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?
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Yes. It is.
I could just stop writing there, really, but let’s carry on.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Viral chicken shop Wingstop is opening inside the Manchester Arndale
Daisy Jackson
Wingstop, the chicken shop famed for its vast range of wing flavours and sauces, is opening another spot in Manchester city centre.
The brand will be taking over the old Yo Sushi site in the Manchester Arndale, which shut down just last month.
It’ll mean there’ll be two Wingstop locations within a few minutes’ walk of each other, with another takeaway already well-established on Piccadilly Gardens.
Wingstop UKI has found viral fame with people taste-testing its wide range of hand-sauced chicken wing flavours, ranging from garlic parmesan all the way up to the eye-watering ‘Atomic’.
As well as chicken wings, it serves delicious tenders and burgers, all cooked to order.
There are also a range of sides, including loaded fries, sweet potato fries, and cajun fried corn, plus dips like ranch, honey mustard, and blue cheese.
Wingstop is also famed for its thick milkshakes – which are a necessity if you order your chicken down the spicier end of the scale.
Established in Texas in 1994, Wingstop rose rapidly to become one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the US.
The brand launched in the UK market in 2018, and into Ireland last year, and now operates more than 85 locations.
Wingstop is opening in Manchester Arndale
Wingstop will be moving into the 5,928 sq ft unit upstairs in Manchester Arndale, just opposite Next.
Scott Linard, Portfolio Manager for M&G Real Estate, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Wingstop to our vibrant F&B offer; an addition we’re sure will resonate with our younger visitors.
“With the additions of popular restaurant chains like Wingstop, coupled with the arrival of new retailers such as Arc’teryx, Alo Yoga, Pro:Direct and Sephora, we are strategically creating a destination where people across the North West and beyond want to spend their time.”
Steve Gray, Head of European Retail Asset Management at Global Mutual, said: “Wingstop will join Manchester Arndale’s varied F&B mix, including Popeyes, Sides, Hotel Chocolat, Joe & The Juice and Café Nero.
“In-demand operators like this help create energy and momentum that allows the brands across the scheme to thrive, driving increased footfall, longer dwell times and a more compelling offer for visitors.”
The best cheese tasting party in the North is BACK at a new Manchester venue
Danny Jones
That’s right, one of the biggest and best cheese tasting nights in the entire land is returning to Greater Manchester at a brand new city centre venue.
Not to be over-the-top, but this isn’t just another experience sampling possibly the greatest foodstuff on Earth, it’s a fully-fledged cheese-lovers’ party.
Some of you may have come across Homage2Fromage before, but for anyone unaware of the Yorkshire-born event, it started out as a monthly cheese tasting club and went on to expand across the dairy-adoring North at large.
Relaunching here in Manchester for 2026, all you lactose-intolerant people better watch, because Home2Fromage is coming back with a vengeance and heading to the Northern Quarter. Here’s how it went down the last time we visited one in Leeds:
Leeds, Sheffield, Harrogate, Manchester and who knows where else next.
Posting up in a relatively recent addition to NQ‘s bar and restaurant scene, The Faraday – a pub on Lever St that replaces the old Seven Sins back in October – it looks set to be an ideal venue for the regular evening series.
Homage2Fromage will be making its Manc return this month, and better still, they’re holding a cheeky little giveaway to sweeten the pot.
As in the deal, we mean – not the inevitable bowls full of olives, chutney, oil and various other dips…
To welcome this celebration of all things cheese coming back to Manchester city centre, they’re giving away a bunch of free tickets: 20 pairs in total.
Worth over £50 a piece for each twin set of tickets, you’d be a fool not to at least throw your hat in the ring for this one.
As you can see, the competition closes this Thursday, 19 February, ahead of the full relaunch party next week (Wed, 25 Feb), and all you have to do to enter is fill out this super quick survey.
It really is as simple as that; a few quick words are all that stand between you and a potential mountain of cheese and more.
You can find all you need to know about the event right HERE, and in case you haven’t popped into The Faraday just yet, see more down below.
It’s still somewhat early days, but we can see ourselves spending a fair bit of time in this up-and-coming Manchester watering hole, especially when there’s cheese nights involved.
Daisy Jackson -
12th May 2023 
