First Toastie Restaurant in the Country Opens in Manchester

Crumbs… toastie lovers rejoice! The first toastie restaurant in the country opens in Manchester today, and people can’t wait to check out Barry Chui of Salford’s new eatery!

Located on Portland Street, in the heart of Manchester, you can now find Frankie’s Toasties. The first toastie restaurant in the country; and with thirty-two fillings, Frankie’s Toasties plan on earning a crust from toasted bread… and fillings!

A toastie, to most, conjures up good memories of growing up on a budget. But toastie enthusiast, Barry Chui, has seen a niche in the market, and taken the humble cheese (and ham) toastie to a whole new level! So-much-so, that his new restaurant, Frankie’s Toasties, has ditched the cheese and ham classic for some rather interesting replacements!

Some of Frankie’s Toasties fillings include; Japanese Katsu Chicken Curry and the Salford Super Noodle Butty, with other fillings featuring melted Mars Bars or Caramac to name a couple of the sweeter ones.

Although some of the options on Frankie’s Toastie menu may sound like they have been drafted by students, there are some mouthwatering pieces on there too. The Little Sicily for example has a mozzarella, prosciutto, tomato and fresh basil filling, or the more conservative option of the Sir Richard Branston which is served with cheddar, mozzarella and Branston Pickle.

According to Barry, the idea for opening a toastie shop came about when he was sat at home with empty cupboards, with nothing other than a half eaten piece of cheese, and a shed-load of beans! Barry ‘knows’ that everybody loves a toastie and, with the right filling, skys the limit!

Barry’s inspiration for many of the fillings featured on the the Frankie’s Toasties menu are inspired from travelling. He certainly has introduced a number of bold flavour combinations to pack a punch for lunch, and has created a real buzz around Manchester city centre and beyond about the launch of his new toastie restaurant… that’s for sure!

His trip to Tokyo is where he discovered the Korean barbecue, which inspired his (red hot) spicy ramen with cheese which is featured on the menu. Although Barry has a list of flavour combinations longer than all of his toasties put together, Barry is willing to put any flavour combination in any toastie.

In Barry’s own words, “Frankie’s Toasties is the home of comfort food. Frankie’s doesn’t do nowt* (nothing) fancy, just “Straight Up” simple toasties along with some proper mint* (really good) toastie ideas influenced from growin’ up in Manchester and from travelling round the world”. Sounds good to me!

Oh, if anyone’s wondering why Barry has called his restaurant Frankie’s, he named it after his English Bull Terrier, Frankie. Obviously! Loving this place already!

I’d like to wish Barry all the best in his new toastie venture, the first (and only) toastie restaurant in the UK (and quite possibly, the world!). Hats off to you and your toasties Barry, Frankie’s Toasties have The Food And Drink’s full support!

As if you needed another reason to get yourself down to Barry’s Frankie’s Toasties, Dave Draws has illustrated the interior too! Even if toasties aren’t your thing, the artwork alone is definitely worth a visit! You can find Frankies Toasties on Portland Street, Manchester… check it out and let us know your thoughts.

To check out Frankie’s Toasties, or some of their super cool toasties and flavour combinations, head over to their website.

What’s the strangest flavour combination you’ve tried? Feel free to share it with us using the comments section below…