IT’S indicative of the momentum of the city’s food and drink scene that little over a month after publishing 35 New Manchester Openings To Watch Out For In 2016, we’re discussing a further fourteen.
And while we could wangle on about what’s driving the surge (more tourists, a more sophisticated audience, cheaper set-up costs and one of the fastest growing city centre populations in the UK, in case you were wondering) and whether it’s sustainable (which is plain dull), let’s just crack on with the good stuff shall we?
Right, here's the latest raft of food and booze openings...
D&D Manchester (As Yet Untitled)
Food: Fancy
Where: No.1 Spinningfields (under construction)
Opening: Autumn 2017
Following months of speculation, global restaurant group D&D – which operate 35 restaurants in (mostly) London, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Leeds, including two Michelin starrers – have been confirmed as the operator for the prime panoramic rooftop restaurant and terrace space on top of Allied London’s new £73m No.1 Spinningfields tower. “D&D is the perfect operator for this space and a game-changer for Spinningfields and Manchester,” said Allied London chief Mike Ingall. More here
Stage & Radio
Food: Burgers, pizzas and dancin' food
Where: Port Street, Northern Quarter
Opening: Summer
Taking over Café Cuba, the long-standing salsa centre on Northern Quarter’s Port Street, are Sophie Jarvis and Adam Regan - the young bucks behind the Cutting Room café and the upcoming Goose Fat & Wild Garlic restaurant in Ancoats. The duo plan to restore the retro jazzy charm of the building (Stage & Radio being a series of notorious jazz nights held there in the 50s) and create a multi-use three-storey venue featuring: a ground level dance club, a first floor bar decked out yacht-style, and a second floor diner serving burgers, pizza and other 'easy-going NY-inspired' grub.
Le Bistrot Pierre
Food: Easy French
Where: Altrincham High Street
Opening: Later this year
Next up for Altrincham’s effervescent food and drink scene is rapidly expanding indie French restaurant chain, Le Bistrot Pierre. Founded by two Nottingham school pals in 1994, the 15-strong group - recently bolstered by a £9.8m private equity investment – plan to launch their 120 cover on the High Street later this year following openings in Birmingham and Weston-super-Mare. “Bistrot Pierre plans to stay in the town for many years to come so the building we have secured will undergo a complete fit out and will have its very own local feel, just as all our bistrots do,” said co-owner Robert Beacham.
Grafene
Food: Quality British, probably
Where: The former Brasserie Blanc on Chapel Walks
Opening: Pending licence approval
We were hoping to begin with a joke about this new restaurant's silly name, but we're struggling because it's the world's thinnest material. Right. Despite that name and the questionable location (on that curious half square between King Street and Chapel Walks) the duo behind this proposed new city centre restaurant, Paul and Kathryn Roden, carry some serious pedigree, having made a name for themselves running the 2 AA Rosette Orangery restaurant at Losehill House Hotel & Spa in the Peak District.
Porta
Food: Tapas
Where: Greenwood Street (outside Market House)
Opening: Late-Summer
Yet another new opening for Altrincham as Chester’s diddy but highly-recommended Porta tapas bar eyes up a site across from (where else?) Altrincham Market. Ran by the two Wright brothers, Joe (the cook) and Ben (the front of house), who also run the Michelin Bib Gourmand awarded Joseph Benjamin next door in Chester, Portas is an informal and humble back alley tapas bar with a broadly European menu and an ‘enthusiastic nod toward the Iberian’. Sounds right up our alley.
MilkJam
Food: Naughty
Where: Manchester city centre
Opening: TBC
MilkJam is the triple sweet union of a triumvirate of Manchester’s most lauded pudding pushers; Ginger’s Comfort Emporium ice cream, BakeOrama’s fantastical cakes and Nicki Griffiths’ Lushbrownies. The trio, who rented the same trade kitchen in Chorlton, began experimenting by mingling each other’s calorific creations and are planning a series of pop-ups before setting up permanently. Ice cream will be available on its own, with BakeOrama’s toppings, and/or squeezed inside a hot toasted Lush brownie sandwich. It’s not fattening, it’s art.
