First Look | Grué Pastry – Alty’s real introduction to ‘entremet’, a.k.a one of our new foodie obsessions

Danny Jones Danny Jones new French Grue Pastry patisserie Altrincham

We might have a new sweet treat obsession, and it’s all Grué Pastry’s lovely fault: the small but pretty new pâtisserie and café over in Altrincham.

Located just off the busy Stamford Quarter, you’ll find Grué’s stylish little shop and already plenty of nosy passersby being seduced in by its pristine white counter.

While they do more familiar traditional desserts like tarts, cookies and tiramisu, their signature item is the wide range of ‘entremets’.

Even tinier than the venue, but packed full of different fillings, textures and layers (SO many layers), these picture-perfect treats almost look too stunning to eat, but of course, we did.

It’s not just a shiny little chocolate, nor is it merely a posh miniature cake with some clever decorations – this is quite literally an art form, and it takes time and precision – lots of it, in fact.

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Requiring plenty of technique and patience, anyone who has the talent and persistence to pursue this very specific genre of pastry has our eternal admiration.

A rather painstaking process, split over a number of days, each carefully designed and layered entremet is a real labour of love.

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For instance, not only is everything made from scratch right down to the most minute detail possible, but the inserts have to be mixed, assembled, frozen and then allowed to fully set before any of the finishing touches can be put on.

We’ve seen these kinds of ‘fake fruits’ and cakes with surprise interiors before, but nothing as delicate and nuanced as these. 

Co-owner Wissam Jedar joked that they can’t exactly grow their own pistachios, but they can flavour and roast them themselves, control every how much sugar, spice, and everything nice goes into these perfect few bites.

Credit: The Manc Eats

He also told us about how many people have been surprised by just how filling these things are.

They’re not just a small mouthful or two, as some people expect; the various considered and contrasting layers of rich and varied textures inside an entremet are like biting into something entirely new each time, especially when the appearance can often be intentionally deceptive.

It’s also impressive how many of these aren’t as naughty calorie-wise as you might expect.

They rely almost entirely on all-natural sugars only, and the flavours come through fresh, clean, not too sweet and often super sharp. Picture biting into what you think is ‘obviously’ lemon dessert in a light chocolate shell shaped like an actual lemon, only to taste fresh, chilled and tart apple with fragrant mint…

Are you kidding? Incroyable.

But this is just the start. Wissam also told us that both he and his partner, Farah Bioche, have to try their hardest not just to create consistently uniform entremets, but also not to let their imaginations run too wild and come up with concoctions as crazy as some of those they think up.

He says that Farah, in particular – the master baker behind their incredible workshop in Salford and the in-house bakery in their new Alty kitchen – has some seriously BIG ideas, but they’re trying to drip feed and nail them before fully introducing them to the menu.

They cater for events, do larger-scale desserts and are perfect for Valentine’s Day. (Credit: The Manc)

Another example of this is when it comes to the hot drinks menu. There’s a simple but classic coffee menu too – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? – but they’re also planning to add coffees with special meringue and even tiramisu toppers. Yum.

With Wissam’s sister running the social media, word of mouth spreading fast, and locals quickly catching on to the buzz behind this new opening, we reckon it won’t be long before you see this place all over your timelines.

They’ve also noted that despite raising a few eyebrows over price points at first, once someone has tried one (however speculatively), it usually isn’t too long before they come back to hold their hands up and sample another one.

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So, if you’ve a bit of a sweet tooth but don’t want to be left feeling like you’ve overindulged in something slightly too sickly, trying an entremet from Grué in Altrincham town centre might just be your ticket.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

Passengers urged to ‘plan ahead’ as Manchester Piccadilly prepares to close for nine days next week

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Passengers are being urged to ‘plan ahead’ as Manchester Piccadilly prepares to close for nine full days from next weekend.

In case you hadn’t heard, it was announced last November that Manchester Piccadilly train was going to have to shut in February 2026 for what is described as being a ‘once-in-a-generation upgrade’… and now, we are less than two weeks away before that officially becomes a reality and very few train services run in or out of the station.

Network Rail is investing £7.9m into the major upgrade at Manchester Piccadilly station – with the main points of action being to improve tracks, points, and signalling systems on the southern approach to Manchester Piccadilly station.

Teams are due to replace 11 sets of points, renew timber sleepers with modern, concrete equivalents, and alsobring lineside equipment ‘bang up to date’ across six lines to improve future journeys for passengers and freight.

Investment in this apparent ‘critical stretch’ of track has been long awaited, as any issues with the ageing infrastructure can disrupt all trains running in and out of Manchester.

Passengers are being urged to ‘plan ahead’ as Manchester Piccadilly prepares to close for nine days next week / Credit: Network Rail

The nine-day closure, although expected to cause commuting chaos, is tipped to ultimately deliver ‘better and more reliable journeys’ for passengers in the long run.

The main work takes place over nine days during February half term, from Saturday 14 through to Sunday 22 February 2026.

And what does this mean for anyone travelling exactly? Well, the scale of the work spanning all main lines means no trains from the south and east of the city will run into Manchester Piccadilly for the full nine days, while trains from the north will also be heavily impacted, as will direct connections to Manchester Airport station.

There will be a limited service westbound from Platforms 13 and 14.

The train shed (Platforms 1-12) will also close for the full nine days, but Manchester Piccadilly station’s concourse will remain open to the public.

“During this time, we are advising passengers to travel light, allow extra time for their journey, and be prepared to queue, as stations and rail replacement services are expected to be very busy,” National Rail said in its statement issued ahead of the closure next week.

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“We have worked with train operators, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Manchester City Council to develop an alternative travel plan during the closure, to keep passengers moving smoothly to their destination.”

You can plan your journey on the Northern Rail website here.

Featured Image – Network Rail

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