Fans and staff alike were heartbroken when Chorlton restaurant Peck & Yard announced it was closing its doors for good in August with an emotional farewell video.
At the time the team said they ‘did [their] best but unfortunately it wasn’t enough’, sharing a farewell video last month that showed staff members hugging one another and ‘holding back tears’
Now, they’ve revealed they’re reopening under a new name and switching up their concept, from fried chicken to ramen and sushi.
Peck & Yard first made its mark on south Manchester foodies with its deep-fried baskets of chicken, which were served with a huge array of different pan Asian dipping sauces.
Image: Shogun Ramen and Bar
Peck & Yard first made its mark on south Manchester foodies with its deep-fried baskets of chicken. / Image: Peck & Yard
Now, bosses will try something entirely new as they delve into the world of Japanese noodles and hand-rolled sushi under the new guise of Shogun Ramen and Bar.
Taking to social media to share the news, the team explained that a sushi and ramen concept was something they had originally considered prior to opening Peck & Yard and that “with the times we’re in” they thought “why not go back to the original idea and give this one last shot, to bring life back to our lovely restaurant.”
Read more:Award-winning Chorlton chicken restaurant closes for good with emotional farewell video
Opening this Friday 30 September, diners can expect to find an array of steaming bowls of traditional ramen broth and noodles alongside a selectin of different sushi options.
Whilst the menu is not currently available to view online if the flavours of the old Peck & Yard menu are anything to go by we’re expecting big, delicious things.
The restaurant is still waiting for its new sign to arrive, and can currently still be found under its old Peck & Yard banner.
Sharing the news of its revival on social media, bosses said: “We have rebranded our restaurant to “SHOGUN RAMEN & BAR”. We are serving traditional ramen & sushi right here in our lovely Chorlton Manchester.
“Why ramen? It’s was one of the choices we had available before Peck N Yard and with the times we’re in, we thought why not go back to the original idea and give this one last shot, to bring life back to our lovely restaurant.
“We always loved ramen and we hope you guys will love it too.
“We are doing a soft launch this coming Friday at 5pm, it would mean the world to us to see you all come through this weekend 🙏❤️.
“Thank you for sticking with us. We are truly grateful
“See you all this Friday at 5pm!”
To follow Shogun Ramen and Bar click here.
Feature image – Shogun Ramen and Bar
Food & Drink
Lively Irish pub Nancy Spains set to open in Manchester for the first time
Daisy Jackson
An Irish bar famed for its live music is heading up to Manchester for the first time, and is promising £2.50 pints to lure us in.
Nancy Spains will be venturing out of London for the first time promising to bring the ‘ultimate traditional Irish pub experience’ to the Northern Quarter.
If you were to ask what the hottest trend in hospitality is right now the answer would, apparently, be Guinness. We’re drowning in the stuff.
This latest opening is more about Murphy’s, another Irish stout, than Guinness (they actually won’t serve Guinness at all) but the craic will be much the same.
Nancy Spains is actually set to open almost directly opposite the aforementioned Salmon of Knowledge, taking over the former Corner Boy unit on Stevenson Square in the heart of Manchester.
To celebrate its opening, the pub will be serving its first 5000 pints of Murphy’s for just £2.50, so that it can show off the atmosphere that’s established it as ‘one of London’s favourite pubs’.
They’re promising an array of Irish whiskeys behind the bar, live music performances, and a lively late-night setting.
Nancy Spains was set up by three brothers who travelled all over their home county of rural Kerry researching Irish pubs, before launching two venues down in London.
They want it to balance a traditional pub with the vibrancy of the city.
Peter O’Halloran, co-founder of Nancy Spains commented, “We’re so excited to be launching in Manchester, bringing Nancy Spains to the heart of the Northern Quarter.
“After the success of our two venues in London, it was only right to bring Nancy Spains’ infectious spirit and Irish pride to Manchester. Slainte!”
Nancy Spains will open its first Manchester pub on Saturday 15 March at 21 Hilton Street.
Lucky Mama’s – The Italian restaurant serving pasta in a dough bowl and ‘pregnant’ pizzas
Daisy Jackson
Lucky Mama’s is a local sensation, thanks to its slightly whacky but delicious Italian creations like pasta served in a bowl made of pizza dough and its latest offering, a ‘pregnant’ pizza.
What on Earth is a pregnant pizza, you ask? Firstly we should stress this is a nickname we’ve bestowed upon the dish, rather than Lucky Mama’s chosen branding.
But essentially it’s a helping of fresh pasta that’s folded into the bubble crust of the pizza, like a half-calzone.
Lucky Mama’s started life when founders Mamadou Dhiam and Gaby Santos set up a trailer in their backyard in Eccles in the depths of lockdown.
But thanks to a formidably loyal following that’s spread the word of Lucky Mama’s far and wide, it now has two pretty pink restaurants in Greater Manchester.
Back in 2022, they threw open the doors to their Chorlton restaurant, before returning back to home turf for spot number two in Monton in 2024.
The recipes are fresh and pretty authentically Italian up until the last step, when they throw a curveball by loading their pasta into unconventional vessels.
‘Pregnant’ pizzas at Lucky Mama’sTraditional Roman pizzasLucky Mama’s pink restaurant in Chorlton
Their pasta pizza bowls are what they’re best known for and they fly out of the kitchen – this is where pizza dough is placed around a metal bowl before being baked in an oven.
Then it’s piled high with freshly made pasta, with popular flavours like cacio e pepe, mushroom alfredo, and rasta pasta.
Pasta is available in a regular ceramic bowl too.
You’ll find Lucky Mama’s at 565 Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton; and 217 Monton Road in Eccles.
Georgina Pellant -
29th September 2022 
