{"id":1150593,"date":"2026-08-15T20:05:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T20:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1150593\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T20:05:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T20:05:39","slug":"the-lost-attractions-of-the-trafford-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1150593\/","title":{"rendered":"The lost attractions of the Trafford Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trafford Centre has seen some remarkable transformations in its near three decades of existence.. Since opening on September 10, 1998, it has continued to grow with major additions including the Great Hall and the revamped Barton Square.<\/p>\n

In that time, there has been an ever-changing mix of shops, bars, and eateries<\/a> – with some of our favourite venues from yesteryear sadly no longer around.<\/p>\n

From the much-loved nightlife that was a big part of the centre when it first opened to other much-missed attractions, we thought it would be good time to reminisce on some of the old haunts.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/strong><\/a> to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Take a look below at some of the loved and lost places at the Trafford Centre to see how much it’s changed in nearly three decades. Let us know which was your favourite.<\/p>\n

Manto\"Manto<\/p>\n

Manto at the Trafford Centre(Image: Equity Construction)<\/p>\n

Let’s start off with some of nightlife that the Trafford Centre used be famous for. Many of us will have heard of Manto, one of the first bars on Canal Street, but did you know there was also a Manto at the Trafford Centre?<\/p>\n

Kitted out in red leather, Manto spread out across three levels with a restaurant and bar playing R&B and house music. It was there from the Trafford Centre\u2019s opening in 1998 but closed just a few years later.<\/p>\n

The Orangery\"The<\/p>\n

The Orangery in the Trafford Centre – later became a Frankie & Benny’s(Image: Trafford Centre)<\/p>\n

Before Frankie & Benny’s took over there was a pub called the Orangery. Designed to resemble the outbuildings of a stately home, it was located just outside the main complex near to a Travelodge hotel and a wooded area known as Wilderspool Wood.<\/p>\n

Back in the early days, the Orangery formed part of a thriving bar scene alongside Kro, Tiggis and Manto.<\/p>\n

Tiggis\"Tiggis<\/p>\n

Tiggis in the Trafford Centre<\/p>\n

Situated on the first floor of The Orient, Tiggis was a large and popular Italian restaurant and bar. It’s remember for having a vibrant, infectious atmosphere where customers wouldn’t just sit and eat, but would often stay to “dance the night away”. Giraffe and Pizza Express later took over where Tiggis once occupied.<\/p>\n

Trafford Tavern\"Trafford<\/p>\n

Trafford Tavern was a favourite bar for many<\/p>\n

Located inside The Orient, Trafford Tavern was an early pub offering inside the shopping centre. It was a popular American-style bar and grill that was fitted out by the same team behind Manto.<\/p>\n

After being open from the very star, Trafford Tavern closed in 2005 and was later taken over by Gourmet Burger Kitchen.<\/p>\n

Kro bar<\/p>\n

Located in The Great Hall eating zone, Kro brought sophisticated Scandinavian hospitality and modern drinking culture to the Trafford Centre. According to interior specialists Dawnvale who fitted the venue’s out, Kro secured the “final space” in The Great Hall to complete the zone’s initial lineup.<\/p>\n

Kro’s laid back Danish Style sported an L-shaped central bar, a fully illuminated glass back bar, and a continental deli area. The venue closed its doors in 2014 and was soon taken over and transformed into a Five Guys burger restaurant.<\/p>\n

Ma Potters\"Ma<\/p>\n

Ma Potters in the Trafford Centre<\/p>\n

Situated on the first floor, Ma Potter\u2019s was a taste of the American ‘Old South’, serving delicious home-cooked food sizzling off the chargrill. From burgers and juicy steaks to fresh seafood and swordfish.<\/p>\n

It later transitioned to a slightly different name, Potter’s Bar & Kitchen. Following its closure, the venue was taken over by All Bar One.<\/p>\n

Bradwells\"Bradwells<\/p>\n

Bradwells in the Trafford Centre(Image: Trafford Centre)<\/p>\n

Bradwell\u2019s was an English restaurant and tea room harking back to a bygone era of the 1920s and ’30s. The civilised restaurant and wine-bar sold everything from traditional English favourites like steak and kidney pie to sumptuous ice cream sundaes.<\/p>\n

Exchange Bar & Grill<\/p>\n

Also there from the start was the Exchange Bar & Grill, an American style diner offering classic US inspired dishes. Serving everything from ribs to salads, pastas to fajitas, sadly this once popular taste of Uncle Sam is now consigned to history.<\/p>\n

