First restaurants announced as Oldham’s newest food hall gears up for grand opening

An exciting new food hall due to open in Oldham town centre has announced its first restaurants ahead of its big launch later this autumn.

The Egyptian Room, taking over parts of Oldham’s historic Old Town Hall building, will be welcoming a number of local joints offering pizza, burgers and Cambodian cuisine. 

While the opening was delayed by ‘complex’ renovation works, the venue is now tipped to open by the beginning of November. 

When it launches, up to 150 diners will be able to choose from a selection of six different food stalls and a bar in a ‘beautiful’ Grade-II listed hall decked out with original Victorian features.

With a decorative glazed wall and column tiling, parquet and terrazzo flooring, plastered ceilings and original arched windows and doors, the space is tipped to become ‘one of the most spectacular new food halls anywhere’ and a ‘rival to Mackie Mayor’, according to town hall bosses. 

Four of the restaurants have now been announced by the venue’s managers, the Northern Lights Group (NLG), who run a number of popular restaurants and entertainment venues across the North West including the New Century venue in the city centre.

The Egyptian Room will become a new home for Ply Love Pizza, after the restaurant suffered  a shock closure at its beloved venue on Stevenson Square in June this year, with managers claiming their building on Lever Street was in need of ‘some major TLC’.

Ply has been serving up freshly-made Neapolitan sourdough pizzas in Manchester for almost a decade and has now set its sights on the promising new food hall. 

For meat-lovers, burger and Greek gyros experts, The Last Stop will also be taking new quarters at the venue, adding to their venues in the Northern Quarter and Heaton Chapel.

Manchester-born Wings of Power will also be whipping up fried chicken and fillet burgers. 

Meanwhile, Kambuja, a Cambodian restaurant which started in Marple, Stockport nine years ago and opened another successful chain in Altrincham, will also venture into the new Oldham scene.

Serving up traditional Cambodian dishes like Lok Lak (stir fried marinated beef) and Cha Kuthiew (Cambodia’s version of Pad Thai), the restaurateurs promise guests the chance to try ‘one of the least well-known cuisines in Britain’. 

And the Kambuja chefs claim there’s an ‘extensive’ vegetarian and vegan menu too.

The remaining vendors are due to be announced in the next few weeks, along with the date of the official launch event.

The food hall is part of a wider plan supported by the council to breathe new life into Oldham’s town centre, which saw a serious decline in footfall after the pandemic. 

The local authority was awarded an external funding grant of £1.1m from the Future High Street Funds towards the costs of renovating the hall. 

Oldham council leader Arooj Shah said: “The Egyptian Room Food Hall represents the future of our town centre and really shows why Oldham’s time is now.

"This new destination blends our proud heritage with exciting new opportunities, and we can’t wait for it to open.

“It will be a fantastic place for residents from Oldham and neighbouring Boroughs to come and enjoy great food and drinks in a one-of-a-kind setting. 

“The Egyptian Room opening marks another milestone on our journey to regenerate Oldham town centre.  

"This is Oldham reimagined – a thriving place with opportunities for everyone.”

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