Acclaimed local chef Mary-Ellen McTague has revealed details of the first restaurant at the huge new Treehouse Hotel.
She will open Pip, a restaurant that will celebrate seasonal, low-waste cooking, on the ground floor of the landmark new hotel.
This is the first of three restaurant concepts to be announced at Treehouse Hotel, which is taking shape on the site of the former long-standing Deansgate hotel the Renaissance.
When it’s completed later this summer, Treehouse Hotel will have 224 guest rooms, multiple event spaces, an expansive screening room, a gymnasium, and three unique restaurant and bar spaces – including the newly-announced Pip.
This first restaurant will be headed up by Manchester’s very own Mary-Ellen McTague, who’ll be doing what she does best – seasonal produce that celebrates the finest produce from around the North West, as sustainably as possible.
Over her 20 years in the hospitality industry, Mary-Ellen has worked alongside Heston Blumenthal at his esteemed Michelin-starred restaurants, The Fat Duck and The Hinds Head, as well as founding EatWellMCR.
At Pip, diners can expect dishes that reimagine the potential of each ingredient served through from breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as a convenient grab-and-go option.
Treehouse Hotel has confirmed details of its first restaurant, and a summer opening date. Credit: Supplied
She’ll be sourcing ingredients – sometimes unconventional ones – from local farms, and suppliers like Littlewoods Butchers, Cinderwood Market Garden, Organic North, Courtyard Dairy, and Platt Fields Market Garden.
Dish highlights include Carlingford oysters with fennel kimchi liquor; home-smoked mackerel with pickled beets, mustard cream, and rye; Lancashire hotpot with pickled red cabbage and oyster ketchup; and Rhubarb fool with olive oil biscuits.
Commenting on her new restaurant opening, Mary-Ellen McTague said: “I’m thrilled to bring Pip to life at Treehouse Hotel Manchester.
“This restaurant is a celebration of everything I am passionate about – seasonal, low-waste cooking, and the incredible produce we have here in the North West.
Brilliant Manchester chef Mary-Ellen McTague will be behind the first restaurant at Treehouse Hotel. Credit: Jody Hartley
“The menu is designed to showcase the best of our local culinary heritage, using modern techniques that make the most of every single ingredient. I cannot wait to share our vision for Pip with the Manchester community and beyond.”
Treehouse Hotel Manchester itself will be the second property under the same brand, which says it takes its playful inspiration through the lens of childhood.
Commenting on the first restaurant to open at the hotel, Tim Reynolds, general manager of Treehouse Hotel Manchester, said: “We are incredibly excited to welcome Pip to Treehouse Hotel Manchester.
“Mary-Ellen’s innovative approach to low-waste cooking and her dedication to using locally sourced ingredients align perfectly with our values. We look forward to offering our guests an extraordinary dining experience that reflects the vibrant spirit of Manchester.”
Pip will welcome guests in late summer, alongside the opening of Treehouse Hotel Manchester.
These viral sensations are a plush toy created by Hong Kong-born, Netherlands-raised designer Kasing Lung, who drew inspiration from his love of fairytales to create a character with bunny-like ears, large eyes and big smiles.
They’re swinging off handbags all over the UK at the minute and people are queueing for hours for the latest Labubu drops.
At Sweet Dreams, they’re making edible chocolate Labubus using a special mould flown in from Japan.
Each one has a pistachio kunafa filling and is painstakingly painted by hand.
And that brings us neatly to the next viral craze at play here – Dubai pistachio chocolate.
An army of pistachio chocolate LabubuInside a chocolate pistachio Labubu
Kunafa is a staple in Middle Eastern bakes and pastries but hit the global mainstream last year when thick chocolate pistachio bars stuffed with it went viral online, spawning countless dupes and inspired specials.
And finally, chocolate covered strawberries – hardly a new invention, but this simple dessert has rocketed in popularity especially in food hotspots like Borough Market in London.
Head into Sweet Dreams and you can build your treat from the base up – choose white or milk melted chocolate for your strawberries, layer on pistachio kunafa, then top with either a milk or white chocolate Labubu.
A slightly daft novelty? Yes. But that doesn’t stop them being delicious.
This is the only place in the UK currently selling Dubai pistachio chocolate Labubus.
Beloved Stockport burger joint The Last Stop is closing its doors this month
Danny Jones
Much-loved burger joint and bar The Last Stop has announced it will be closing the doors of its original Stockport restaurant later this month.
The popular burger, gyros and Heaton Chapel hangout spot only just opened back in April 2024, but following the growing pressures throughout the hospitality sector, the team have made the decision to shut down their flagship brick-and-mortar site.
Confirming the news on Tuesday, The Last Stop informed their followers that this weekend will mark the venue’s very last round of service, “firing up the grills for the final time” and hosting one more big blowout on Saturday, 26 July.
They shared a lengthy statement explaining the reasoning behind their decision on Instagram, and fans of their food, drink and atmosphere are understandably gutted.
The post reads: “Despite a fantastic first year for The Last Stop, we’ve decided that the time is right to make a change in the Chapel.
“Over the last year, we’ve been fortunate enough to grow The Last Stop from scratch rapidly: collaborating with The Salmon of Knowledge bars (with a 3rd opening lined up for August), entering into the Egyptian Rooms [Oldham] Produce Hall [Stockport] food halls and having the pleasure of serving you thousands of burgers and gyros in the Heatons!”
“Nonetheless, whilst these ventures prove successful, well-documented cost increases and changes in consumer spending habits, since April in particular, have meant simply that our Heaton Chapel site in its current format is no longer economically viable.”
Bosses Dominic Ingleby and Niall Peters have gone on to assure that existing staff have secured positions at alternative branches, all suppliers have been fully paid up, and that their other locations are thankfully set to remain.
In fact, although one venue will be bidding a bittersweet goodbye, as hinted above, they will be moving into the old Dockyard bar over at MediaCityUK, Salford Quays, which is set to become another Salmon of Knowledge location.
The Last Stop Stockport might be closing but their NQ residence is staying put.As is their neighbouring Produce Hall pop-up stall.Credit: The Manc/The Last Stop (via IG)
We’re relieved to hear that The Last Stop name will be sticking around and it’s going for good, but Stopfordian residents are nevertheless gutted that the Heaton Chapel favourite, which became a regular quiz night, ‘sip and paint’ and late-night stop among locals, will soon be no more.
They sign off by adding: “We’d love to see you all this week for one last smashed cheese in the four walls where it all started, & to toast a pint or 7 on the Saturday!
“Thank you all for being a part of the journey and a pleasure to get to know. We’ll see you soon; maybe sooner than you think… Dom, Dom [Swarbrick] and Niall.”
We’ll leave you guys to try and figure out what that last bit means, but for now, thanks for the memories and the bloody good buns.
Daisy Jackson -
23rd May 2024 
