The brand new Chips @ No.8 chippy is ready to reopen in Prestwich – now with a beautiful restaurant space included.
Fans of the award-winning takeaway will now be able to sit inside the much-larger space as they devour what’s considered by many (myself included) to be the best fish and chips in Greater Manchester.
Chips @ No.8 hasn’t moved far – it’s actually just drifted next-door – but the improvements are vast.
Now three times the size, the new-look space is split into a takeaway, a bar, and a restaurant.
The upstairs restaurant is the biggest change, serving a seafood-focused menu that isn’t necessarily all about the fryer.
ADVERTISEMENT
The tasteful space has huge tall ceilings, exposed brick, and colourful chippy-inspired art on the wall.
This part will launch later this month with a concise ‘from the kitchen’ menu that will expand and change once they’ve tested the waters.
ADVERTISEMENT
But the chippy itself is raring to go from today.
The upstairs restaurant at the new Chips @ No.8You can now get cans of local beer to take away with your chippy tea
Visitors to the new Chips @ No.8 will be able to place their order from the counter before heading into the bar area for a pint while they wait.
There are also fridges full of cans to take away, featuring some big local names like Seven Brothers, Zapato, and Pomona.
ADVERTISEMENT
The menu down here is blissfully unchanged, which means you’ll still find chips fried in beef dripping, British fish fried in a perfect crisp batter, and a full menu of pies.
Owner Dan Edwards has piled a lot of love into this place, and says it’s ‘easily the most challenging thing’ he’s ever done.
The new Chips @ No.8 is ready to open just next door to its original siteChips @ No.8 has a new bar space inside where you can eat-in with your chippyOwner Dan Edwards outside the new Chips @ No.8
In a statement he shared this morning, Dan wrote: “So, after what feels like forever, we will open the new shop today.
“We started this project nearly 12 months ago and it’s come close to breaking me many times. Easily, the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, but we’re there now!
“My wife is clearly an angel for putting up with me during this whole time. Marie, I love you more than you can imagine
ADVERTISEMENT
“Couple of things to note:- we’re not opening the restaurant area for a few days, so that we can ‘bed in’ the new systems. We don’t wanna give anything short of the best. We’ll let you know when we’re ready.
“We’re also gonna introduce the “from the kitchen” menu slowly, with more items being added as we go.
“The last thing, is it’s going to be walk ins only, there’s no booking system. We know there’s lots of you who want to secure your seat but it’s a non negotiable unfortunately.
“What we can guarantee, is we have an amazing space, an amazing team, and amazing customers. Over the next week or so, go easy on us if things aren’t quite right. I promise we’re all trying our best with new everything.
“Here’s to the next (and final) stage. Chips @No.8 is all grown up and we can’t wait to share it with you!”
ADVERTISEMENT
The new Chips @ No.8 opens on Tuesday 11 June on Clifton Road.
First Look: Matcha Made and The Trafford Centre makes for a perfect marriage
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester’s newest matcha spot just dropped, and we know it’s an easy pun, but it really does feel like a match made in heaven.
Just picture the scene: there’s a big birthday or holiday coming up, so you’ve arrived at The Trafford Centre early to get in a full day of shopping, eating and being generally leisurely – but you need an early caffeine fix and maybe some light, fluffy yet still filling pastry to keep you going.
There are very few places better to start this kind of day than at Matcha Made, who’ve just opened up in the North West’s massive and most famous shopping mall.
Fronted by a lovely lineup of smiling staff who couldn’t do enough for you and are more than happy to give you advice or simply plug their own recommendations, we can see ourselves coming back here for the service alone.
They’ve arrived in the big leisure complex just in time for February half-term, too, meaning any parents needing an alternative caffeine hit can fuel up right here.
Specialising in the Japanese and super healthy green tea craze that currently has the UK in a chokehold, only directly out of a tap – almost like a zen twist of draught beer taps – the art is not only in how green the raw matcha itself tastes but in the flavours and finishing touches.
This stylish pastel green hatch might not be the only place to get your matcha on in The Trafford Centre, but it might just be the best already.
It was immediately apparent that the staff had a clear favourite: the Biscoff foam version, but they said their simple but sweet and satisfying strawberry one has also proved to be one of the most popular.
There’s plenty of fruity options to choose from; they’ve got their own take on the fellow contemporary trend of banana pudding for anyone looking for a fix, and even ume plum, or you can just go for a straight-up coffee or hot chocolate as well.
So yeah, even if your partner isn’t quite ready to admit they’re a secret ‘matcha girlie’, then they can spend a little bit more time lying to themselves over this side of the menu.
Whether you want it topped with cream, shavings or a light dusting of cocoa powder, you can make this little drink just about as decorative as you like.
Besides being more reasonably priced than we were expecting, given the ongoing matcha boom, you’ve also got the big bonus of a fridge stocked with bakes from local favourite La Chouqette. Sold.
Manchester’s tiny new tiramisu hatch Layr speaks out after receiving influx of ‘hostile’ hate messages
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s tiny new tiramisu hatch has spoken out after receiving a recent influx of ‘hostile’ hate messages and reviews.
Having only opened its doors – or should we say, shutters – at the end of last month (29 January) over in Acoats, Layr is one of Manchester’s newest independent businesses that is selling purely tiramisu, with a menu of three different flavours, each served in individually portioned pots.
Here you can expect classic tiramisu where sponge is soaked in espresso, then layered with vanilla marscapone and cocoa dust.
These freshly-made, alcohol-free and Halal desserts have gone down an absolute treat with residents and visitors to the city alike since opening, but unfortunately, it hasn’t been completely smooth sailing for founder Moona who has admitted over the weekend that they have been receiving a number of ‘hostile’ hate comments and reviews that don’t reflect the service they are providing.
The statement comes after the business teamed up with The Couture Club and influencer Farron Clark for a Valentine’s collaboration over the weekend.
Layr said in its Instagram statement: “As a small independent business, we can’t stay silent when things aren’t right. It’s hard to share, but it has to be said.
“With a heavy heart, we need to address something that’s been happening behind the scenes. Over the past few days, we’ve noticed a pattern that’s been difficult to process. Hostile hate-messages, comments, and reviews. A number of one-star reviews have appeared that don’t feel reflective of real customer experiences… with some of our genuine customer photos have been screenshotted and reposted elsewhere.
Layr has spoken out after receiving an influx of ‘hostile’ hate messages / Credit: The Manc Group
“As a small, new independent business, we take all feedback on board. However instances that appear not to be genuine are disheartening to see.”
They then shared a couple of screenshot images of reviews and comments they were referring to, before adding that: “The industry is already a challenge without these instances. We all need each other’s support and I hope we all succeed in what we set out to achieve.”
The statement concluded: “Let’s spread love… not hate.”
Daisy Jackson -
11th June 2024 
