Bundobust reveals launch date for city centre brewery

Bundobust has long been a favourite of Indian food fanatics and craft beer lovers. Vegetarians are pretty happy with them too, though you don't need to be one to qualify as a Bundo buff.

As on any given day we tick at least two of those boxes, the Confidentials team were chuffed to hear that the craft beer and Gujarati street food specialists have finally announced they will open the doors to the brand-spanking-new Bundobust Brewery on Thursday 16 September at 4pm. It's been a long wait.

Expect the familiar Bundobust vibe and menu, with the bonus of being in a working brewery

Already well-known for collabs with internationally renowned breweries, Bundobust now has the facility to brew its very own, right on site. We were also pleased to hear that Bundobust has decided to celebrate by giving away the first 200 pints served (with a food purchase, one per customer). Not that we need enticing, but it's a fun idea. Now form an orderly queue.

The team have been working on the new venue since 2019, with a few hitches (including a wee global pandemic) along the way. Now complete, the 10-hectolitre custom-build is capable of producing 20,000 pints per month. That sounds like a challenge, but it's one the Confidentials team is ready to take on.

Located in the Grade II-listed St James Building on Oxford Street in Manchester, it's pretty handy for most forms of public transport, making it the perfect place for a quick post-work pint (or post-workout pint if that's your regimen, hey no judgement), a sneaky lunchtime feast or weekend sesh.

But what will the new gaff look like inside? The overall design is influenced by US brewpubs, with a nod to German beer hall camaraderie. Each chair is made from 40 recycled plastic water bottles, while school desks have been repurposed into beer hall-style tables.

Keep an eye out for original features from the space’s previous incarnation as a car park, from vintage alarm bells and glazed bricks to "Drive Slowly" signage. A show-stopping giant glass atrium mirrors the Piccadilly branch’s glass apex. 

Co-founder Mayur Patel had a chat with us earlier in the year: “We’ve always wanted to do some kind of brewery. We saw the height of the ceilings and immediately started mapping out where we were going to put the tanks. Looking at the similarities with Piccadilly really drew us to it. The atrium, the glazed brick, it fits," he said.

“We want to keep as much original detail as possible. It will have an industrial look to it. The windows are going to have lighting behind them and graphics. We think it will have a really nice, Bundobust feel.”

Marko Husak, Bundobust co-founder, said: “We were due to open in May 2020. The past 18 months have slowed us down, but the delay has meant that we’ve been able to develop our beer recipes. Expect the familiar Bundobust vibe and menu, with the bonus of being in a working brewery.”

Dan Hocking, formerly the head brewer at Uiltje Brewery in Holland, is at the helm of this Bundo venture. He’s spent the past year perfecting recipes behind closed doors in the state-of-the-art facility. There will be a core range of beers (see below), plus live brewing events, so people can watch the brewer do their thing, food pairing and tasting events and collaborative events with other brewers to tie in with tap takeovers.

Bundobust, 86 Oxford Street, Manchester M1 6ET

Read now: The fresh pints - 10 belting brewery tap rooms in Manchester

Read again: Bundobust 2 'We’ve always wanted to do some kind of brewery'

Don't miss out

Get the latest food & drink news and exclusive offers by email.