A brand-new ‘high-tech’ activity bar dedicated to shuffleboard is coming to Manchester and it sounds electric – pun very much intended.
Electric Shuffle, the glamorous sister site to nightlife favourite Flight Club, is coming to the city centre later this year and it’s set to be just the second to open outside of London.
After opening their third location in Leeds back in 2022, the team behind two of the best activity and games bars in the UK are bringing their shuffleboard expertise to Manchester in time for the summer.
Promising addictive and high-energy games, semi-private shuffleboard areas dotted around a stylish art-deco-inspired central bar, an impressive cocktail list and a mouth-watering menu, the aim is to make sure you don’t need to spend the night anywhere else, with a resident DJ on-hand all night too.
You can find bars with shuffleboards all over town these days, but what sets this one apart? Well, they market their offerings as ‘supercharged shuffleboard’ that uses state-of-the-art camera vision technology to track and score every puck, much like the sensors used on Flight Club darts boards.
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Again, like their big brother, the games also capture guests’ best moments with live shareable replays, and can seamlessly integrate up to 32 players – or up to 150 players at once for corporate events. Now that sounds like the kind of chaos we’d love to see.
There are four immersive and fast-paced games to choose from, each designed for team-play while still giving individuals their glory. Games include Eclipse, which sees players aiming to slide and land their puck on (or as close as possible) the target between the middle two zones of the board.
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Then there’s Equaliser, which challenges players to land their puck in the zones at the far end of the table to get the highest score. As for the bar side of things, they’ve got that all worked out too.
Credit: Supplied
Food and drink for all times of day
If anyone’s been guilty of screaming down the roof of one of these activity bars before, you’ll know that like most shuffleboard is best played as a team sport and that group mentality transfers over to the food and drink selection too.
We’re talking small plates, big sharing pizzas, as well as an epic and extensive cocktails menu – all of which will be coming to Electric Shuffle Manchester.
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From staple dishes already proved popular at their Leeds venue such as buttermilk chicken bites with ranch and BBQ dips, spiced cauliflower wings with red pepper tapenade and jalapeño green salsa, big sourdough pizza paddles, loaded fries and more, think big picky tea only levelled up.
As for the booze (it is a bar after all), they’re known for signature cocktails with a twist, like ‘Salted Caramel Euphoria’ – a take on the espresso martini – frozen options for those balmy summer nights and big sharing ones served in a trophy cup. And don’t worry, they’re not only for the winners.
Oh yeah, and they’re also bringing their brunch deal to our shores. Available on Saturdays and Sundays for two hours, guests can enjoy a bottle of Prosecco each and unlimited pizza from start to finish. Costing £35 for 60 minutes of shuffleboard and another hour around the table, it’ll be one of the best value bottomless brunch deals in Manchester.
You’ll have all this and more to get stuck into when Electric Shuffle lands on Deansgate in a couple of month’s time.
While we’re not giving you an exact address just yet, we can confirm that Manchester’s newest shuffleboard bar is set to open on 21 June and will take up an 11,400 sq/ft space to become their biggest site in the county, capable of hosting up to 450 people. Now that’s how you make an entrance.
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CEO, Steve Moore, who co-founded Electric Shuffle and Flight Club alongside Paul Barham, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to bring Electric Shuffle to Manchester. We have loved our time in Manchester so far and the welcome that Flight Club has received over the past five years has been incredible…
“From couples’ date nights to corporate events and everything in between, Electric Shuffle is a place that is built for friends by friends, and we can’t wait to show everyone in Manchester what we’ve been working on”.
Popular American fast food franchise Shake Shack is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester is getting another big global franchise as Shake Shack is finally set to make its Northern debut.
With so many good burger joints and a million and one great places to grab a good portion of chips in town alone, they’ll have to hit the ground running to fight off the competition.
The well-known transatlantic multinational is nothing short of massive in the States, vying with the likes of In-N-Out Burger, Five Guys, Carl’s Jr. – also eyeing up multiple UK sites over the next few years – Whataburger and Wendy’s, just to name a rather large handful. Oh yeah, and Maccies, of course.
Yanks will debate until the cows come home (pardon the pun) about which is best, and many believe Shake Shack is right up there, so Manchester foodies have every right to be excited. Consider this a belated Thanksgiving contribution.
The New York-founded company already has multiple locations on this side of the pond, such as several in London, which is where we first sampled it for ourselves.
