Eats

Pizza Pilgrims is finally coming to Manchester with a bold new Neapolitan pizzeria

Thank god, it's been so hard to find pizza in Manchester...

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 9th June 2025

One of the UK’s fastest-growing pizza restaurant groups (nope, not Rudy’s) is finally set to touch down in Manchester.

Signs have appeared on Deansgate for the city’s first Pizza Pilgrims site, taking over the now-closed tapas restaurant La Vina.

Pizza Pilgrims has been operating since 2011, and now has 25 restaurants right across the UK – but hasn’t made it to Manchester until now.

Their restaurants are famed for their colourful and maximalist interiors, with Italian-inspired decor dripping off every surface.

Expect checkered tablecloths, giant lemons hanging from the ceiling, retro posters, colourful shutters and even washing lines hung with Italian football shirts.

At their site in Leeds, which opened in 2023, there’s even a giant pink flamingo pedalo that’s been turned into a self-serve gelato stand for customers to create their own sweet treats.

On the menus, Pizza Pilgrims is all about double-fermented dough bases, cooked at 500 ̊C to give a light, chewy and charred crust, just like in Naples.

Highlights from their menus include an eight-cheese pizza, a carbonara-inspired pizza, and the ‘You’ve Got Maiale’, topped with nduja, Italian sausage, pepperoni, and a balsamic glaze.

They also serve irresistible fried cacio e pepe balls, stuffed with spaghetti, pecorino cheese and black pepper.

Pizza Pilgrims will open on Deansgate in Manchester later this month – you can find out more and sign up for freebies when it launches HERE.

Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Hotel Chocolat to open viral chocolate Velvetiser Cafe in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Hotel Chocolat to open viral chocolate Velvetiser Cafe in Manchester

Hotel Chocolat is set to open a Velvetiser Cafe in Manchester city centre, and it’ll be absolute paradise for chocolate lovers.

The popular chocolate shop, which has stores across the UK selling delicious chocolate bars, boxes and more, is now preparing to branch out in town.

Hotel Chocolat then hit a new level of fame with its Velvetiser, an invention that creates velvety smooth hot drinks at the touch of a button.

They’ve been so popular, Hotel Chocolat is now opening Velvetiser Cafes across the UK – and Manchester is up next.

If it follows in the footsteps of the Meadowhall cafe in Sheffield, visitors will be able to customise their perfect hot chocolate from thousands of combinations.

There are 18 flavours, different milks, and a whole variety of toppings available.

Then you drink can be served hot, over ice, or as a choc shake.

Colourful hoardings for the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser Cafe have now appeared on Cross Street, just next door to the new Joe & The Juice.

A planning application has also been lodged with Manchester City Council.

Read more

Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Drake-backed fried chicken brand Dave’s Hot Chicken is opening in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Dave's Hot Chicken is coming to Manchester

The huge LA-based fried chicken brand backed by Drake is heading to Manchester for the very first time this summer.

Dave’s Hot Chicken is set to open in the Printworks this August – the first UK branch outside of London and Birmingham.

The cult chicken brand has said that its new venue will feature an ‘industrial design inspired by Manchester’s rave scene’ (if we had a pound every time a new venue used that design style, we’d be as rich as Drake…).

Dave’s Hot Chicken is famed for its signature Nashville-style hot chicken, which is served in seven different spice levels from No Spice to Reaper.

Expect sliders, tenders, ‘next-level’ top-loaded shakes and slushes.

It’s grown so quickly that in 2021, it caught the eye of none other than rapper Drake, who is a ‘significant investor’ in the brand.

The fried chicken spot will be moving into the large corner unit at Printworks, which has previously been Busaba Thai, and Floripa, with 139 covers.

Dave's Hot Chicken is coming to Manchester
Dave’s Hot Chicken is coming to Manchester

Inside, it will feature towering ceilings, exposed steelwork, and laser lights, claiming to be a ‘full-on sensory trip, where music, light and fried chicken will come together to create a high-voltage experience’.

There will also be custom graffiti inspired by L.A.-based street artists Splatterhaus and Dehm.

Dave’s Hot Chicken still has hour-long queues down in London, several months after opening on Shaftesbury Avenue – next up will be a Birmingham branch in July before Manchester opens later this summer.

And this is just the start of a nationwide expansion.

Jim Attwood, Managing Director of Dave’s Hot Chicken UK, said: “Printworks Manchester is the ideal setting for our next UK site – right at the heart of one of the country’s most exciting cities.

“The new restaurant pays homage to Manchester’s legendary warehouse rave scene, with an industrial-inspired design and bold, high-energy atmosphere to match our signature flavours.

“We can’t wait to bring something fresh to this iconic venue and its vibrant mix of entertainment, food and culture.”

Dave’s Hot Chicken will open at Printworks Manchester on 8 August.

Read more

Featured image: Supplied

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