SAKANA: a Japanese term referring to food eaten as an accompaniment to alcohol. Japanese nuts, or crisps perhaps?
This is to be everything but.
The Yip's are going full-tilt on this one. The refurb is now 'well past a million pounds', the downstairs bar will feature one of Europe's largest wine walls, and after the meal, why not order a premium cigar from the restaurant's solo 'Black Book'?
Sakana is a new 450-capacity, two floor, two restaurant, two bar venture to open mid-to-late October on Peter Street in the former Chicago Rock Cafe building. Worry not, that tired red brick is getting a good cladding.
Rockstar Leisure is behind the ambitious new project, a company ran by the Yip family, headed up by Stewart Yip (Red Chilli, Ocean Treasure, K2 Karaoke, Chi Yip supermarkets) and his three sons: Simon, Ricky and Andy Yip. Their cousin Tim Yip will be Sakana's General Manager.
The project should create around 50 new jobs for the city. Say what you will about Manchester's onslaught of bars and restaurants, but the jobs created by the industry are invaluable for the city.
Sakana will be situated in the former Chicago Rock Cafe on Peter Street
Sakana taking shape
There's to be 250 restaurant covers and 200 bar covers spread across the two floors, with downstairs boasting an open-fronted drinking terrace, lengthy bar and open kitchen restaurant with two teppanyaki sections and a sushi counter surrounding an open-flame, island robata grill. There's also a huge wire mesh Japanese tree installation by artist Sarah Gallagher (see below).
Upstairs there's to be another bar and a Pan Asian fine-dining restaurant. Management are currently keeping menu options guarded, although we're told Wagyu meat will feature on the menu alongside some ambitious Pan Asian molecular gastronomy - that Heston Blumenthal sorcery.
Bringing the kitchen science will be former Damson and Manchester House chef Stuart Ngai, who recently honed his craft under Aiden Byrne at Living Venture's Spinningfields flagship, and Pedro Miranda, former sous chef at Sake No Hana, a high-end Japanese restaurant in Mayfair. It's to be a head chef double-header. Sushi will come via former Australasia chef Rogel Espina.
Get all that? The Yip's are going full-tilt on this one. The refurb is now 'well past a million pounds', the downstairs bar will feature one of Europe's largest wine walls, and after the meal, why not order a premium cigar from the restaurant's solo 'Black Book'?
Sakana features a huge Japanese wire mesh tree
Working on the sushi, teppanyaki and robata station
Sounds expensive. Apparently not, according to Sakana's Business Development Manager, Dan Robinson:
"The average spend per person in the downstairs restaurant will be about £20, upstairs about £40. Wines will go from £20 a bottle to £2500. Sakana is open to everyone, we've certainly got enough room."
Sakana's menus won't be lacking, but with twenty chefs beavering away in the kitchens at any one time, you'd imagine not.
"There'll be teppanyaki, robata, sushi, sashimi, tempura, everything Japanese you can think of downstairs," Robinson explained. "Then upstairs we'll have the Pan Asian fine-dine menu alongside the molecular stuff.
"Stuart has learnt a great deal from Aiden Byrne at Manchester House, so he'll be bringing all those molecular techniques to Sakana, and the experience Pedro's bringing from Sake No Hana will be invaluable to us. We want the food to taste great and look great.
"There's no other restaurants in the north of the country offering what we're going to be offering at Sakana," Robinson beams. "Tim first spoke to me about this two years ago, this has been a long time coming and a long time in the planning. You're going to love it."
Sakana promises to be one slick-looking operation, and with the current Peter Street resurgence is well placed to reel 'em in by the tanker load. They've got enough room for it too. But it's also a hugely ambitious operation: two restaurants, two bars, twenty chefs, two head chefs, space for nearly 500 bodies and a menu as rampant as Japanese Knotweed. Let's hope the food offering matches up to the ambition of it all.
Though looking at the CVs, these chefs carry some serious minerals.
Sakana opens on Peter Street from mid-to-late October.
Sakana will sit between Revolution de Cuba and the Albert Hall
