A family-run pub in Levenshulme that’s been serving its community for 32 years is closing its doors for good tomorrow.
Fiddlers Green on Stockport Road, Levenshulme revealed it will permanently shut its doors after one last service on Tuesday 18 April, leaving regulars heartbroken and owners ‘overwhelmed’ by their response.
The very independently owned Irish boozer, formerly known as Dicey Reilly’s, has been sold and its owners are now preparing for retirement.
Sharing the news in an emotional Facebook post at the start of the year, landlords Bridie and James wrote: “We’re emotional, we’re happy, and sad, and probably confused, but we’re pleased that we finally made the big decision.”
They continued: “We’re overwhelmed with the response we’re getting from Levenshulme and the wider community.
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“Levenshulme has been our home for so long it’s going to be hard to breakaway. St.Mary’s Parish has always been our parish and will remain so.”
Owners then went on to thank their ‘amazing’ staff and regulars, saying they had been ‘our life for so long’ but they had now ‘made the right decision for us.’
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Image: Fiddlers Green
Image: Fiddlers Green
Adding that they were ‘always very lucky to have the best staff’ and that they were ‘very proud’ of their ‘staying with us to until the end’, the post then went on to thank their family, saying: “We’ve put Fiddlers before you for so long and you always understood. Xx Thank you xx”
The post then finished with owners thanking locals for their support since the news broke, describing it as ‘unbelieveable.’
The popular boozer recently hosted its last St Patrick’s Day and saw so many well-wishers coming down that it had a queue out the street from 1pm in the afternoon until close.
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As a result, quite a few didn’t manage to get in leading landlord Bridie to take to Facebook again on 18 March to remind punters that the pub’s final day of service is 18 April, writing “I hope people who would like to visit us will find the opportunity before then.”
She finished by saying: “It has always been priority for myself and James to keep the staff and customers safe and comfortable hopefully we achieved that yesterday. Once again thank you all and finally we will be very very sad to leave our home of 32 years but it’s the right time for us. ”
The original post has since been liked over 500 times, with loyal regulars and other pubgoers pouring into the comments to share their stories of the Fiddlers Green at the end of an era.
One person wrote: “So sorry to hear the news about you going Bridie. I use to be a regular a while ago with my dear late mate Bill, you will both be missed very much in Levenshulme. Wishing you and James all the very best in your forthcoming retirement.”
Another person said: “I have many good memories from my time spent in the Fids! The most Vivid memory is one from 1992. I was part of a group of recent school leavers. We were sat upstairs in the Fids looking inconspicuous…. when myself and several other 16 year olds were asked for ID. We all proudly presented our 16-19 bus passes, which clarified all our ages to be 18. (Job done!)….. Sadly you identified that all our IDs displayed the same name and date of birth….busted…I think the fact that we had also smuggled in cans of lager with us didn’t assist our situation…..out we went! Best of luck x”
Image: Fiddlers Green
Image: Fiddlers Green
A third said: “Well the end of an era, we have been going into this fantastic pub since we moved into the area and always found it to be friendly happy with great customers and fantastic staff. So many memories hard to remember them all quiz nights and discos with Andy Murphy, Live Music the Gaelic Games on a Sunday along with all the other sports.
“I remember also the great racing days especially Cheltenham Gold Cup days when all my friends came from far and wide to enjoy the fantastic hospitality.Yes we will be sorry Bridie and James are leaving but need to say their retirement is thoroughly deserved.We are going to make the best of these next 3 months and savour all the wonderful memories and what better way to end with a Final Cheltenham Gold Cup day in the fiddlers.”
A fourth added: “Well the end of an era, we have been going into this fantastic pub since we moved into the area and always found it to be friendly happy with great customers and fantastic staff. So many memories hard to remember them all quiz nights and discos with Andy Murphy, Live Music the Gaelic Games on a Sunday along with all the other sports.
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“I remember also the great racing days especially Cheltenham Gold Cup days when all my friends came from far and wide to enjoy the fantastic hospitality.Yes we will be sorry Bridie and James are leaving but need to say their retirement is thoroughly deserved.
“We are going to make the best of these next 3 months and savour all the wonderful memories and what better way to end with a Final Cheltenham Gold Cup day in the fiddlers.
Featured image – Fiddlers Green
Food & Drink
Marco Pierre White praises Manchester restaurant serving ‘the best pizza’ he’s EVER had
Danny Jones
Legendary chef Marco Pierre White has given his verdict on where he thinks does THE best pizza not just in the UK but perhaps in the entire world, and it’s right here in Manchester
Rudy’s, Nell’s, Double Zero and now this – we really are spoilt for slices in 0161, aren’t we?