CHEZ Manchester
Food: Local grub
Where: 36 Whitworth St
Opening: Mon 18 April
Located on the corner site of the former Olive Delicatessen, this new cafe has had a full overhaul, stripping out the shelves to create a new spacious informal dining area. Open from Monday 18 April for breakfast and lunch, they specialise in freshly prepared food from handpicked local suppliers. Expect a range of salads, sandwiches, panini, pies and pastries. Coffee comes from the nearby Ancoats Coffee company. CHEZ also offer a picnic blanket rental service so you can take your food across the road to Sackville Gardens and have a bun in the sun.
Volta @ The Palace Hotel
Food: Serious but soulful
Where: The Palace Hotel, Oxford Road
Opening: Late summer
As part of a £7M ‘urban lifestyle’ refurbishment of the magnificent Palace hotel, owners Starwood have brought in Luke Cowdrey and Justin Crawford, aka the Unabombers, ex-DJ’s and operators of the award winning Volta in Didsbury, to create and oversee the hotel’s restaurant and bar. In partnership with Gorgeous Group, the consultancy team want to create an informal all day eating and drinking ‘experience’ which re-invents the notion of city centre hotel dining. If anyone can do it, they probably can.
The Club House
Booze: Cocktails, fizz, craft beer and nibbles
Where: Hardman Square, Spinningfields
Opening: Between 14 April and 31 August
In its fourth or fifth reincarnation (who’s counting?), this rectangular box by The Lawns in Spinningfields is about to be converted into an upmarket sports bar serving as a hub for fans of the British summer sporting calendar. Lacking in kitchen facilities, food is likely to be mainly nibbles possibly with a nod towards the event; strawberries and cream for Wimbledon, French things for the Tour de France and Gingster's Cornish pasties for the footy. The focus is on drinks; cold lagers, fruit ciders and craft ales to wines, as well as Prosecco and seasonal drinks like Pimms, Aperol Spritz and the classic G&T.
KuPP
Food: Topless scandwiches and coffee
Where: Corn Exchange
Opening: TBC
As you’d expect from a Skandinavian-themed coffee shop and restaurant, there’s a strong focus on the caffeinated brew. An all-day menu will offer breakfast and dinner and everything in between including pastries, topless ‘Scandwiches’ (that means with no upper bread lid) and dishes such as Sauteed Crispy Potato & Chorizo (£9.50), Atlantic Prawn Skagen (£7) and House Smoked Pork Meatballs (£7).
Vero Moderno
Food: Italian with take away pizza
Where: Chapel Street at the Vimto Gardens development, Salford.
Opening: TBC
The first commercial lease for the 96-flat complex will be an independent modern Italian restaurant. Restaurateur Giuseppe Piccoli, who lives on Chapel Street himself, is to open Vero Moderno, on the 1,625 sq ft ground floor of the Salford development. The menu will offer authentic Italian-style pizza both to eat-in and takeaway.
The Brink
Booze: Ales from within 25 Greater Mancunian miles
Where: Bridge St, Manchester
Opened: March 2016
This basement micro-bar caters for drinkers with particularly Northern tastes. Owner Gareth Williams, stocks five well maintained cask and four keg ales sourced from independent breweries situated within 25 miles of the city centre. A wide range of bottled beers are also available, as are wines and spirits.
Fundamentum Brewery
Booze: Beer
Where: Blossom Street, Ancoats
Opening: TBC
Not content with one new project in the aforementioned Stage & Radio, Cutting Room’s Sophie Jarvis and Adam Regan have teamed up with local beer obsessive Scott Martin to announce that their upcoming fine dining restaurant venture, Goose Fat and Wild Garlic, will also include a new basement brewery and tap producing beer to be sold across the group’s venues. Glass walls will allow the five-barrel brewing process to be viewed from street level. Fundamentum's first beer is set to be an APA - an Ancoats pale ale, and the byproduct of yeast will be used to make a Marmite-style spread, sourdough bread and even their own vinegar.
Nine Mcr
Food: Boards, sarnies and 'instagramable' lattes
Where: Cooper Street, Manchester
Opened: April
A newly opened licensed cocktail bar and cafe located just off St. Peter’s Square. They open from 10am for a (late) breakfast which is available until 2pm. They also offer a range of hot and cold sourdough sandwiches and sharing platters. As you’d expect, they do a smashing smashed avocado. Doesn’t anyone simply slice them anymore?
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