You can probably thank it for the rise of avocado on toast
06:30, 06 May 2026Updated 06:56, 06 May 2026
The Trof, on Thomas Street in the Northern Quarter, has undergone a revamp(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
In the 23 years since it first opened, Trof, on Thomas Street, has seen the Northern Quarter evolve from a 19th-Century industrial textile hub into a quirky slice of Manchester’s bohemia and nightlife. And it is evolving still – with the emergence of high-rise apartment complexes and skyscrapers
Trof too has gone through a number of iterations throughout the years. For some, memories of the place might be those of crowded Friday nights full of live music and dancing, whilst others may know it best for its midweek bourbon selection or its hangover-cure breakfasts on a Sunday morning.
This week, the venue has reopened following its biggest overhaul to date.
Tweaking its name to The Trof, the revamped space aims to be both an independent pub and a dining room serving refined British food. Led by restauranteur Matt Nellany and chef Jamie Pickles, who are both also behind Deansgate restaurant and cocktail bar Stow, it’s something that aims to keep the place at the heart of the Northern Quarter as it has been since 2003.
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“I think we all have our own very different memories of this place,” Matt, who first joined the venue as General Manager in 2017, tells the Manchester Evening News. “It’s fluctuated through so many different things over the years – I think most people will remember it as a bar – but in recent years, it has leaned more towards a pub atmosphere with comfort food.
“That’s what we’ve basically doubled-down with here. We wanted to be a bit more consistent in terms of what we were doing and to elevate.”
Three years ago, Matt saw the opportunity to take over the venue from its original owners Mission Mars, led by Adelaide Winter and Joel Wilkinson, putting it back as a NQ independent. Jamie joined not long after to completely overhaul its menu.
The upstairs dining room serves up an eclectic menu including hogget mince on dripping toast and an ox cheek pie with Ratte potato mash(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
We were looking at different sites to open up a pub and then we realised we had the different pub in Trof all along,” Jamie explains. “We wanted it to become a place where you could come and some snacks downstairs, and then head upstairs to the dining room for a beautiful plate of food. Separating the two spaces was quite a big thing for us.”
For the recent revamp, the venue’s menu has been described as a ‘love letter’ to British pub classics and local produce. Starters feature the likes of hogget mince on dripping toast and dressed Devon crab salad, whilst mains include an ox cheek pie with Ratte potato mash, Salmon with trout roe beurre blanc and mussels, and Pork collar with cabbage and bacon. Desserts stem from favourites like sticky toffee pudding to a cherry Bakewell tart in a nod to Jamie’s Peak District upbringing.
The downstairs pub also serves a range of snacks, like homemade scotch eggs, crab on toast, pork pies, cheese on toast and crispy potatoes with tartare sauce. Asked for any particular highlights, it’s these snacks which Jamie says he’s ‘most excited about’.
Matt Nellany and Jamie Pickles are behind The Trof
“They’re just presented really simply,” he explains. “There’s not really any garnishes or side sauces with them – it’s a scotch egg or a bit of pork pie. I think the crab on toast is as about boujee as it gets. It’s a typical pub snack that’s been elevated and created to work perfectly with a pint. I think they’re the best pub snacks you’ll be able to find anywhere around here, really.”
In 2024, Matt and Jamie opened Stow, a bar and restaurant on Bridge Street with a ‘live open fire’ concept, which has gone down particularly well in the city. It has also received a mention in the Michelin Guide for its ‘imaginative’ menu which ‘feels like a restaurant for its our times’.
“The public house should be one of the most welcoming places in the world, right?,” Jamie explains when asked how Stow might have helped curate The Trof’s new identity. “You should be able to come inside, with no pretences and just enjoy yourself. But that all comes down to being hospitable. It’s about making people feel at home, and that’s definitely something we’re trying to do here. Trof has been part of the community for so long, and it’s just about backing that position up with brilliant product behind it.”
English asparagus with a soft-boiled egg is one of the new additions to the elevated menu
“People are very aware of what they’re spending right now,” Matt adds. “So when they do spend their money on something, they want to make sure it’s brilliant and worthy. Everything we do here – whether it’s the service, the menu, or the atmosphere – always has to be top notch.”
And asked why Trof has managed to remain a key part of the Northern Quarter, Matt and Jamie say its a combination of reasons – but it’s mostly down to the fact that it’s not been so confined in what it is. “It’s been adaptable,” Matt suggests. “It started off as a bit of a brunch place, it was one of the first places that really brought avocado on toast to the Northern Quarter like 20 years ago – that craze was borne in Trof.
The Trof’s new revamp as a pub and dining room is about it becoming more welcoming(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
“Very quickly after that, the nightlife backed things up and it turned into more of a bar. For a few years, it was one of those places that was always busy until about 3am. We noticed that then dropped off, and we built up the food element.
“As long as I’ve known the Northern Quarter, it’s changed dramatically. Lots of great things have started here but, you know, institutions have gone – like Bluu Bar and TNQ, which was a really great restaurant but no longer exists – and lots of things have changed.
A range of bar snacks, including scotch eggs and pork pies, are on offer in the downstairs bar(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
“We’ve had to adapt massively, but we’re very fortunate to still be here. One thing we’ve learnt is that everybody has a story about Trof, the amount of people who have told us they had their first date here and now they’re married.
“It’s quite tough sometimes to compete with that nostalgia when you’re trying to do something different and change it up. We never want that nostalgia and love to go, but we feel like we are ready for that next step in the story of Trof now – we feel we’re bringing something that’s really missing to Manchester.”
The Trof is on 8 Thomas St, Northern Quarter, M4 1EU.