One of Greater Manchester’s grandest spaces has been reborn as a food hall and bar, with six traders inside.
This part of Oldham’s Old Town Hall, now with an ultra-modern new extension standing alongside its historic porticoed frontage, is now home to the 150-capacity space.
The old Egyptian Room’s original features, like its beautiful ceramic tiled walls and pillars, and its arched windows, have been perfectly preserved.
And now there are green leather booths and large tables sprawled around the space too.
The new food hall, The Egyptian Room, has traders serving everything from pizza and pasta to noodles and gyros.
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Ply Pizza are here serving heaped bowls of pasta, including beef shin parpadelle and carbonara, plus their signature pizzas like the pistachio pesto topped with a gooey burrata.
TukTuk has a menu full of Cambodian goodness like light bite street food items, sharing platters, spicy noodles and stir fries.
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TukTuk Cambodian food at The Egyptian Room. Credit: The Manc Group
Seacoles is a new name, a Caribbean trader serving tacos and ‘splits’ (which are fried dumplings stuffed with fillings like Cajun spiced stripped beef steak and jerk chicken), and huge plates of curry and rice and peas.
Then there’s The Last Stop, with smash burgers, gyros and loaded fries, and Wings of Power, where there are crispy-coated wings, tenders and burgers.
Arooj Shah, leader of Oldham Council, said: “The old town hall, what The Egyptian Room is part of and this whole complex here, was a really derelict, unloved building.
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Pizzas by Ply at The Egyptian Room. Credit: The Manc GroupSeacoles Caribbean food at The Egyptian Room. Credit: The Manc GroupTukTuk Cambodian food at The Egyptian Room. Credit: The Manc Group
“Jim [McMahon MP] had a vision for this whole building and the one thing Jim and I do share is our passion for Oldham’s heritage buildings and he had a vision to make use of something that was unloved and derelict for a long time.
“The importance of that was not just the history and the contribution of what happened in these buildings before us but actually as a nod to say that even in the most difficult of times, because it’s been hard the last 14 years, it’s a nod to say how much we value our residents.
“How even in the most difficult times, this inspiration and the ambition of our partners is a nod to every single one of our residents and communities, no matter who you are or what your upbringing is.”
The Egyptian Room is open now in Oldham town centre.
Inside Manchester’s new padel club with a Pot Kettle Black cafe and courtside cocktail bar
Daisy Jackson
Padel is the fastest-growing sport in the world, and it’s really picking up speed in Manchester now too with another city centre club opening this month.
The Pollen Club is a little different to the others, in that it’s fully undercover and protected from Manchester’s less-than-favourable weather.
And another thing that makes it a must-visit is the cafe attached to it – a third site for the beloved Pot Kettle Black.
The Pollen Club and Pot Kettle Black have both taken over a prominent city centre spot just off Deansgate, at the foot of the recently-opened Treehouse Hotel.
There are two state-of-the-art padel courts inside, with a mezzanine terrace for enjoy Pot Kettle Black’s offerings.
In summer, there are plans to launch a bar downstairs too, where you can sip spritzes courtside from loungers and swing seats.
The exciting new Manchester padel club will host pop up events, DJ takeovers and an extended evening food offering.
Pot Kettle Black are part of the new padel clubInside Manchester’s new padel club, The Pollen ClubPot Kettle Black are part of the new padel club
And even if you’re not heading inside The Pollen Club, Pot Kettle Black has a grab-and-go hatch facing onto Blackfriars Street, making their delicious coffees, sandwiches and pastries (from their own bakery Half Dozen Other) even more accessible.
Commenting on the opening of the new site, Pot Kettle Black co-owner, Mark Flanagan said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have opened our third Pot Kettle Black site at The Padel Club. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team.
“After ten years in the city we’ve been enjoying seeing some familiar faces stopping by for a coffee and we can’t wait to get started on our programme of summer events!”
Insomnia Cookies is giving away FREE cookies to anyone with these two names
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s late-night sweet treat spot Insomnia Cookies is dishing out freebies this week… but there’s a catch.
You have to be called one of two specific names to get one.
With the long bank holiday weekend upon us, those in-the-know will also have noticed that this Sunday isn’t just Easter Sunday, it also happens to be 4/20… and that means Insomnia Cookies is back with its ‘blazing’ £4.20 deal, giving you the chance to bag a box of four warm cookies while saving nearly £7 at the same time.
But even better still, if you happen to have either the first or middle name ‘Mary’ or ‘Jane’, then you can also get yourself a warm tasty cookie for free.
To mark both 4/20, and celebrate the launch of its newest strain of mouthwatering cookie, the Mary Jane, anyone called Mary or Jane can pop into either of Insomnia Cookies’ two Manchester city centre sites – Cross Street and University Green – show their valid ID with their name on, and walk alway with a cookie free of charge.
If you want to try the new Mary Jane cookie, then this limited-edition special is made up of a cookies n cream dough base, packed with rainbow sprinkles.
The freebie deal has been running all week, and you have up until 3am on Monday 21 April to take advantage of it.
Customers will be limited to one free cookie per day.
Insomnia Cookies is giving away free cookies to anyone with these two names / Credit: Insomnia Cookies UK
If you aren’t lucky enough to be called one of those two names though, then thankfully you can still make some great savings on a classic four-pack of cookies over the spring bank holiday weekend, and for every four-pack sold, £1 will be donated to Groundwork – a charity helping make Manchester greener for nature and for local people.
“We’re calling for Marys and Janes to join us to live the high life with free cookies all week,” commented Millie Ralston, Head of Marketing at Insomnia Cookies.
Daisy Jackson -
6th November 2024 
