Sports nutrition and clothing company Myprotein have opened up a brand new concept store in Manchester city centre, the first of its kind which aims to not only showcase their products but educate those who stop by.
The overall fitness brand might already have a base in Manchester but this is the first time the city has seen a brick-and-mortar Myprotein Kitchen location available to the public.
Opening on 14 October on Mosley Street just between St Peter’s Square and Piccadilly Gardens, the company’s new ‘nutrition kitchen’ concept offers those interested in getting fit or simply eating better the chance to eat in or order healthy food to takeaway, meet fitness experts, network and plenty more.
Showcasing their various Activewear, supplements and accessories, all of which will be available to purchase then and there, as well as activities and special events. There’s a lot of stuff going on in this space — you can even come here to recycle your old protein scoops.
Credit: The Manc Group
After popping our heads in to see what all the fuss was about, we were pretty impressed right from the off, to be honest. Featuring two large rooms where you can sample their healthy food and drink options, socialise with friends, get a bit of work done or even just nip in for a coffee, it feels like a real multi-purpose space.
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The menu includes everything from protein pancakes, three-egg omelettes with your choice of toppings; frozen yoghurt bark and smoked salmon bagels for breakfast, to chipotle chicken salad, teriyaki turkey meatballs, protein flatbreads and a one-pot lentil dahl for dinner (lunch). Everything we tried was just as filling as it was delicious.
And, of course, there are lots of cleansing juices and freshly made protein shakes, as well as the usual powders, supplements and nutritious snacks if you just need to top up your supply.
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Yes, not only is the place packed full of Myprotein’s bread and butter supplements and nutrition products but also their wide range of MP Activewear and accessories, which a few members of The Manc team already own and can vouch for their quality.
Open seven days a week from Saturday, 14 October, we already know this place is going to be extremely popular. In fact, there was a constant stream of people trying to come inside and try it out whilst we were getting our sneak peek, and if that isn’t a good omen we don’t know what is.
Speaking on the opening, CEO of THG Nutrition Neil Mistry, said: “Quickly following on from our recent brand evolution, we’re so excited for Myprotein to step foot into ‘own retail’ with a concept store in the heart of the city the brand was born in.
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“With a unique combination of great menu choices, events, talks and ways to get active, Myprotein Kitchen is here to activate all of Manchester’s healthy intentions, championing everyone to live a healthier, more active life.”
While the headquarters might be in Northwich, Cheshire, Myprotein’s foundations are here in Greater Manchester, so the city centre was the perfect place to try out this new concept store and we’re going to go ahead and say it works.
We’ve found some of the best Chinese food in town – being served out of a snooker hall
Danny Jones
Yes, you heard us right: we’ve stumbled across one of our favourite new places for Chinese food just on the outskirts of Manchester city centre – it just so happens to be served out of a best-in-class snooker hall.
And that really is just the tip of the iceberg here.
Some of you may have heard about and/or seen it already, but we’ll admit we were a little late to the party when it comes to Club 200, a.k.a. the pool, snooker, darts, mahjong club and more, which has so many different things rolled into that it’s really more a Russian doll than a Chinese restaurant or sports venue.
The hook speaks for itself: a place where people spend just as much time practising with chopsticks as they do their cues, as it really isn’t a gimmick, as some pessimistic folk would have you think – the food is banging and so are the vibes in general.
Not only is this quite literally the best snooker club in Manchester – complete with everything from classic American billiards and Chinese 8-ball to king-size snooker tables that the Ronnie O’Sullivan has played and won on, to a special AI system you won’t find anywhere else – it is SO much more than that.
Whilst the backroom was packed with everyone from casuals to those looking to get their pro certification via the official Q Tour, and lads in the front were practising their arrows, as co-owner Simon admitted they get almost just as many darts regulars these days, a storm was cooking up in the kitchen.
It would be unfair to say this place doubles as a bar and restaurant, because we really couldn’t get over how well put together this menu was.
‘Café 200’s food offerings involve classics like fried rice and chow mein dishes, to the kind of sides you could expect from your local Chinese chippy, but it’s even more authentic exports that really impress.
For instance, the beef ho fun seemed to be a big hit with everyone; we loved the salty seafood udon as well (a great chew on those noodles), and we know plenty of people still searching for proper Hong Kong-style French toast – they might just find it here.
Speaking of the special administrative region, which has a twisting and turning but nevertheless rich culinary culture all of its own, that last dish had us hopping with joy.
You’re looking at baked Portuguese rice: a Macau speciality rooted in the region’s colonial history.
We’ve never quite had anything like it before, even in all of our years eating this kind of cuisine around the 10 boroughs, but we haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
And then there’s everything else they do, from karaoke and bingo nights to catering for birthdays and other functions, or even just serving as a cool, somewhat tucked-away spot to watch the footy and other live sport come the weekend.
You can tell this place has built up a real community over the last 18 months or so, and while the food speaks for itself, it’s the sheer abundance and variety going on that makes it especially charming to so many.
Speaking of jack-of-all-trade venues, we stumbled across a similar multi-talented one over in Salford not so long ago, too…
The Franco Manca ‘pizza run’ explained – it involves freebies
Danny Jones
If you’ve been wondering why you’re seeing a lot of free pizza lately – especially among any of your mates that happen to be runners – but just hadn’t bothered to actually ask, we’re here to explain the current Franco Manca pizza ‘run trend’.
And yes, we were the foolish ones enough to have not quizzed any of our jogging chums until now, meaning we’ve missed out on more money and free pizza. Sigh.
Nevermind, though, because at least we spotted it before the end of the month (this being Franco Manca’s main January deal), and we dare say that now you’ve heard about it, you’ll see plenty others popping up on social media with their free slices.
That’s right, it may be a very thin slice with a very long and thin slice, but that is as much of a pizza slice outline as we needed to qualify for the current deal.
Yes, we’re aware that the actual pepperonis on ours are more square than most – listen, we did our best, and we’ve certainly seen people pulling off better overall shaped pizzas than us; that’s part of the fun/and or challenge.
For instance, we didn’t mean for our picture to come out with one long crust running down either…
So, how does it work, you ask? Well, it’s quite simple, to be fair. All you have to do is run a pizza-shaped route (any pizza shape works, by the way), map your route on the likes of Strava or Apple Fitness, etc., then show your creation at your nearest and claim a quid off for every kilometre you run.
As advertised on the ‘Map My Pizza Run’ page on their website, the aim isn’t about putting pressure or hitting a strict target; you simply get rewarded the longer you go.
Here’s a handy example from a local running content creator for you:
In our case, we joined up with native run club, Manchester Road Runners, for one of their regular social ‘SLRs’ (Sunday Long Run), chalking off 19km, which meant £19 off your next pizza – i.e. FREE and then some, baby.
Not only did the local group give themselves the perfect motivation as part of their training for the 2026 Manchester Marathon, but we also found that the steadier, chatty pace was super helpful for getting through the whole thing.
There are some stipulations, such as not being used in conjunction with any other offer, one pizza map being valid per person, and the route has to have been run in January. You can find the full terms and conditions HERE.
Oh, and technically, you can do it however you like: run, walk, cycle – you name it. Other than that, we’ve pretty much given you all the info you need to know, so go and get yourself some free pizza.
Danny Jones -
13th October 2023 
