Bury is famous for its historic market, home to everything from roast carvery sandwich spots to cake stands and the original Katsouris Deli, but venture five minutes down the road and you’ll find another interesting local gem.
Called Rawkies, this adorable family-run dessert cafe is the brainchild of husband and wife team Adam Greenwood and Sophie Bussey – and it’s offering something completely new to Mancs with a sweet tooth.
The first cafe of its kind in the north to sell edible, raw cookie dough, Rawkies specialises in cookies with a unique twist and has a host of different edible raw cookie dough flavours – spanning Birthday Cake, Chocolate Chip and Nutella, Honeycomb, Rainbow, Eton Mess, Fudge, and Vegan Salted Caramel Brownie.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
These can be ordered either as a ‘Classic Rawkie’ – mix-and-match scoops of raw cookie dough topped with various goodies like chocolate strands, whipped cream and sugary-sweet drizzles of sauce – or as something more substantial.
Other options see it stuffed into ice cream sundaes, atop pancakes, inside frozen cheesecakes, boozy (and regular) milkshakes, and even appear as an ‘egg and soldiers’ style combo with the addition of Kinder Milk Bars, white chocolate and caramel sauce.
Our favourite option, however, proved to be the ice cream breakfast bowls. Created as a nod to Northern Quarter dessert cafe Black Milk Cereal, which is run by a friend of Adam and Sophie’s, these swap cereal milk with soft serve ice cream for the ultimate indulgence.
With cereal choices spanning American favourites like Honey Hoops, Marshmallow Mateys, Cookie Crunch, Choco Snaps and Frosted Flakes, plus extra toppings like chocolate strands, saucy drizzles and flavoured crumbs, you can guarantee you will be leaving on a sugar high at the end of your visit.
Elsewhere, the cafe also offers a selection of hot drinks and bar snacks, dessert cocktails, coffees, lagers and ciders, with a second menu of sandwiches and sides, and even a raw cookie dough afternoon tea for two that requires a 24-hour booking notice period.
A charming little spot for a sugary pick-me-up, Rawkies is located in The Rock and opens from 12.30-10pm Tuesday to Thursday and 12.30-11pm Fridays and Saturdays. It is also available on Deliveroo.
Hotel Chocolat to open viral chocolate Velvetiser Cafe in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
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.
Drake-backed fried chicken brand Dave’s Hot Chicken is opening in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
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
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.
Georgina Pellant -
19th May 2023 
