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.
A bottomless brunch with unlimited booze AND pizza is happening in Manchester this weekend
Emily Sergeant
You can feast on all the pizza slices and booze your heart desires at a bottomless brunch happening in Manchester this weekend.
Manchester street food market and social hub, GRUB – which is tucked away in the Green Quarter, just outside of the city centre – is home to a wide range of rotating independent food and drink vendors that regularly hook Mancs up with some of the best eats from across the globe.
It’s also known for hosting a jam-packed lineup of events all throughout the year, and this bottomless pizza brunch is one fine example.
Teaming up with new independent trader, Pizza Mutt, foodie fans are invited to head on over to GRUB this Saturday for 90-minutes of tasty Tavern-style pizza slices and a stunning selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
When it comes to pizza, you can choose from a wide range of toppings.
There’s everyone’s favourite pepperoni, as well as double cheese and veggie picante for vegetarians, and marinara for vegans – with vegan cheese also available.
A bottomless brunch with unlimited booze and pizza is happening in Manchester this weekend / Credit: Detroit Slims | Flickr
Then, on the drinks lineup, there’s a selection of house beers – including GRUB’s very-own lager and pale ale – and Hogan’s Cider, as well as Aperol Spritzes, mimosas, and fizz, as well as some low and non-alcoholic options and plenty of soft drinks too.
Taking place this Saturday 22 February from 12-6pm, there are three sittings to choose from when booking – the 1pm, 2pm, and 4pm.
Each sitting includes 90-minutes of bottomless drinks and pizza.
Tickets will set you back £25 each, and you can grab them from the GRUB website here.
Featured Image – Heather Barnes (via Unsplash)
Eats
Almost Famous set to re-open less than a month after shock closure
Danny Jones
In a surprising but joyous turn of events, Manchester burger icons Almost Famous will be reopening this month barely a few weeks on from closing all of its UK sites.
Quite literally famed for spearheading the ‘dirty burger’ trend here in Greater Manchester, the North West and beyond, Almost Famous stunned local foodies when it announced it would be shutting down all of its restaurants back in January.
However, in what we can only dub a mini-industry miracle, Almost Famous is now set to reopen later this month after the brand has been rescued by one of its old staff members.
In fact, we could actually see at least one location reopen as early as Friday – yes, as in this Friday (21, February). An unbelievably quick turnaround.
With the franchise being taken over by developers D2 – the same food, drink and hospitality-driven team behind the popular PINS Social Club in Liverpool – Almost Famous’ Northern Quarter and Liverpool venues will both be returning by the end of February.
Although there is currently no news on the previous Greater Manchester sites and other previous locations such as Leeds, it looks as though the recovery process is happening fast.
Spearheaded by D2’s new MD, Daniel Kelly, who was Almost Famous’ former operations director between 2018 and 2022, he will oversee both the original restaurant in NQ and its Merseyside counterpart moving forward.
Announcing the return of a Northern culinary favourite, Kelly said: “We’re buzzing to get Almost Famous back – hire as many of the old team as we can, get the grills on and the burgers flying out.
“I’ve been part of this brand and I know what it takes to maintain its bigger, better, and make-it-outrageous approach.
Even their vegan and ‘Famous at Home’ offerings are among the best around. (Credit: The Manc Group)
He went on to add: “We’re here to bring back the legendary AF experience – killer service, next-level food, and all the chaotic, messy, unforgettable vibes that made Almost Famous, well… Famous.”
Nothing short of fantastic news and a much-needed win for the industry given the run of recent closures not just in Greater Manchester but up and down the country.
We’re very glad that the OG Manc burger scene is coming back and we can’t wait to see what the next chapter holds for them.
Daisy Jackson -
6th November 2024 