Pierre White, who was not only the first Brit to ever win three Michelin stars but the youngest person to achieve the feat in history, recently visited the restaurant in question and was more than happy to share his bold claims, dubbing it “the very best I’ve ever had in my life”.
That’s saying quite something, not only from one of the most famous chefs in the world, but given his own family heritage. He even saw fit to sign the menu and write the man in the kitchen a thank-you note.
A recent London export, which only just launched in spring 2025, the 63-year-old chef, entrepreneur and TV personality says that Forbici is now his number one, stating simply: “Let the pizzas do the talking.”
Noting that he’s been all over the world and eaten at some of the most highly-rated venues in the world (especially given the fact that he is of Italian heritage on his mother’s side), including some of the most authentic you’ll find in the likes of Naples, Rome, and so on, he still seemed confident in his declaration.
Citing other famous names in the world of cooking, like Nancy Silverton of Pizzeria Mozza fame, as well as fellow TV chef and restaurateur Mario Batali, he says that the creative takes on Neapolitan ‘pies’ that master baker Davide Argentino is currently cooking up are nothing short of “delicious.”
Having first become famous down in the capital for its name, which simply translates as ‘scissors’ – also the chosen utensil given to diners for cutting up their pizzas – it proved a smash hit when it made its way up North, garnering massive opening day queues outside its restaurant on the corner of Cross Street.
Better still, you can now order it to take away, too… Game-changer.
Now, it goes without saying that we’re lucky enough to have many restaurants serving some of the authentic food from various regions all over Italy, not to mention a plethora of incredible pizza spots in the city centre and the wider boroughs.
It’s no exaggeration, therefore, to say that we struggle picking our absolute favourite from week to week at this point.
What we will say is that we bloody love Forbici, too, and are glad to see them getting so much recognition since arriving in the region.
You can get 25% off your bill when eating out at this well-known Italian restaurant with a secret code
Danny Jones
Fancy going out for tea but still trying not to spend too much money at this time of year? Well, Manchester, you can get 25% off your bill at an already affordable British restaurant chain by simply saying a special phrase.
This deal is only available this week, though, so we wouldn’t wait around.
We’ve all been there: you’re fed up of getting home after working and having to cook, so you start trying to justify ‘just one‘ night out, but it can be a real pull between enjoyment and ease versus trying to save those pennies – especially with the festive period looming.
Luckily, well-known Italian restaurant group Carluccio’s, who have a site right here in central Manchester, is offering a significant discount by simply asking for the bill in Italian. Simple as.
As a recognisable name on the UK high street, the authentic Italian eatery dates back nearly three and a half decades, the London-born deli and food shop going on to open its first-ever sit-down venue called Carluccio’s Caffè back in 1999.
In addition to their long-standing Manchester location in Piccadilly Station, the brand was also a shop-window establishment for the Trafford Centre, sitting front and centre as one of the first places to eat as you walked in the Orient entrance.
Now, as for how you access this welcome bit of money off your bill, it’s very straightforward and can be secured as fast as you can say “The bill, please”; well, actually, you need to ask for it in Italian, as it is this phrase that Carluccio’s has dubbed the ‘secret code’.
Following a study by language learning app, Preply, which recently carried out research into menu anxiety and struggling to make a decision when dining out, they’ve teamed up with Carluccio‘s to help push people to feel more confident ordering dishes not in their native tongue.
They found that almost half (49%) have felt embarrassed about not speaking another language, with one fifth of those surveyed lacking the confidence to try and pronounce foreign words, while one in six worried they’d be judged for getting it wrong.
Well, there’s no getting it wrong in this instance, as the Carluccio’s and Preply are giving you the specific keywords not only to ask for the bill in Italian – “Il conto, per favore” – but to unlock the bonus of a quarter off the final sum.
Anna Pyshna, spokesperson at Preply, says: “People may know how to say gnocchi in theory, but when the waiter’s standing there, confidence can vanish. We want to show that getting things wrong is part of learning and sometimes, even worth a discount.
“By turning a simple phrase into a real-world reward, we’re helping people take that first, brave step to speak up. It’s a reminder that the language learning process doesn’t start with perfection, it starts with the willingness to try.”
So, that really is it: dine at any of their restaurants across the country (including here in Manchester) and ask for the bill in Italian to get 25% off your bill; once again, the offer is only on until 9 November. You can find your nearest Carluccio’s location HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
17th April 2023 
