Yard and Coop

This is another of the places on my "been meaning to visit for ages" list, and straight off the bat before I say anymore, let me just clarify... I'm SO glad I did!

The outside of Yard and Coop is simple enough. But what I love is that the theming builds as you spend more time inside and notice more things. For me, aside the giant cock outside (heh), the first thing I noticed was the fox shaped door handle, and as I looked around, I realised the theming of chicken was clear, but also that of foxes, in all sorts of little details.

The decor inside has some of the Northern Quarter classic elements, the rustic industrial thing, but also great little nods to the name, including chicken coop structures inside around the seating. The chairs and tables are very reminiscent of school, the plastic bucket type seats. The staff were really friendly and welcoming, and enthusiastic about the offerings. Great staff. We were served by Samantha, and a couple of other girls too. Thanks everyone!

The menu is simple, but fun, tongue in cheek, and really appetizing! Aside the large plates or sides, the main option is to basically pick your type of chicken, sauce (made in-house), and fries. I was with my partner this time, so I opted for thigh, with ranch sauce, and although I was going to go for standard fries, I saw cheesy fries, and asked my server if they were proper cheese fries or the thing that some places do of grating some cheese over chips and it turning into a congealed mess. She assured me it was cheese sauce. SOLD! My partner ordered 'Winner Winner' from the large plates, which promised buttermilk fried chicken, creamy mash, dirty greens, bacon, Yorkshire puddings and smothered in their in-house chicken gravy. Tell me that doesn't sound amazing? We also couldn't resist the idea of the deep fried stuffing balls on the sides menu, so ordered some to share!

The chicken being the main superstar is what we tried first, and we agreed, even though the batter was crispy crunchy and amazing, the chicken itself was so beautifully cooked and tender that it was a juicy treat by itself! The cheese sauce chips were amazing as you can imagine, and the Winner Winner plate was amazing quality, with some really sublime gravy. I must sing the praises of the deep fried stuffing balls though; sage and onion, chestnut, and sausage meat stuffing balls, served with the same brilliant gravy and some cranberry sauce. The feeling I had when eating them wasn't the same old blown-away feeling, but a wonderful, comforted and content feeling. They were so very very nice and made it feel like Christmas. Pure comfort. I really loved them.

The dessert menu is small, as I assume it's changed fairly often. Only two options (and there happened to be two of us... oh well!), there was Crack Pie, promising a sweet and salty treat, served with clotted cream, and the other was a chocolate brownie with choice of chocolate candies mixed in, with SPRINKLES, ice cream, and chocolate sauce. Who the hell needs a dessert menu with those two bad boys!?

Now...uh... I would've taken a better photo but we both completely forgot to wait before we dove into the sweet deliciousness... so this photo is the best I managed! Whoops! They were amazing though!

The theming continued right up until we paid, when our bill was presented in an egg box. I love little touches like that. Completely unnecessary, but there for the sake of fun. Love it.

We will most definitely be returning to Yard and Coop, and probably bringing friends and family (even my parents would love it here!). Listings just call it a "chicken shop" or "chicken joint" but that is massively underselling it as some sort of KFC or Dixy's Chicken, which by god it ain't! It's a proper restaurant doing the real deal! You're doing something right, guys. Keep doing it! :)


Yard and Coop
37 Edge Street
Manchester
M4 1HW
(0161) 710 2570
www.yardandcoop.com