Head on down Monton Road in Eccles and you’re in for a pleasant surprise because, unbeknownst to many, it’s now home to one of Greater Manchester’s best butty shops.
Called The Bread Club, this family-run spot has been open just over a year and it happens to sell some of Salford’s fattest sandwiches (as well as the chunkiest hand-cut chips we’ve had in a while).
Run by in-laws Louise and Jack, the Eccles sandwich spot continues to fly under the radar but has already garnered a host of fans from local critics and sandwich enthusiasts alike.
Equipped with a huge glass counter that’s simply brimming with sandwich fillings, as the name suggests there is also a good selection of bread to choose from with hoagies, bloomers, rye and other loaves on offer.
The Cubano sandwich at The Bread Club in Monton. / Image: The Manc Eats
Three of The Bread Club’s most popular butties (top to bottom): Rueben on Rye, The Cubano, Taco Chicken. / Image: The Manc Eats
On the sandwich menu, you’ll find a selection of eight different signature sarnies including the famous must-try ‘Taco Chicken’ hoagie, which features chicken breast, peppers, and onions enveloped in a secret sauce and then topped with Swiss cheese and jalapenos.
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Other heavy hitters include the Cubano – a mixture of roasted ham, pulled pork, melted Swiss cheese, sliced pickles and house mustard – and the Rueben on Rye, which combines Thousand Island dressing and Dijon mustard with sliced pastrami, melted cheese and sauerkraut.
The Bread Club also serves its own signature take on a club sandwich and a classic tuna crunch, alongside a vegan-friendly smashed chickpea option with vegan mayo, cranberry, spinach and fresh avocado, the latter served on a bloomer of your choice.
On top of all that, there’s also a solid selection of classic £5 toasties on offer – think ham and cheese, tuna and cheese, two cheese, or cheese and tomato – plus sweet treats like gooey chocolate brownies and the most gigantic cookie pie we’ve ever seen up close.
Add to this the aforementioned proper chunky chips, which Jack assures us have amassed a solid following of their own amongst Manchester’s Irish population, and it’s not hard to see why so many local foodies insisted we pay this place a visit.
if you take your sandwiches seriously, then trust us when we say you need to give The Bread Club a visit. You won’t regret it.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
A tiny new train station pub is set to open at Manchester Oxford Road
Daisy Jackson
A tiny craft beer pub is set to open at Manchester Oxford Road, making all those inevitable train cancellations a little sweeter.
The new boozer will come from the same team behind some of the UK’s best train station pubs, who already have bars at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria.
A licensing application has now been submitted by Bloomsbury Leisure Holdings Limited to take over the former cycle hub at Manchester Oxford Road.
The small building is directly opposite the entrance to the busy train station on the southern side of the city centre.
If approved, it will be the third site for the pub group in Manchester.
They already operate the Piccadilly Tap, that two-storey beer bar on Piccadilly Approach with a heated rooftop space and outdoor patio.
The team are also responsible for the more recently-opened Victoria Tap, which took over the former bin store at Manchester Victoria.
That particular pub has a heated beer garden constructed just inches away from where the trams tootle past and has a departures board where time is measured by pints (got 10 mins til your train leaves? That’s one pint, sir!)
As for the Oxford Road Tap, a new account on X appeared a few weeks ago that appears to confirm the imminent arrival of a new pub.
The Oxford Road Tap have applied to have opening hours through to half-past-midnight Sunday to Thursday, and until 1.30am on Fridays and Saturdays.
They teased a mocked-up photo of posters outside the station with the new pub logo, plus a slogan of ‘Great beer is just a few steps away…’
They later shared ‘Triple threat incoming’ with all three pub brands lined up as a deck of cards.
Northern Quarter favourite Pie and Ale has sadly closed down
Danny Jones
Beloved Northern Quarter eatery and pub Pie and Ale has sadly and quietly closed its doors this week in yet another gutting bit of news for the Manc hospitality sector.
Known for its legendary homemade pies, great selections of ales, craft beers and lagers, not to mention a great little pub when it comes to watching live sport, it’s long been considered an NQ institution.
Unfortunately, however, as confirmed by a sign posted in the window, Pie and Ale has now closed for business after more than a decade.
Safe to say, we’re absolutely gutted, as we’re sure everyone else is.
Credit: The Manc Eats
While no official announcement has been made on their social media as yet, which will no doubt receive love and sadness from its loyal following, the sign in the window simply reads: “Pie and Ale has unfortunately ceased trading. Apologies for any inconvenience.”
The local favourite which was always hailed for being great value for money – celebrated especially for its popular pie and a pint for under a tenner deal – also served up great nibbles and light bites as well as dessert specials.
Although the Lever Street spot previously shut down for a short spell back in 2018 due to what they labelled as “unforeseen circumstances” before reopening just two months later, this latest update looks pretty definitive.
Sister-site Bakerie also ceased trading back in April 2019, with husband and wife founders, Alyson Doocey and David Cook, admitting that all independents had been “feeling the squeeze”.
While we have few other details at this stage, it does look like Pie and Ale has indeed closed down for the foreseeable future.
A mainstay on our list of the best pies in Manchester since day dot and just the latest in the list of losses in 2024 so far, they will be sorely missed.
We sincerely hope this is like last time and will keep our fingers crossed that we see the pie pros and expert pourers back in business at some point.
Georgina Pellant -
5th April 2023 
