In this edition: ViET Shack, BEAT STREET and other capital letters...
CRAZY PEDRO FOR NQ?
(15/07) During a recent chat with local booze loon and bar operator, Lyndon Higginson (Liar's Club, Cane & Grain, Crazy Pedro's), Confidential learnt he was close to securing a Northern Quarter site for a second Crazy Pedro’s – a bar on Manchester's Square With No Name which has carved out a notorious reputation for frozen margaritas, bastardised pizza and late-night beer ponging. One to watch out for...
GUILT-FREE GLUTTONY
(15/07) Mrs Shak, one half of the couple who run ViET Shack, will be setting up her own ‘healthy’ bakery in the Arndale Food Market soon. Mrs Shak, otherwise known as Simone Lam, describes herself as a full time wife, full time mum, part time yoga instructor and self taught baker. Simone already makes the guilt-free desserts on offer at ViET Shack at the moment – although the popular street food outlet is no stranger to healthy food itself, with homemade salads made with crunchy vegetables, topped with seafood, lean meat or grilled poultry.
At the healthy bakery, expect a range of ‘green sandwiches’ made with home baked soya bread, fresh salads with pickled radish and wasabi melon and, of course, organic and raw cakes such as Vanilla Ginger or Earl Grey Velvet Cake sweetened without sugar, mixed with coconut butter, and gluten free flour. All cakes will be 100% free from flour, butter, sugar, yeast, artificial colouring and any e-numbers.
POKE-MANGE
(15/07) New Oxford Street burrito joint are jumping right on the Poke-Bandwagon by offering players of world-conquering new phenomenon, Pokemon Go, the chance to pick up a VIP Royalty Card (one free meal a week until April) should they track down the legendary fire-breathing Moltres around Manchester. The first person to capture the elusive bugger and show the staff at Chilango wins. For more information visit www.chilango.co.uk
PIZZA HUT GETS EMOJIONAL
(15/07) To mark World Emoji Day on 17th July, when everyone is expected to communicate solely with crying laughter or sad face symbols, Pizza Hut have translated the entire menu in six of its UK restaurants (including the branch on Fountain Street) into emojis. Diners can tuck into delights such as toadstool branch pizza, or pizza pizza pig face cow face, which sounds more like a personal insult than a meal. The special coded menu will be available between 13-17 July.
BEAT IT, SISTER
(14/07) We've just been for the first sneak peak around the Beat Street colective's new 'crazy mashed up' alleyway of micro-diners, bars, art spaces, sun decks and 'wierd shit' at Great Northern - opening this weekend. Here's how it went...
FROMAGE HOMAGE
(14/07) Manchester’s monthly ‘rock’n’roll homage to fromage is back at Northern Quarter’s Bakerie on Monday 25 July. And this month it’s the big one, because the French are coming. Expect some obscure French cheeses you’ve probably never heard of supported by the usual array of crackers, chutneys, breads and fruit. Who thought learning about the coagulation of casein could be such a larf?
Homage2Fromage tickets are £10, cheese is included. More here
PASTA FASTER
(13/07) A new fast Italian restaurant has opened in the unlikely surrounds of Harpurhey shopping centre in North Manchester – not quite the ‘heart’ of Manchester as professed on their website, but we appreciate their enthusiasm. Named The Pasta Project, the miniscule menu features six dishes representing different corners of Italy, from Naples through Emilia-Romagna to Liguria, with the San Marzano featuring (as you’d expect) just a hint of basil and the world’s most famous plum tomatoes, whilst the Bologna boasts ‘perfect’ ragu and the Napoli ‘a kick’ to the mouth – just-a like-a trip to the Stadio San Paolo. thepastaproject.co.uk
VERY BERRY
(13/07) Iberica have another new menu to plug – this time featuring fourteen new dishes from the deft hand of multi-Michelin starred exec chef, Nacho Manzano. The summer line-up includes sea trout ajoblanco and pitu sauce, Galician blonde rib of beef and a genius red berry gazpacho - which we recently adored during a special one-off dinner with its creator, superstar Spanish chef, Qique Dacosta. The new menu is available now, whilst you can still pick up their very reasonable £12 express lunch including the chef’s dish of the day + one tapas. More here.
