Manchester’s beloved bakery and brunch spot Gooey has opened its second location in Manchester city centre.
The bakery is famed for its chunky freshly-baked cookies, its pillow-soft doughnuts, and its sticky, icing-topped cinnamon rolls, as well as viral brunch dishes.
And now it’s expanded with a second cafe of its own, down at Circle Square on Oxford Road.
For the first time ever, you’ll be able to get your hands on a Gooey meal deal – a homemade sandwich to go, one of their famous cookies, and a drink, for £10.50.
Take out sandwich fillings include chicken Caesar, deli classics, and egg salad.
ADVERTISEMENT
And exclusive to this new location are speciality drinks, like French toast iced lattes and strawberry matcha.
That’s alongside all the brunch favourites such as gigantic cubes of French toast stuffed with dulce de leche, gooey egg sandos on toasted Shokupan bread, avo on toast, and perfect hash browns.
ADVERTISEMENT
Gooey has taken over the old Doug’s site, a burger joint which has quietly departed the city in the last year.
The new Gooey siteGooey on Oxford Road, ManchesterThe new Gooey meal dealGooey’s viral French toast and cinnamon bunsDoughnuts and cookiesThe exclusive new iced specialty drinksGooey is now open at Circle Square
It joins a thriving local food and drink scene at Circle Square that includes Onda, Federal, Hello Oriental, Half Dozen Other, and Monkey Trio.
This is Gooey’s biggest site yet at 70 covers, joining its existing cafe in the Northern Quarter as well as its kiosks across the North West (Manchester Airport, Ducie Street Warehouse, Selfridges Trafford Centre, and in Liverpool).
ADVERTISEMENT
To celebrate their opening, Gooey will be giving away 100 free sandwiches,100 free iced matcha and 200 cookies from midday on Thursday 14 May.
Charlotte Wild, associate retail director at Bruntwood SciTech, said: “The Gooey kiosk was a huge success in Circle Square and we are pleased that the team is now moving to a bigger unit to bring even more sweet baked treats to Circle Square.
“The new cafe looks great and the increased capacity will ensure even more customers can enjoy the delicious menu. We are delighted to support the success of a local home grown brand as it continues its expansion.”
Gooey is open daily seven days a week, from 8am to 5pm, at No.1 Circle Square on Oxford Road.
11 Greater Manchester spots have been named among the UK’s Top 100 Curry Restaurants
Danny Jones
In another feather for Greater Manchester’s culinary cap, a total of 11 different Greater Manchester businesses have been named in this year’s list of the Top 100 Curry Restaurants in the UK.
Everyone knows how good the Asian food scene is here, so this comes as little surprise, really.
Nevertheless, we will absolutely be toasting these wins on behalf of all those by booking into at least one of the excellent foodie venues before the month is out – if they have any reservations left, that is.
Some of these names may not shock you, but we’re glad to see some really good up-and-coming independents or long-overlooked veterans finally getting their recognition. Here’s who made the cut across our ten boroughs, in no particular order (at least not ours, anyway).
The best places for a curry in Britain – Greater Manchester
1. Tyga – Manchester city centre
Formerly the site of Asha’s, which was already a much-loved Manc spot, the new chapter for the modern Indian restaurant on Peter St is a nice balance of authentic Rajasthani cuisine and more contemporary, elevated takes on Indo-Chinese dishes.
Another central spot located near the lively university area in and around Oxford Road Corridor, Peace Garden opened up back in 2022 and has gone on to become a hit with much more than just the students living nearby. Give it a try sometime soon.
The very grand spin-off of the original location in Levenshulme – now renamed as MyNawaab – the Royal Nawaab that has now been open for over a year inside the old Co-op pyramid next to the M60. They have also received a notable review from a highly renowned food journalist…
The third and final spot shouted out from within the city might make you double-take, aside from the seafood also do an incredible Japanese curry beef dish. Find out more about what they offer HERE.
Heading out into the borough of Bolton now, and arguably historic Lancashire depending on who you ask, Ayaan’s on Old Road has thousands of fantastic reviews ranging from four to five stars, and remains a renowned regional curry house. Here they are winning the best of the bunch last year:
A beautiful banquet hall and restaurant just on the outskirts of Cheetham and the Green Quarter, Al Maidah is a regular spot for big weddings or pretty much any special occasion, and it goes without saying that they do some incredible curries. They’ve come a long way over the past decade.
Finally heading over towards the direction of Curry Mile, we were expecting more places from the famous district to be named, to be honest, but we’ll definitely take Bardez, which also has a Didsbury restaurant. They do all-you-can-eat buffets, but from memory, chicken chettinad is the one…
Jadugar over in Alty hasn’t even been open for a year yet, but it’s already become the place to go out for a curry in the Trafford market town, with footballers and various other famous faces now making it one of their regular haunts. You can check out their menu online.
9. Purple Olive Ashton – Ashton-under-Lyne
Tameside natives will know this one well, but for those who may not be aware, the Purple Olive branch in Ashton is much more than part of a larger charger chain: this is the best of the bunch, quite literally – that’s why it made its way onto the list. So if you’re over Ashton way any time soon, why not pop in?
10. Spice Mafia – Urmston
Winging our way back to Trafford once again, this next bunch are no strangers to winning awards or picking up this accolade in particular, as cult favourite Spice Mafia has also been named once again. In fact, they earn their place on the list pretty much every year at this point:
Last but not least, ‘The Plaza‘; we confess we’ve only been there for one very messy night, but before it all went a bit fuzzy, we do remember we had some incredible scran, and you can see why so many people swear by it as increasingly not-so-quietly one of the best curry houses in Greater Manchester.
Before we wrap this up to takeaway, special shout-outs go to Ruchi Restaurant in the neighbouring Derbyshire town of Glossop, as well as another relatively nearby village venue, Sigiriya Grill in Knutsford.
Once again, these places have been hailed as not just some of the best curry houses in the region or even the North West, but in the ENTIRE country, according to the Asian Catering Federation (ACF) – a big honour, indeed.
Spotlighting venues that not only deliver top-notch food and drink with great service, but also serve as important community hubs, support the wider hospitality industry and maintain high standards, it’s no mean feat making your way into this round-up.
“We have made the difficult decision to move on from our All The Shapes. Some of you will already know about this, but we wanted to get it out there officially so that we can start to say our farewells good and proper over the next few weeks.
“It’s been 11 beautiful years at ATS but, for some personal reasons, we need to step away from hospitality and reset our lives. It is the right time for us.
“However, listen up! We are selling the place! Would anyone like to take it up? How about a group/couple of you? You’ll get a turnkey business with everything in place to get up and running. It’s a beautiful building, long term lease (all negotiable) with fair and committed landlords and, as you know, a prime Prestwich spot.
“Quite frankly we need to move with ease and speed so we are open to offers and conversations. Please get in contact via the DMs and we will be here to answer anything you need.
Daisy Jackson -
13th May 2026 
