Michelin-recommended gastropub The Moorcock has announced its permanent closure in an emotional statement.
The renowned country pub is a popular dining destination for Mancs, located a stone’s throw away in Sowerby Bridge.
As well as making its way into the Michelin Guide, The Moorcock also has a spot in the Top 50 Gastropubs and has received rave reviews from The Times’ Marina O’Loughlin as well as from us here at The Manc.
Despite its global reputation, its owners have announced in an emotional statement that The Moorcock’s days are numbered, The Hoot reports.
Aimee Turford, who runs the business with her partner Alisdair Brooke-Taylor, confirmed that it would cease trading in January next year.
The Moorcock pub in Sowerby Bridge announced its closure last night.
The decision has been prompted by the end of their five-year lease, as well as the ‘unstable world’ of rising costs, supply issues and ‘looming recession’.
She wrote: “Frankly, it’s just no time to be running a small business like ours.”
The heartfelt statement, which she said ‘reads like an obituary’, also thanked the hoards of ‘brilliant people’ who have supported The Moorcock every step of the way.
It says: “We feel such a deep affection for what our little place has become. A pub, a really good pub, with walkers and dogs and destination diners and locals and foodie-people, all mixed and mingled in together.
“This is our little place. Very much a ‘gnarly boozer’ (Mandy Wragg) on the outside, but which just brims with warmth on the inside. Where the flaws and the charm are all sort of mixed up together; inextricable. The antithesis of a shiny veneer with little substance.”
Aimee’s post goes on to stress the amount of effort that goes into every tiny detail in The Moorcock, down to the ingredients created in-house and the drinks list that has ‘something for everyone’.
Food at The Moorcock. Credit: The Hoot
It continues: “We have met so many brilliant people along the way- hundreds of you- who have supported us. Those that visit for food, for company, for the wine list or a few pints.
“Those who bring produce, come along to help with DIY and gardening, our neighbours who will get us out of trouble with anything from loo rolls to change- and more.
“There are those that have picked us up when we were down, especially during the pandemic. It’s been a truly special experience. One that can never be repeated or replaced, at least, not by us.”
The Moorcock has stated that it has ‘no plans’ to try and recreate the magic of the pub in a new site.
The Moorcock has announced its closure. Credit: The Moorcock
But it is urging people to pay a visit before January to make ‘the rest of our time here a celebration of The Moorcock’.
“Not much in life lasts forever, does it,” their statement says. “But sometimes, knowing when something will end makes it easier to make the most of what’s left. We certainly plan to do just that.”
And it adds: “We cannot know what is next for The Moorcock, but we are grateful to have been a little piece of its history. Love or loathe us, we suspect this incarnation will be remembered for a while. And we will never forget this little pub on this windy hill. With its wild weather, warm people and those sunsets. Which gave a lot and took a lot. In a way that things in life can sometimes.”
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.
Daisy Jackson -
31st March 2022 
