In another gutting bit of Manc hospitality news, local favourite pizza spot PLY has sadly announced that it will be shutting down its long-standing location in the Northern Quarter.
Having grown to become a foodie and nightlife institution over on Lever Street and remaining one of the most popular pizza places in town pretty much since day one, PLY has been a mainstay on the Manchester culinary scene for nearly a decade.
Known for enticing mid-week deals that always welcomed back a regular crowd, great deals and discounts for students that always ensured it had an atmosphere well into the evenings, and serving up consistently delicious pizza and welcoming other independent traders, it’s a tough one to take.
PLY confirmed the gutting news in a lengthy post on their social media pages on Wednesday, 19 June, revealing that this will be the last week for people to visit their original NQ home.
The emotional statement confirming PLY’s closure reads as follows: “With a heavy heart, after nearly 10 years at Stevenson Square, this is our FINAL WEEK.
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“Opening back in March 2015, PLY, originally born as Neapolitan Pizza Joint, dazzled customers with its trendy art and giant Mirror Tiled Pizza Oven. A staple of the Northern Quarter food and drink scene throughout the years. Most recently, with the introduction of Independent food traders including Mickys, Cardinal Rule and Lazy Tony’s.
“Unfortunately, after 10 years, our home at 26 Lever Street is in need of some major TLC and renovations that are sadly out of our hands, which is why the decision to close our venue has been made…
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“We would love to say a huge thank you to our amazing staff, a team we are so proud of and know for sure will all go on to smash it. You truly are all (past and present) Amazing.
“Our wonderful independent traders Mickys, Cardinal Rule and Lazy Tony’s, our fantastic suppliers and contractors, our security team [and] everyone that has run an event at PLY over the years.
PLY Northern Quarter is closing after being a go-to pizza spot for the best part of 10 years. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
“The legend that being is Brian (if you’ve been fortunate to have ever met Brian you will know how much of a rock he is to all of us at PLY), you have all made this a truly wonderful ride, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
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“Most of all, YOU, our fantastic customers and supporters, our regulars and now friends that have joined us for a pint, a birthday or even a wedding reception throughout the years, to you we say thank tou.
“But for now, we hope to see you all over this final week at PLY to say one final farewell. Come drink the place dry on Saturday (there will be big discounts).
As mentioned, the PLY brand as a whole will survive through the remaining locations in King Pins at Manchester Arndale Arndale, Trafford Palazzo, New Century and The Dockyard over at Barons Quay in Northwich, so at least it’s not goodbye completely.
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They also revealed that new tenants are set to move in and transform the space very soon, so the place you spent all those nights scanning slices isn’t gone forever and we eagerly await to see who takes over the reins.
Nevertheless, rest in peace to the original PLY and thanks for the memories.
A new ’boutique’ chicken spot has opened in Manchester’s Northern Quarter
Danny Jones
A brand-new chicken spot called ‘Le Coq Boutique’ has just opened in Manchester city centre, serving out of a popular Northern Quarter bar.
Is this the best name we’ve ever heard in our time writing about food and drink? It just might be…
Opening from inside The Social NQ on Thomas Street (formerly known as Smithfield Social), their new resident and poultry-centric kitchen is a bit of a pun on the classic French sportswear label, but having now been versed in the word about the bird for ourselves, we can confirm it’s much more than that.
For starters, the only thing more decadent than the roasted meats are the sides and cocktail menu, which features everything from chunky hash browns and some of the richest sauces you could ask for.
As you can see, the most chicken is well and truly the star of the show here, but what they have done is find unique ways of innovating and experimenting with it.
For instance, if you’ve never had a cocktail with chicken fat in it, here’s a place you can try one.
Honestly, this isn’t our first rodeo with this very particular kind of drink – but for those of you that haven’t, we promise, it really is quite good.
Aside from surprisingly saline kicks beside the salty marg rims we’ve become more accustomed to over the years, there are some very nice drinks on the menu.
But we’ll be honest, if you’re a sucker for the famous ‘chicken wine’ – a.k.a. La Vieille Ferme, if you want to be all formal – we imagine you’ll be sticking to plenty of this.
Having already spent many a weekend, be that afternoon or night, at the old Smithfield over the years, now that it has this fine new in-house food offering tacked on, we suspect we’ll be going back a lot more.
Whether you want lots of crispy chicken skin or prefer it smothered in gravy and various other kinds of savoury jus, if you’re an unadulterated mothercluckin’ chicken lover, then you’ll have a great time here.
As the team has joked in the comments under their first few social media posts, while it isn’t technically mandatory to wear the vintage 80s brand upon visiting, it is “expected”, with “bonus marks and shots” and promised for your efforts.
It’s also worth noting that they have an exclusive launch offer for those who sort a booking early, so we wouldn’t wait around if we were you.
Let us know what you think if you visit anytime soon.
Bunny Jackson’s offer Foo Fighters and Mancs incredible deal if they play their stage after Ritz gig
Danny Jones
Beloved dive bar Bunny Jackson’s has offered the Foo Fighters and Mancunians alike an incredible deal, provided the legendary band if they play on their stage after their gig at the O2 Ritz.
As well as Manchester ramping up the 2026 BRITs Week buzz ahead of the awards at Co-op Live this weekend, a little-known American rock group called the Foo Fighters decided to announce a surprise gig here in town.
But the bigger story now, we’d argue, is that the city centre boozer – which serves as a regular go-to both before and after gigs – is offering free drinks if Dave Grohl and co. pop up to perform on their usual bandaoke platform. As in for EVERYONE.
As explained by the Bunny’s boss, if the Foos make what is quite literally a minute trip down the road to OG Jackson’s wing joint and late-night watering hole after their Ritz gig is over, they’re promising to hand out free booze to all inside the venue.
Joking that they can quite literally “do anything” and may not even fit on their even smaller stage – with this being one of the tiniest of Manchester’s small-cap venues – it’s worth reminding that they wouldn’t be the first big name to surprise punters.
It was only a couple of years ago that both The 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo showed their faces, with the former getting behind the bar and pouring drinks themselves, and the latter even hopping on the mic herself – yes, really.
Just last March, members of Bilmuri also hopped behind the decks for a DJ set, and saxophone player Gabi Rose couldn’t resist hitting some horns live for the crowd, too.
You might want to be at Bunny’s even if you’re not going to the gig anyway. (Credit: Bunny Jackson’s)
So what we’re telling you is that this isn’t entirely beyond the realms of possibility. Keep absolutely everything crossed.
BJ’s was already hosting a pre- and post-curfew party for the big Manchester gig, as they often do, but just think how incredible it would be if the rock icons actually turned up in person. You can find out what else they’ve got planned on the night HERE.
Not only would it mean free-flowing beer for everyone in the gaff, but this would go down as one of the greatest stories in Greater Manchester music history.
If you want to up the chances of this happening, make sure you share it far and wide, getting @ing and pestering them, and hopefully we’ll see you at Bunny Jackson’s with the boys from Foo Fighters!
Oh, and lads, if you’re wondering why we all love it here, look no further:
Danny Jones -
19th June 2024 
