shops in the UK right now. The fish has hit the fan and we’re losing these British institutions at an alarming rate.
ADVERTISEMENT
Just this week, Dan shared a heartfelt statement stressing how dire things are, with energy bills doubling in the last month alone, haddock soaring 40%, and potatoes costing 25% more.
He wrote: “Why am I telling you all this? Because if and when our prices go up, it’s out of necessity, just to keep the doors open.
“Every fish and chip shop in the country is sweating over whether they should/could increase prices? Will people still come? How are the bills/staff/suppliers going to get paid?
“Support your local fish and chip shop, even if it’s not us, because if it closes, I guarantee another one won’t open in its place.”
Trust the hype. Trust the queues. Trust us. Chips @ No 8 is a gem.
Beloved plant-based independent street food business Herbivorous is set to close imminently
Danny Jones
We hate writing this, but we have news of yet another local hospitality closure as beloved Manchester-born and pioneering plant-based brand Herbivorous has confirmed they’ll soon be calling it a day.
If you can hear us sighing through the screen, apologies – we’re just getting really fed up of saying farewell to our favourites, so god knows how rubbish those involved feel.
As you can see, the team behind the multi-location vegan street food specialists began by writing: “It’s a long one so stay with me… It seems you can’t open social media at the moment without reading about another hospitality business closing down.
“Throughout 8 years of Herbivorous years we’ve come up against many challenges from Covid 5 years ago to watching all the big vegan brands from London and beyond come to Manchester and largely disappear again to the closure of Hatch our busiest site, but with continually increasing costs its becoming really difficult to maintain a thriving business.”
Herbivorous started out life back in 2016 as a cult hit at the old outdoor food, drink and entertainment hub centring around a ‘container village’, the first of its kind in the city and soon to reopen under new owners and a new name.
Since then, co-founders Robyn and Damian have gone on to expand not just to one permanent site over in Withington but with outposts in Sheffield and York, having gained a strong reputation with stalls and pop-ups all over.
Their hospitality story might not have the ending we personally would hope for, but it’s been a brilliant one for so many foodie fans – us lot included.
Nevertheless, they go on to add in the emotional statement that external pressures such as a recent bereavement and their own ever-growing family have also contributed to the decision which, despite being an understandably hard one, “feel like the right time.”
“We are so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come from spending long days slinging duck wraps from our green vintage horse box at festivals to three Herbi locations across the North of England”, they continue, “and with that we’ve also met so many fantastic people!”
“Whether you worked for us at a few festivals over [the] summer or for years at our restaurant, we just wanted to say and massive thank you! The memories will stay with us forever and, of course, how can we not mention our fabulous customers!
“Thank you all so much for choosing Herbivorous over the years. Those of you who had our food at Festivals and then found us at one of our permanent locations, those of you who came back week after week to Hatch, Spark, Withington and beyond.”
They signed off by detailing their final business days, with their Sheffield Kommune spot having already shut for refurbishment; meanwhile, their spot in SPARK York will be wrapping up on Saturday, 19 April.
As for their flagship brick-and-mortar venue here in Greater Manchester, Herbivorous Withington will be shutting on Friday, 25 April.
Once again, there’s nothing we can say other than thank you for years of delicious food, that we’re guttted to see you go, and that everyone at The Manc Group wishes you the best whatever comes next.
Cult favourite food spot Desert Island Dumplings is set to close their Manchester shop
Danny Jones
A much-loved Manc spot is bidding a reluctant farewell, and to be honest, we’re not ready to say goodbye to Desert Island Dumplings either, as it’s been announced that they’ll soon be closing.
What started as a lockdown idea has gone on to become a cult favourite of the city centre and among vegans in the area, with countless foodies heading to their quiet little third-floor corner.
Delivering the gutting news at the start of this week on social media, founder Lucy Linford had to assure fans that this sadly isn’t an April Fool’s before going on to share a lengthy and stirring statement.
Taking up ten whole slides and numerous paragraphs in what is one of the most emotional Instagram posts the local hospitality industry has seen so far this year, she confirmed that Desert Island Dumplings will be closing in the coming months.
She began by stating, “This news might come as a shock to you”, adding that “we’ve rolled with the punches these past couple years of years and the shop is busier than ever”, but insisted that closing this particular chapter “is the right decision”.
The little dumpling shop that could hasn’t just been one of the most popular vendors inside Afflecks, an iconic Manchester attraction all of its own – it’s also gone through so many steps to get to where it is now, and it’s a local independent story that you can’t help but admire.
From the days of serving as a little pop-up at cricket grounds and various other street food stalls to establishing a dark kitchen in Liverpool, enjoying stints at GRUB, Sadler’s Cat, Ancoats General, Stretford Food Hall and more before settling down in the Palace’s emporium, it’s been a joy to watch.
Before explaining the reasons behind shutting up shop, Lucy wrote: “Thank you to every single person who has supported to Desert Island Dumplings over the past five years.”
We were left particularly moved and inspired by the recollections of the period shortly after she went “full-time-dumplings”, spending her hours learning about business, “trying to concentrate through webinars, scribbling words like ‘dividends’ and ‘GDPR?’ into notebooks.”
This part of the real hard work that you hardly ever get to see but that so many of those who start out with a dream to make it in the sector have to struggle through, and we couldn’t have more admiration for her graft if we tried – and look what it led to.
It’s also worth reminding the waves this place as made in terms of plant-based dining not just in Manchester but the North West and beyond, standing proudly as ‘the UK’s first vegan fusion dumpling joint’ and not sacrificing on flavour one single bit.
The brand even went on to pitch to Aldi, and you’ll be glad to hear that this isn’t curtains completely: Lucy and co. will still be serving right up until the last day, and as she prepares to take on a Masters up in Edinburgh, the dumps, noods, hash browns plus all the rest of will be a big hit in Scotland, no doubt.
As for the final chapter here in Manchester, the team will be bringing back some beloved specials and fan favourites, not to mention “putting on a few fun farewell events” ahead of their final day on 15 June.
Put simply, Lucy says she’s “loved every second of it”, and so have we. She signed off by adding, “Nothing good lasts forever but memories do.” We urge you to read the post in full, it’s really touching.
Make sure to give them a visit whilst you still can, and thanks again to Desert Island Dumplings for filling our bellies so many times. We hope to stumble across you in Scotland one day.
Daisy Jackson -
12th May 2023 
