Prime Albert Square Site Re-Opening
The site of the former Chez Gerard, Brasserie Gerard, Steven Gerard and the world's fastest restaurant Pizza Porto (click here) is being occupied once again. Dutton's, the Chester-based bar/restaurant from Manchester brewer JW Lees, is set to open for summer. It will provide food from breakfast onwards. Here's the menu from Duttons, Chester, expect something similar in Manchester.
Duttons will be a middle of the road venue looking for broad appeal rather than, for instance, Northern Quarter edge (although it will sell burgers). It is very successful in Chester and with 200 plus covers should provide a good general eaterie and bar in this prime spot opposite the site of the Christmas Markets. It's been a mystery why this site, over from the Town Hall, in handsome Albert Square, has failed time and again. Maybe this time JW Lees have found the right operation for the location.
At last, at last, prime site gets ready for re-opening
MPA Looks To Take The Place Of Boddies
JW Lees also launched last week their new beer, MPA (Manchester Pale Ale). We wrote about it here. The idea is to exploit 'the cream of Manchester' idea that Boddington's used to own. MPA is a proper session ale (i.e. you can spend the night comfortably drinking it without getting giddy drunk), less than 4% in strength, and with a mellow but characterful flavour.
Velvet Comes Out From Village
Another blighted site close to the Town Hall is the old Beluga unit on the corner of Central Street and Mount Street. For a while after Beluga died, it was Sugar Buddha but that never worked at all. Now it's Velvet's turn. The massively successful business that is Velvet in the Village on Canal Street has decided to expand. We're getting more details later this week, so we'll keep you up to date.
Adios Viejo Amigo: Santiago (Leonis) closes
Santiago has closed on Bow Lane. We reviewed the place exactly a year ago, here, and loved the pastel de choclo - a mad sweetcorn dish. But now the lights are out. Shame, this was the only Chilean restaurant around. Of course the site is much older than Santiago, and as Leonis, an Italian-ish venue, served the 1970s Quality Street Gang, Corrie stars and visiting actors. It was quite the thing. Now it's nothing. It's a difficult and cramped basement site so the future probably lies as a bar rather than a restaurant given the competition in the area.
New Cafe With Good Coffee Opens
The name is half-Turkish, half-Italian, the space is tiny but the decor is very cute. Lokum Il Caffe on John Dalton Street, is a bit mixed up you could say, but the coffees are lovingly prepared by the staff who deliver a rich, smooth capuccino as well as anybody in the city. There are some Italianate cakes that aren't so good, deli-products for sale, and a digital slide show of what might be the owner's kids. The question is this: If the owners are Turkish why bother doing all the Italian pastiche stuff? Turkish food is magnificent. Very odd. Cute design though.
John Dalton Street cafe with mixed race parents
John Dalton Waits Around On His Own Street
It appears that building work on the eponymous John Dalton Restaurant on John Dalton Street has stalled. The window features attractive graphics of the nineteenth century scientist but few clues as to what the menu might contain should the place ever open. You can look up John Dalton on our list of Manchester 'firsts' here. Of course the site was once the Ithaca that also took several years and several delays to open before shortly after closing. Maybe we shouldn't be too surprised by Mr Dalton's delays.
Maybe one day it will re-open
Opening Of The Week: Pie and Ale
Pint first, pie secondAs our correspondent Sleuth pointed out over the weekend, Pie and Ale has opened between Back Spear Street and Lever Street in The Hive building in the Northern Quarter. The bar/restaurant sells pies, ale and a very good selection of whiskies. Tea and coffee too. It’s part of the adjacent empire of Bakerie wine store and - round the corner - Bakerie restaurant. All very distinctive venues.
Pie and ale has had a lovely fit out that looks like an avant-garde Scandinavian bar from 1962. Pie and Ale often has a delightful perfume provided by the Bakerie's bakery next door. When the ovens are fired the aroma makes the mouth water.
There's an additional novelty too, plug sockets as standard over the booths, so you need never worry about your phone running out of battery on a night out - as long as you've remembered the charger. The pies are excellent by the way, the selection is shown on the picture below.
Simple pie menu
Lovely bread
Evuna Set To Open In The Northern Quarter
Meanwhile round the corner from Pie and Ale the second site for the popular Deansgate Spaniard Evuna is closing in on a summer opening. Here is the building, on the corner of Tib Street and Thomas Street, with the signs up and a self-explanatory description of what it will provide. Let's hope Evuna continues in its north city centre arm with the tradition of providing the best in Spanish wines. Oh for a glass of a heavy Portillejo right now...
Evuna coming
Dish Of The Week - Balls of Joy, The Rice Bowl
I popped recenty into The Rice Bowl (33A Cross St, City, M2 1NL), a Chinese restaurant that's been around as long as the late-Leonis (see above). The interior is spick and span, goldfish in their tank eye you insanely as you enter past a fake waterfall.
On the menu I found Sichuan snow crab meat and prawn balls with spices (£6.95) - picture top of the page above and below. Bought them, ate them, loved them.
Run people, run down there and dig into these soft, spiced, hot, delicious, delicate, fishy explosions of oral joy. There's almost a fish paste texture to the balls, but the mix is so skillfully done, and the ingredients so balanced that it lifts the mood even on the dullest of days.
These balls are very tasty
Insane fish - aren't they all?
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter here @JonathSchofield or connect via Google+
