Eats

Peter Kay surprises chip shop staff as he pops in for tea unannounced

No, he didn't have garlic bread.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 3rd August 2023

Bolton comedian Peter Kay has left staff at a chip shop in Lancashire feeling all giddy after he popped in for tea unannounced.

The comic, currently in the middle of a stand-up tour of the UK, turned up for a chippy at Atkinson’s Fish and Chips in Morecambe on Wednesday evening for a mid-week treat.

Dressed casually, he posed for a picture with one of the team before digging into his order of traditional fish and chips which the team then excitedly shared on its social media pages.

Revealing that the star has now visited the cafe on Albert Road not once but twice, staff excitedly wrote: “We’ve had a very special and famous visitor come down to visit us recently.. PETER KAY

“This is his SECOND time visiting us in our cafe on Albert Road!!

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“We might not have provided garlic bread, but he certainly loved his fish & chips

“I’m sure we will see him again soon!”

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On fan commented underneath: “He knows where good fish and chips are”

Another person joked: “A worldwide hero there getting a picture with Peter Kay. Crazy times”

The fish and chip shop in Morecambe has won awards for its chippy teas and has regularly been named amongst the best in the UK.

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chippy tea
Image: Atkinson’s Fish and Chips
atkinsons fish and chip shop
Image: Atkinson’s Fish and Chips

Accolades collected by the fish and chip shop include the Blue Ribbon prize in the Good Food Awards Fish & Chips category and praise from The Guardian critic Jay Rayner, who featured it in a list of the UK’s top 20 fish and chip shops.

Read more: Catherine Tyldesley revealed as Manchester celebrity behind ‘cake gate’

On the menu, you’ll find lunchtime specials such as homemade fish cakes, sausage and mash, and chips with cheese and gravy for only £4.50, alongside traditional favourites like battered haddock and cod, battered jumbo sausages, chip buns, scampi, and spam fritters.

Elsewhere, further tempting options include a selection of freshly-baked pies, steamed steak and kidney pudding, salt and pepper squid, battered halloumi bites, and pickled onions.

Read more: Inside NQ64’s gigantic new arcade bar as it finds new home in Manchester

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Peter Kay is currently on his  ‘Better Late Than Never Tour’, travelling the country for the first time in 12 years due to ‘unforeseen family circumstances’,

Featured image – Atkinson’s Fish and Chips

Eats

Inside The Black Friar as Salford pub unveils incredible floral display

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Inside The Black Friar as Salford pub unveils incredible floral display

Spring has really sprung in Salford – legendary pub The Black Friar has just revealed a sensational makeover, with gigantic flowers sprawled across its frontage and a new seasonal menu to go with it. 

The historic pub is celebrating the changing of the seasons with both a striking floral installation and a menu that celebrates spring and Salford in equal measure. 

Most Mancs will by now have spotted the 4,000 flower-strong installation that now adorns the front of The Black Friar, with bright pink, yellow and purple flowers spilling from a gigantic pink tap. 

And all those florals continue inside, with the pub’s Tavern – previously a cosy winter hideaway – now filled with trailing blooms and woodland installations, just off their award-winning garden.

Cheshire-based artist Kelly Louise Chapman is the woman behind this sensational transformation of the much-loved gastropub. 

As for the pub’s kitchen, they’ve crafted a new very seasonal and very British menu, with plenty of nods to Black Friar’s Salford roots. 

There are dishes like a Boddingtons braised ox cheek (the pub still proudly displays its Boddingtons sign outside), aged beef tartare, butternut squash and ricotta tortellini, and pan-roasted cod fillet. 

Spring small plates at The Black Friar pub
Spring small plates at The Black Friar pub
Delicious spring drinks
Delicious spring drinks
Inside The Tavern at The Black Friar
Inside The Tavern at The Black Friar

A popular item from the Valentine’s Day menu – the Cornish crab vol-au-vent – will be sticking around on the spring menu, along with an enhanced grill section that includes a lamb Barnsley chop cooked over coals. 

Then for desserts, you’ll be spoilt with a banoffee knickerbocker glory, and passionfruit panna cotta. 

And for drinks (because this is a pub, after all), The Black Friar has put together a range of seasonal drinks like a rose sangria sharer, and non-alcoholic sodas like kaffir lime and coconut. 

Ben Chaplin, head chef at The Black Friar, said: “This new menu is all about celebrating the best of spring produce. 

“We’ve carefully crafted each dish to highlight fresh, seasonal ingredients and bold flavours, adding new depth to our offerings while still delivering the comfort that will always be associated with The Black Friar. 

“My top recommendation and personal favourite dish is the Slow-Cooked Boddingtons Braised Ox Cheek.”

Neil Burke, owner of The Black Friar, commented: “We wanted to bring a taste of spring to The Black Friar, inside and out. This floral installation will transform the space and bring sunshine and smiles, whatever the weather! 

“My top recommendation on the new menu is the Cumbrian Spiced Lamb Scotch Egg. It’s EXCEPTIONAL.”

To find out more about The Black Friar and to book a table, visit HERE. 

Read more

Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Team behind award-winning Higher Ground to open new Bar Shrimp seafood bar in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Team behind award-winning Higher Ground to open new seafood bar, Bar Shrimp, in Manchester

Higher Ground, one of Manchester’s very top restaurants, is to open a brand-new seafood bar later this year.

With Bar Shrimp, they’ll be bringing a brand-new offering to town, with cocktails, beers on tap, British seafood and snacks.

Bar Shrimp will come from Daniel Craig Martin, Joseph Otway and Richard Cossins, who at this point are a well-oiled operational machine.

They’re the team behind proudly British bistro Higher Ground, which grows much of its own produce at its Cinderwood Market Garden and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand within a year of opening.

The same team are also behind Flawd, the beautiful waterside wine bar at Ancoats Marina.

And they’ve cemented themselves as one of Manchester’s most widely acclaimed hospitality teams – even Rick Stein says Higher Ground is one of the best places to eat in the entire country, which is high praise indeed.

Bar Shrimp, set to open in Manchester this winter, aims to be a ‘relaxed and focused bar with delicious food’.

They say: “Whether it’s a beer after work, some food with friends or after dinner drinks late into the night, Bar Shrimp will be a dynamic space where the music and energy evolves throughout the evening where everyone and anyone can come together for a memorable experience.”

They announced the news this morning on Cerys Matthews’ BBC 6Music Show.

British seafood with a side of cocktails? Sounds alright to us.

A location, opening date and more info on Bar Shrimp will follow – stay up to date with their latest HERE.

More food and drink news:

Featured image: Supplied

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