There aren’t many meals quite as fulfilling as a huge helping of chips at the end of a night out – and an old relic in Manchester city centre had a reputation for exactly that.
The Station Chippy used to stand at Piccadilly Plaza, facing out onto rows of idling buses.
The Piccadilly Gardens takeaway wasn’t fancy, but it was the destination of choice for Mancs heading home from a night out for years.
At one stage, Station Chippy installed a hatch, from which it would pass out massive portions of chips swimming in gravy.
It also used to serve giant spring rolls and was famed for its spicy curry sauce, ladled onto chips.
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Piccadilly Plaza. Credit: Manchester Libraries
Professor Brian Cox even said, in an interview with the M.E.N. back in 2019, that it was his favourite place to eat in Manchester.
He told the paper: “I remember Piccadilly Gardens bus station vividly.
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“I didn’t go to Manchester very much until I was 16. I used to go to Cloud 9 on Cross Street.
“Me and my friends used to get the bus from Oldham to Piccadilly and walk down. I was a goth at the time so I used to walk down in overcoats and purple hair.
“Then at the end of the night we used to go to the chippy in the bus station chips to eat chips and curry sauce at 3am before we got the night bus back.”
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Memories of the Station Chippy were the talk of the town earlier this week, when people shared nostalgic memories in our Mint Manchester group.
Late nights in Station Chippy. Credit: Flickr, Portlandbill
Helen kickstarted the conversation with this post: “Does anyone else remember Station Chippy in Piccadilly Gardens, near where the bus stops are? Surely can’t just be me? Not sure what year it was there until but has to be at least 15 years as you could enjoy a post meal cigarette!!”
Chantelle replied: “Use to come out of Saturdays snd straight over there before getting our taxi home sh*t faced. Good old days”
Claire commented: “I do was it along the row of shops and picadilly radio was upstairs? Best chippy after the pubs and clubs at 2am in the 90’s”
Keri added: “Always finished the night queuing at the hatch before getting a taxi”
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Anita had a rite of passage at Station Chippy too, saying: “Had my first ever donner kebab in there!”
Station Chippy was underneath Piccadilly Radio. Credit: Manchester Libraries
Mark had a word of advice though, writing: “we use to order chips and gravy, then when they brought it over we’d say oh and can of vimto as well please, then leg it. Wasn’t a very good Idea running drunk with chips and gravy in a tray”
Over on Twitter, the subject turned to the stark lack of late-night chippies in Manchester these days.
Someone tweeted: “You know what you can’t get late on in Manchester after a few beers these days ? A decent chippy. Manchester used to be full of them. Every fkin corner. This is more important than Brexit.”
In reply, another said: “The station chippy at Piccadilly Gardens was the winner. Rest in peas.”
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Rest in peas indeed.
Featured image: Manchester Libraries / Wikimedia Commons
Food & Drink
The Greater Manchester book café serving literary afternoon teas and build-your-own bouquets
Daisy Jackson
If you like your afternoon tea with a side of good books, there’s a Greater Manchester café where you can quite literally have your cake and read it too.
Tucked inside this charming bookish spot, afternoon tea arrives with an unexpected twist. Rather than being presented with the usual three-tiered stand, you’re handed a stack of heavy hardback books.
But don’t start worrying that you’ve accidentally wandered into a very niche library club. The books are hiding something.
Lift the covers in Peony & Parchment – or, more accurately, open the book-shaped boxes – and you’ll discover a full afternoon tea concealed inside.
There are dainty sandwiches to get stuck into, including tiny egg mayo, herby chicken salad, ham and mustard, and cheese and tomato focaccia, alongside a little quiche.
Then comes the scone – classic, fluffy and ready for the obligatory dollop of clotted cream and jam. And, because no afternoon tea should leave you feeling like you’ve been short-changed in the cake department, there are five miniature slices to work through.
Afternoon tea concealed in a stack of booksSome of the other bakes on display
There’s a Victoria sponge with a dreamy vanilla cream, lemon drizzle, rich chocolate cake, a Bakewell slice and a pecan pie, all sourced from a local bakery just across the alleyway.
It’s all served with a pot of tea or coffee, with the option to add a glass of prosecco.
And the bookish theme doesn’t stop at the afternoon tea.
Downstairs you’ll find shelves packed with books, including the intriguing ‘blind books’. Instead of judging a book by its cover, you’ll be given clues and a short summary of what lies inside before taking a gamble on your mystery read.
Downstairs in Peony & Parchment‘Blind books’A role playing village for kids
There’s also plenty here to keep younger visitors entertained, thanks to a children’s area complete with a mini role-playing village.
And if books and cake weren’t enough, there’s another string to this café’s bow.
The Bloom Bar lets you build your own bouquet. Choose the size you want, then wander around selecting your own stems and foliage to create something that’s uniquely yours.
You can build your own bouquetThe Bloom Bar at Peony & Parchment
Of course, you don’t have to be visiting specifically for the afternoon tea. The wider menu includes tapas, full breakfasts and sandwiches, making it just as suitable for a leisurely brunch, lunch or coffee-and-cake stop.
So whether you’re there to discover your next favourite novel, assemble a bouquet, entertain the kids or simply eat your way through five different miniature cakes, this is one café where there are plenty of chapters to explore.
Acclaimed Manchester cocktail bar shuts down after a decade due to ‘persistent water issues’
Daisy Jackson
An acclaimed cocktail bar in Manchester has announced its closure after more than a decade in the city centre.
Wood & Company, which opened in a time when ‘secret’ and ‘hidden’ bars were all the rage in the city, has confirmed it’s closing down for good.
The bar has said that ‘persistent water issues in our old basement building’, along with rising costs, has led to them taking the touch decision to call it a day.
And the announcement comes just one week after Manchester bid farewell to another of its leading cocktail bars, when Red Light shut down.
Wood & Company is tucked away off Cross Street, disguised behind an almost completely anonymous door reading ‘Goods entrance, keep clear’.
The bar first opened in April 2016 on South King Street, taking over the former 39 Steps site, and was the work of the team behind fellow Manchester bars NoHo and Dusk Til Pawn.
From the outset, Wood & Company deliberately kept things low-key. There was no grand launch or flashy frontage – instead, drinkers had to find the unassuming entrance and head downstairs into a dark, intimate basement, where the focus was firmly on cocktails.
It quickly established a reputation for doing the basics exceptionally well, with a menu mixing classics with more inventive creations and bartenders who knew their stuff. While the ‘hidden bar’ trend eventually became something of a Manchester cliché, Wood & Company managed to outlast the fad and build a loyal following of its own.
Manchester cocktail bar Wood & Company has announced its shock closure
Over the years, its understated, New York-inspired atmosphere and serious approach to cocktails made it one of the city’s more enduring independent drinking spots.
But sadly, it’s now the end of the road.
Wood & Company said in a statement: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce this news.
“Unfortunately, due to persistent water issues in our old basement building and rising costs, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors for the final time after 10 years.
“Thank you to everyone who visited, many great nights were had.”
Daisy Jackson -
3rd December 2021 
