A restaurant that only serves viral food inspired by trends seen on TikTok is opening in Manchester this summer, it has been revealed.
From nibbles like fluffy cloud bread and corn ribs to trendy pasta dishes like spicy vodka penne and whole baked feta fusilli, Mancs can expect to see all of their favourite TikTok recipes on the menu when PlateTok opens its doors in the Northern Quarter this summer.
It’s tipped to be taking over the old Nexus Art Cafe unit, a once-iconic basement cafe that has stood empty for the past two years after being hit hard in the early days of the Covid pandemic.
The new restaurant is the brainchild of Pete Stake – a former social media manager who decided to venture into the world of restaurants after seeing just how popular some of these viral food trends had become online in the last few years.
‘Ribs’ made out of sweetcorn took the world by storm – now they’re coming to PlateTok’s menu. / Image: Twitter
Pete spent a lot of lockdown eating TikTok recipes his partner would cook for him and, after being made redundant from his position at the end of last year, decided to delve into hospitality instead – taking his years of social media marketing experience with him.
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Now, he’s gearing up to open PlateTok this summer with a launch date set for the start of June.
Speaking on the new opening, Mr P Stake said: “I’m so excited to bring PlateTok to Manchester, I just can’t believe that no one has thought to do this before. Gimmicky restaurants seem to be all the rage right now.
“I came up with the idea in part thanks to my partner, who’ll cook me Nando’s pasta as a treat when I needed cheering up. It just got me thinking, I’d definitely go out for dinner to have this – and maybe others will be into it too.
“Sometimes it’s the maddest ideas that are the most successful – just look at Salt Bae’s Nusr-Et. People will really go and pay £100 to eat a sh*t burger wrapped in gold leaf, in the hopes of seeing him sprinkle a bit of salt off his arm.
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Mermaid toast with blue-green algae powders and almond milk cream cheese on Pollen sourdough is one of the dishes set to appear on PlateTok’s menu. / Image: Youtube
“Don’t worry, our prices won’t be anywhere near that – but the overall feeling of quirky, fun dishes that look good on your feed is still there. It’s all about bringing the social media experience to life in the restaurant.”
Further viral foods set to appear on the menu include burger tortilla ‘crunch’ wraps (made using locally-sourced beef from PlateTok’s neighbours The Butcher’s Quarter), baked pasta ‘chips’ with an olive tapenade dip, green and red bell pepper sandwiches, salmon rice bowls and a dish initially created by Lizzo called ‘nature’s cereal’ – which is really anything but.
Elsewhere, you’ll find ocean-blue Mermaid toast (blue-green algae powders and almond milk cream cheese on Pollen sourdough) and ‘Galaxy bagels’ loaded with pink cream cheese – a twist on the popular Rainbow Bagel trend that instead uses food colouring to create a cosmic starry-sky illusion.
As for drinks, think whipped coffees, bottles of pre-batched Jungle Juice, tamarind-rimmed mimosas packed with frozen fruit ice cubes and more, as well as a range of standard soft drinks, wines and beers.
Suffice to say, we’re really through that looking glass now, Alice.
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The site is expected to open this summer with a fresh, modern look.
Expect bright neon signs, industrial elements nodding to Manchester’s history and plenty of selfie traps – including a digital photo cutout board that can be customised with your own images, taking the TikTok Camera Roll Sticker firmly ‘irl’.
Due to open in Manchester sometime this June, no official launch date has yet been set so make sure to follow PlateTok on social media to keep up with further updates.
And if you made it this far without twigging the date… we are sorry.
Feature image – Google/ Twitter
News
Further disruption expected as more bus strikes announced across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Further disruption is expected as even more bus strikes have been announced across Greater Manchester this autumn.
It comes after the strikes set to place this month from 19 to 22 September were announced a couple of weeks back, and now a second round will take place towards the end of this month and going into early October.
In case this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who are employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – all of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – are due to walk out in a co-ordinated strike amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union says all the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
More strikes have been announced on the Bee Network this month / Credit: TfGM
At Stagecoach, around 1,000 drivers based across the Oldham, Stockport, and Middleton depots have rejected a pay offer of 3.5%, and 1,000 Metroline Manchester members will also do the same after turning down an ‘unsatisfactory’ below-inflation pay offer.
Workers at both Metroline and Stagecoach believe the offer doesn’t address years of low pay they’ve recieved, especially given the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Then, over at First Bus Rochdale, 110 members have rejected this year’s pay offer of 6%, as they feel this does not go far enough to address the fact they’ve had years of being paid less than their counterparts at other companies, and are still the lowest paid in the region.
Stagecoach, Metroline, and First Bus Rochdale, part of First Group PLC, are all firms which have seen a rise in profits in recent years.
2,000 drivers are set to stage strike action over two different periods / Credit: TfGM
The second round of strikes will now take place from from 30 September to 2 October.
Speaking ahead of both sets of upcoming strikes, Unite General Secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “These companies are very profitable but are putting greed over their hardworking members of staff.
“Further strike action will be extremely disruptive, however this is a dispute entirely of the bus companies’ making and they could solve it easily by coming back with a better deal.
“Our members involved in the dispute have Unite’s complete support.”
Unite Regional Officer, Colin Hayden, added: “The strikes this week as well as the further action we have called will cause travel chaos in Greater Manchester. However, it is entirely the fault of the employers involved, who have failed to address the issue of low pay and reward their staff accordingly.
“Unite is not afraid to escalate to more strikes, which will only intensify going forward.
“It is time for the employers to make an offer that is acceptable to our members to resolve this disruption.”
Featured Image – TfGM
News
Police appeal after Bolton woman, 24, dies in collision following suspected ‘medical episode’
Emily Sergeant
An appeal for information and witnesses has been issued following a fatal collision in Bolton earlier this week.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that at around 7pm on Tuesday (16 September), a car was travelling eastbound along Chorley Old Road, near to the Horwich area of Bolton, when it is believed to have lost control and collided with a wall.
Sadly, the driver of the car – a woman aged 24 – died at the scene, and it is believed she may have had a suspected ‘medical episode’.
No other vehicles were involved in the shocking incident.
#APPEAL | Officers are appealing for information following a fatal traffic collision in Bolton yesterday evening (16 September 2025).
The road was closed for large part of Tuesday evening, close to the junctions with Old Kiln Lane and Walker Fold Road – with at least six police cars reported to be in attendance at one point, as well as several paramedics and even an air ambulance.
Police are still investigating the full circumstances of the collision, and are now asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident to get in touch.
This also includes anyone with dashcam, CCTV, or doorbell footage which capturing the collision.
Georgina Pellant -
1st April 2022 