Festival Village\"Festival<\/p>\n

Festival Village in the Trafford Centre(Image: Trafford Centre)<\/p>\n

Situated at the end of Peel Avenue, this market-themed area was home to all kinds of quirky stalls from independent traders – including its own resident fortune teller. Some of the most popular stalls included Pink Parrot, Sock Shop and the Beanie Baby stall.<\/p>\n

Festival Village was the perfect place if you ever needed a break from the \u2018hustle and bustle\u2019 of the main centre while still doing a bit of shopping. Forget the designer name brands, it was about the curiosities beyond the high street’s big names.<\/p>\n

Despite being many shoppers favourite part of the complex, the Festival Village was replaced by John Lewis in 2005.<\/p>\n

The old McDonald’s in the Festival Village\"The<\/p>\n

The old McDonald’s restaurant and Baskin Robbins ice cream stall in the Trafford Centre(Image: Trafford Centre)<\/p>\n

Originally part of the Festival Village area, the old McDonald’s restaurant saw considerable renovation in the mid-00s. A McDonald’s can still be found in the Trafford Centre in The Orient food court, but it’s much smaller than the original restaurant.<\/p>\n

The old McDonald’s restaurant entrance was shaped like a giant carton of fries next to an enormous soft drink cup. Inside, moving figures of Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar travelled around an overhead track.<\/p>\n

The Rainforest Caf\u00e9\"Rainforest<\/p>\n

Rainforest Cafe in the Trafford Centre(Image: Trafford Centre)<\/p>\n

Part theme park, part restaurant, this Amazon-inspired attraction in The Orient had real life parrots, a giant aquarium, an animatronic alligator and a talking tree that told stories. No one remembers what food was served at the Rainforest Caf\u00e9 or even if it was any good, but who cared?<\/p>\n

We were there to eat chips and drink pop while an animatronic tiger appeared from within the \u201cjungle\u201d of fake plants next to our table, and we did so with much bewilderment and confusion from our parents. The Rainforest Caf\u00e9 was cruelly taken away from us in 2003 after only a few years of glory and happiness.<\/p>\n

It used to be situated where Nando’s now sits, and sometimes we wonder how different the world would be if it had just stayed with us for that little bit longer.<\/p>\n

The Adventures of Dreamieland\"Dreamieland<\/p>\n

Dreamieland was a children’s ride in Manchester’s Trafford Centre(Image: Reach Content Archive)<\/p>\n

Situated next to the old UCI cinema – now the Odeon – this kids’ ride was hardly a white-knuckle experience, but still quite the trip. The interactive, animatronic attraction was set in a world where Dreamies create dreams for children and guard them against the evil Dream Guzzlers – led by Queen Gazella – who try to turn them into nightmares.<\/p>\n

Passengers had to help the Dreamies in their constant battle by zapping the bad guys with ‘guzzler torches’ as they made their way around the five minute ride in one of 10 four-seater cars. Sadly, the attraction only lasted a few years before it was removed.<\/p>\n

The singing bears\"Singing<\/p>\n

Singing bears in the Trafford Centre(Image: Trafford Centre)<\/p>\n

Creepy or cute? We could never quite decide. But Barton Square’s animatronic singing bears are best remembered for their renditions of Time Warp. They ‘went on holiday’ according to a tweet from the Trafford Centre’s official Twitter account in 2015 – and haven’t been seen or heard from since.<\/p>\n

Disney Store\"The<\/p>\n

The Disney Store is still missed to this day(Image: Western Mail)<\/p>\n

Up until the last few years, the Disney Store was a staple part of the Trafford Centre shopping experience and was a must-visit in the build-up to Christmas. Who could forget walking into the shop to the sounds of the Lion King or Moana soundtrack, while being bamboozled with a plethora of Mickey Mouse memorabilia?<\/p>\n

But in 2021, it was reported that all Disney stores in the UK were set to close by September that year, except two flagship stores in London\u2019s Oxford Street and Dublin. And with that, we said goodbye to both the Trafford Centre and Manchester Arndale shop later that year.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Trafford Centre has seen some remarkable transformations in its near three decades of existence.. Since opening on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1150594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,21150,8838,246,8880,16,15],"class_list":["post-1150593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manchester","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-manchester","tag-manchester-nightlife","tag-nostalgia","tag-shopping","tag-the-trafford-centre","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117101328178917994","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1150593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1150594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1150593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1150593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1150593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}