Eats

‘New wave’ pizzeria where every pizza is served with scissors is heading to Manchester

Finally, someone talking sense!

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 15th February 2025

Always a hot topic of conversation around a pizza is how to eat the damn thing – knife and fork, slice and hold, fold it up?

And now a new pizza concept is heading to Manchester, where authentic Neapolitan pizzas are always served with a pair of scissors for cutting up your dinner.

We here at The Manc are firm believers that scissors are a far superior tool for getting your pizza into slices, so news that Forbici (which literally translates as ‘Scissors’ from Italian) is opening in the city centre is music to our ears.

Forbici is taking over a corner unit on Cross Street, not far from the former site of much-loved family-focused Italian Croma.

Claiming to be arriving in town with ‘the world’s most powerful pizza dough’, the restaurant hails a ‘new wave’ of pizzeria.

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Its roots will be firmly in Naples, with puffy biga dough handmade fresh daily and proofed for 12 hours. It’ll be made so fresh every day that pizzas will only be available while the dough lasts.

Forbici will serve its pizza the Neapolitan way too – quartered (it’s ‘four ways always’, with scissors, which protects that signature airy crust.

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The pizzas are going to be topped with tomatoes from Solania, the only producer of true San Manzarno DOP tomatoes, and Fior di Latte Mozzerella from Vico Equese, a small coastal town where tradition runs deep.

They’ve even imported a pizza oven direct from Sorrento.

And drinks will come from Italian craft beer brand Amarcord, one of the nation’s first independent breweries.

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Forbici says it will blend ‘born in Naples’ flavours with ‘rising in Manchester’ influences.

Andrew Garton, CEO of Forbici, said: “Forbici isn’t just another pizza restaurant—it’s a new way of experiencing pizza.

“We are pioneering a new wave of pizza in the UK, with the simple belief that pizza should be better.

“We have brought together the finest master bakers who have spent decades honing their craft in Naples to create the perfect formula for fermenting the world’s most powerful pizza dough.

“Born from centuries of Neapolitan expertise and heritage, Forbici will be rising in Manchester this year.”

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Forbici will open its first Manchester pizza restaurant on Cross Street this spring – you can follow them on Instagram HERE for the latest.

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Featured image: Supplied

Eats

Giuseppe’s – the tiny Italian bistro that proves Stalybridge is fast becoming a dining destination

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Giuseppe's Italian bistro in Stalybridge

Giuseppe’s in Stalybridge is a restaurant that’s putting in an enormous amount of effort to please just a very small group of people – this teeny tiny bistro has just 18 seats.

With such a small capacity no one would blame them for sitting back and scaling back to a concise little menu of pizza – but Giuseppe’s really said ‘no grazie’ to such an idea and committed itself to a full bistro menu.

It’s yet another exciting addition to the rapidly-booming restaurant scene here in Tameside, where neighbours include Cafe Continental, Gladstone Barber & Bistro, and SK15 Bar & Bistro.

Giuseppe’s arrival on the Stalybridge high street has created a cosy corner for locals, one which could quickly follow in the footsteps of Ornella’s to become a fully-booked-for-months-in-advance destination.

Inside its welcoming navy blue walls you’re welcomed by a room filled with trailing plants, ceramic lemons and a huge doodle map of Sicily.

The menu also hails from Sicily, specialising in wood-fired pizzas but also dipping a toe into pasta and small plates too.

Pizza at Giuseppe's Italian bistro in Stalybridge
Pizza at Giuseppe’s Italian bistro in Stalybridge
A spread of dishes at Pizza at Giuseppe's Italian bistro in Stalybridge
A spread of dishes at Pizza at Giuseppe’s Italian bistro in Stalybridge

Giuseppe’s pizza dough is meticulously made fresh with Italian 00 flour, left to ferment for at least 48 hours, before being stretched and topped and cooked in the wood-fired pizza oven until it’s all puffed-up and charred around the edges.

At lunch times, those delicious pizza doughs are folded in half to make Italian panozzi sandwiches, the charred dough encasing fillings like Sicilian fennel sausage and friarelli, and mortadella with stracciatella.

These are strong contenders for the best pizzas this side of Greater Manchester, with a soft and chewy crust that stands up against much bigger names in the pizza game.

Rum baba at Giuseppe's
Rum baba at Giuseppe’s
The team at Giuseppe's in Stalybridge
The team at Giuseppe’s in Stalybridge

Giuseppe’s pasta bowls include a hearty paccheri with Sicilian sausage AND guanciale, all salty and rich and creamy.

And once you’ve eaten your fill in this tiny little spot, where the windows go all steamed up in winter and you’re nudging up against neighbours chatting over pizzas, you can polish off with Italian desserts too.

There’s a very respectable slab of tiramisu on offer, plus a rum baba soaked in syrup and packed with fresh cream.

Giuseppe’s in Stalybridge may be small in capacity but it’s huge on spirit.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

French fine dining spot 63 Degrees confirms closure after 14 years

Danny Jones Danny Jones 63 Degrees restaurant Manchester closed permanently

One of Manchester’s long-standing French bistros, 63 Degrees, has now announced the business has closed its doors for good after nearly a decade and a half in the city centre.

The family-run fine dining destination first opened back in 2011, but after closing over the most recent festive period and despite all of us hoping and praying this year would be a healthier one for hospitality, they have become the sector’s latest casualty.

Having been one of the few classical spots of its kind left in central Manchester, not to mention boasting a spot on the Michelin guide, it’s a huge loss for Manchester food and drink.

The team have been silent on socials since August 2023 and no one needs any reminder of how challenging the industry is right now, so closures like these don’t exactly come as a surprise anymore, but it seems another big factor was at the heart of the decision.

It’s a logo most would instantly recognise.
The initial plan was to stay open but it sadly hasn’t worked out.
Credit: The Manc Group

Confirming the news to Manchester Confidential, 63 Degrees confirmed that their Christmas hiatus has now become permanent as many had suspected, with the highly-rated Northern Quarter spot closed permanently as of this week.

Founder Alexandre Moreau said that his parents, Head Chef Eric and mother Florence, have now returned to France following a period of ill health.

Speaking to the outlet, Moreau added: “I’m glad my parents have retired now. My dad was spending six days a week in the kitchen and got to the point where his whole body was hurting. He had a hard time finding people he could trust in the kitchen so he could not delegate that much. 

“My mum’s health got worse in November last year so they decided it was time to stop and go back to France. Nothing you can do, unfortunately. Life will do that to all of us at some point.”

Revealing that the lease has now been handed over to the landlord, he signed off by stating, “They had a great run, but it’s a difficult job at that age.”

Shining not only as one of the few places left that still served traditional haute cuisine in our region but emerging as one of the spots that helped put NQ’s now thriving foodie scene on the map back in the day, we couldn’t think of a more fitting image to part on than this one:

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We wish Alexandre and Eric all the best, as well as a speedy recovery to Florence back home, and sincerely hope they get to enjoy a slower pace of life after years of service and outstanding contribution to the world of Manc dining.

Unfortunately, 63 Degrees is just one of the most recent Manchester restaurants that have closed; we’re not even in mid-February yet and we’re already losing count of how many of these pieces we’ve had to write for various reasons.

That being said, the general consensus seems to be that it is impossibly hard for local businesses to keep afloat under the constant pressure of rising energy bills, business rates and a cost of living crisis that is preventing people from being able to eat out.

If institutions such as this and the likes of Almost Famous are struggling to survive, how on Earth can those much earlier into their journey be expected to survive? They need help and fast.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group

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