GRAF-CLEAN
(13/07) In one of the more pointless PR puffs we've had in sometime, soon to arrive Modern British fine diner, Grafene, have, erm, painted a wall. Yes the new 190-cover restaurant and champagne bar, which launches on Chapel Walks’ accursed former Brasserie Blanc site on 22 July, have created a ‘Blanc slate’ – this being a metaphorical rinsing away of the sites former misfortunes and the physical painting over of a garish 15ft long mural featuring Raymond Blanc and such eminent Manchester figures as JFK, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna and The Beatles.
“Raymond Blanc is a true icon in the restaurant and hospitality world,” says Grafene owner Paul Roden, “however, we don’t think the mural was up to the same high standards as his cuisine… the mural had to go.”
So they got rid and all was well in the world once more. grafene.co.uk
VEG PLEDGE
(12/07) Matthew Nutter, a vegan chef, is poised to open his new plant-based, gluten-free, relaxed fine dining restaurant, The Allotment, on Vernon Street in Stockport next month. Otherwise known as the 'Plant Food Power Chef', Matthew from Atherton, Wigan, wants to fill a gap in the market for a top end, meat-free restaurant.
He laments the arrogance many chefs show towards vegans and vegetarians and the lack of creativity many of them show when preparing vegetarian or vegan dishes. He even suggests that fellow chefs make an effort to try being vegan for a week to see how creative it makes them. Matthew aims to get the best out of the amazing variety of fruit, vegetables, pulses, grains, herbs, spices and oils to create a delicious flavour-packed menu. He is convinced that his food will be so tasty, it will satisfy even the most hardened carnivore.
CLOSING TIME
(12/07) We hope our regular list of weekly closures is just a phase (our editor isn't overly worried - read here), but an alarming number of Manchester restaurants have bitten the dust recently. In the last food and drink news update, we reported on the demise of Quill, Splendid Kitchen, Grinch and Khan Baba. This week, we’ve heard about the closure of a few more; Urban Cookhouse and Bourbon & Black, while Burger & Lobster have decided to downsize, either moving from their huge site on King Street or splitting it into two new concepts.
Some are blaming the extensive city centre road works while others think the restaurant bubble has burst. We just recommend that if you have a favourite city centre haunt, you’d better use it or lose it.
Burger & Lobster may vacate their Brown Street site following poor sales
PANIC NOT...
(12/07) Contrary to the news above, latest figures from MarketGrowthMonitor show that although food-led sites in London increased by 13.4% over the five years to March, they increased by a whopping 22.4% in other big British cities. Manchester reported an increase of 16.5% total growth in licensed premises over the past five years, with an increase of 32.7% in food-led venues. This takes the total up to a remarkable 566 licensed food and drink premises in the city centre alone, head and shoulders above the likes Newcastle, Leeds and Liverpool.
Closer inspection reveals that this isn’t all down to the big chain operators trying to look beyond the capital for growth opportunities. In actual fact, the numbers published by industry experts CGA Peach revealed that small, independent operators now account for 40% of restaurants in regional cities such as Manchester - up from 34% five years ago. Good news then, and a counterpoint to the perceived march of the big London bully chains strangling our noble regional indies. In a role reversal, it’s also good to see that many exciting new operators which began in the regional cities, such as Red’s True Barbecue, San Carlo, Thaikhun and Living Ventures are expanding and thriving in London.
Rudy's is one of Manchester's many thriving indies
CHEF PLEASE
(11/07) If you take your eye off the ball for only a few seconds (which of course, we never do) everything changes in Manchester’s restaurant scene. In an epic game of chef chess, there have been some epic moves recently. Last week we reported that last year’s MFDF Chef of the Year, Alex Shaw, has left Volta for pastures new at The Eagle and Child, Ramsbottom. Volta’s senior sous chef Damien Cunliffe is to become Head Chef at the soon to open Grafene. So who will be heading up Volta’s award-winning kitchens? None other than Samuel Davidson, who was until recently, executive sous chef at El Gato Negro. Check!
