Eats

Manchester favourite Nell’s to open new site for New York-style pizza, karaoke and shuffleboard

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 23rd July 2025

Much-loved New York-style pizza joint Nell’s has announced big plans for a brand new location – they’re heading to MediaCity.

Nell’s are stepping things up a notch with the move, adding in private karaoke booths, shuffleboard tables, and a huge outdoor terrace in their new site.

Nell’s MediaCity is set to open this autumn, promising 22-inch New York-style pizza (also served in gigantic slices), frozen margs, and ice cream sandwiches.

There are already several spots around Manchester where you can get a slice of Nell’s, including their restaurants at Kampus and in Altrincham, the OG Northern Quarter site in Common, and at The Beagle in Chorlton.

And now it’s Salford’s turn, with plans unveiled for the team to expand over to MediaCity’s quayside Orange Building.

Nell’s co-founder Jonny Heyes said: “We’ve been thinking about MediaCity for a long time, it’s such a great area and we’ve seen what brilliant operators like Kargo have achieved so when this space came up, we jumped on it!

“The venue is huge which has given us the chance to really play with the experience.

“This idea of karaoke and shuffleboard accompanying our made-for-sharing pizzas and great cocktails feels like a natural next step for us as a brand.”

Nell’s have also partnered with Deliveroo and Slerp to send 14-inch and 22-inch pizzas far and wide.

The new opening is expected to create more than 35 new jobs, and as Common & Co has twice been named in the Times 100 Best Places To Work list, you might want to check those out HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

A Greater Manchester dessert bar is selling Dubai pistachio Labubu-topped chocolate strawberries

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Sweet Dreams in Prestwich has launched Dubai pistachio Labubu chocolate strawberries

We’re in an era obsessed with novelty – and this dessert bar in Greater Manchester has found a way to cash in on every viral food craze at once.

Presenting… a Dubai pistachio chocolate Labubu, perched atop a mountain of chocolate strawberries with more pistachio kunafa on top.

There’s a sentence that wouldn’t have made sense a year ago…

Sweet Dreams, which has a spot in Whalley Range as well as a new dessert bar in Prestwich, has tapped into three major online trends at once.

If you have a busy life and aren’t as chronically online as the rest of us, allow me to explain.

Up first, what the heck is a Labubu?

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.

Sweet Dreams in Prestwich has launched Dubai pistachio Labubu chocolate strawberries
An army of pistachio chocolate Labubu
Sweet Dreams in Prestwich has launched Dubai pistachio Labubu chocolate strawberries
Inside 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.

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Eats

Beloved Stockport burger joint The Last Stop is closing its doors this month

Danny Jones 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 last stop shutting down
the last stop mcr locations
Credit: The Last Stop MCR (via Instagram)/The Manc Eats

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.

salmon of knowledge manchester locations
The Last Stop Stockport might be closing but their NQ residence is staying put.
last stop burgers produce hall stockport
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.

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Featured Images – The Manc Group/The Last Stop (via Facebook/IG)

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