Other venues include Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford and Cardiff, as well as one inside Gatwick Airport; as for the brand’s first Manchester branch, Shake Shack UK no. 18 will be coming to the borough of Trafford and one of the biggest shopping destinations in the region.
But what sets this burger and milkshake-driven brand apart from the others?
Well, for starters, you could argue they’re not even most famous for their patties, buns or shakes; the first time we ever heard about Shake Shack was regarding their fries – specifically, the crinkle-cut shape and that very American-style cheese sauce.
They have long proved divisive among the masses, but those who love them go NUTS for the stuff, and you’ll find all manner of fakeaway recipes online of people trying to make their best imitation of the side and sauce, specifically.
Put it this way, Colonel’s gravy on KFC chicken is what cheese sauce is on Shake Shack fries. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but fans will stan this scran to no end.
Case and point:
My first time at Shake Shack 👌🏼💚 The cheese fries might be my new hyper fixation 🍟 pic.twitter.com/3HVwAgxRtD
Honestly, you’ll find countless examples of this kind of post on social media…
Richard Franks, Business Director at Shake Shack UK, said: “Manchester’s a city that does things proper; it’s full of heart, graft and great taste. We’re so pumped to be growing Shake Shack across the UK, and to be opening our first Northern Shack at Trafford Centre. We can’t wait to be a part of this city.”
The major mall and North West tourist attraction’s Centre Director, Simon Layton, added: “We’re really excited to welcome Shake Shack’s first Northern restaurant to the Trafford Centre.
“We know our visitors are going to love getting their hands on those iconic ShackBurgers and crinkle-cut fries. It’s a huge moment for the North – and we can’t wait for everyone to experience it with us in 2026.”
Opening in place of the Costa in the Great Hall, the opening of Shake Shack Manchester at the Trafford Centre is scheduled for next March. Exciting times.
Featured Images — bryansjs (via Flickr)/LN9267 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Eats
A new champagne bar, and the UK’s first ‘champagne boutique’, is opening in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new ‘champagne boutique’ is opening in Manchester next week, boasting more than 250 different champagnes to our city.
Portfolio will be a new bar and ‘immersive wine experience’, which will have one of the largest and most diverse champagne collections in the UK.
Mancs will be able to order champagne by the glass from just £12.50, along with plenty of accessible bottles.
To kick things off, Portfolio will open with a bar food offering that includes Welsh charcuterie, British cheeses and accoutrements, created by co-founder Julian Pizer, formerly of Another Hand and the Edinburgh Castle.
But later down the line, there’ll be a run, relaxed tasting menu, ranging from a few bites to a full dining experience, obviously paired with the best champagne list in the country.
Inside Portfolio, you’ll be greeted by a striking champagne wall of 100 different bottles, plus a wall of photos from the team’s trips to Champagne in France.
Every drink will be served in exclusive Lehmann glassware imported from Reims, with more than 10 different glass styles and a strict no flutes policy.
There’ll be an open chef’s pass and sommelier station with bar seating, plus a working champagne cellar that will function as a private dining room and event space.
Julian Pizer has created Portfolio with Cameron Foster, founder of Duex Six which specialises in providing exclusive grower champagnes to the UK.
They’ll be joined by Wayne Baxendale as food and beverage director, who has more than 30 years of global wine experience including from Michelin starred restaurants, and Nikolai Kuklenko as general manager, who previously held a role as Head Sommelier at Mana.
Portfolio will be a wine boutique packed with rare grower bottles and vintage prestige cuvées and hopes to ‘strip away the snobbery and make champagne accessible’.
As well as well known names, guests will be able to enjoy rare and highly sought-after cuvées, including Jacques Selosse, Ulysse Collin, Jérôme Prévost, Cédric Bouchard, Larmandier Bernier and Egly Ouriet.
There will also be vintage prestige cuvées from Cristal, Philipponnat, Pommery, Jacquesson, Pierre Peters and Bollinger, some dating back to the 1990s.
As Cameron Foster explains: “We want to strip back the snobbery of Champagne and make it a wine for everyone, whether that’s a quick glass after work, a special celebration, or discovering grower champagne for the first time.”
Portfolio will open on 9 December at 67 Bridge Street, Manchester, with the full restaurant experience launching in February 2026.
Danny Jones -
22nd April 2024 