PUMPED UP FOR THE JAM
(11/07) Milk Jam, the sweet-toothed brainchild of Claire ‘Ginger’s Comfort Emporium’ Kelsey, Charlotte ‘BakeOrama’ O’Toole (formerly cakemaster of Home Sweet Home) and Nicki ‘Lush Brownies’ Griffiths, is finally set to open next week. Expect queues down Oxford Road for freshly baked brownie ice cream sandwiches, sprinkle-dusted sensational sorbets, cake concoctions and fudge-filled fantasies.
Their semi-permanent home, within the St James Building at 85 Oxford Street, will open for a period of twelve months. They will also be working in collaboration with Deliveroo, so city-dwellers and workers can get their sugar fix delivered to their home or office - more here.
TEA FOR TOE
(10/07) If you were wondering where in Manchester you can get homemade anko and chewy dango, wonder no more, as a new Japanese tea bar is set to open at the end of the month. If you’re planning on a visit, make sure you’ve darned that hole in your sock or given your tootsies a tidy as shoes are not allowed. Cha-ology, Inspired by the tea houses of Japan, will be setting up in the Nuovo building, Ancoats between Squid Ink and Kettlebell Kitchen.
TOO MANY COOKS
(08/07) Could Grafene be the operator to finally make a success of the accursed site on Chapel Walks. In the run up to their launch on 22 July, over 300 people applied for Grafene’s top management positions, with an additional 500 applying for staff roles, so they’ve certainly had the pick of the hospitality bunch.
The line-up looks very promising indeed. Under the watchful eye of Executive Chef Darren Goodwin (Head Chef of four-star Losehill House) will be Head Chef Damien Cunliff, previously Senior Sous Chef of Volta. His Sous Chefs will be Phil Smith, from the Alderley Hotel and Sean Forshaw, previously Head Chef of Ramsbottom’s Hearth of the Ram. Joining them in an open pastry kitchen will be Cristina Molinari, whose experience includes London’s Buddha Bar and the Ritz Hotel in Paris.
Bar Manager Chris Jew, is one of the region’s most celebrated bartenders having formerly been Head Bartender at Manchester House and more recently Bar Manager at Artisan. General Manager will be Kelly Wimbleton of Grill on New York Street, and Alchemy Event Bars’ Nick Wadeson will be Deputy General Manager, himself two-time winner of UK cocktail bartender of the year. Restaurant Manager will be Amir Manouchehri, previously of Alchemist NYS and in-store trainer at Alchemist Spinningfields.
IT PAYS TO PAY AS YOU STAY
(08/07) The concept of a ‘third space’, after work and home, has really taken off with pay-as-you-stay work and social space Ziferblat set to open two new venues in Greater Manchester. This follows the success of its Edge Street branch, in the Northern Quarter, which has achieved a turnover of £450,000 since opening in January 2015.
Ziferblat, which launched in Moscow in 2011, is a combination of office, café and event space, which operates a pay-per-minute model. Snacks and drinks are free and visitors only pay for the time they spend there. The business’ planned expansion across Greater Manchester comes as part of Ziferblat’s ambitious growth strategy, which aims to launch a venue in every major UK city by 2021.
CHEF OF THE SEE-YEAR
(07/07) Didsbury’s loss has turned out to be Ramsbottom’s gain. Manchester Food and Drink Festival’s current Chef of the Year, Alex Shaw, has left Volta for the kitchens of The Eagle and Child. They are well known for working closely with the best local producers and suppliers, growing fruit and vegetables in their own garden and keeping their own hens for eggs.
We’re not sure if he’ll be working alongside or instead of Executive Chef Eve Townson who took part in the North West heats of BBC Two’s Great British Menu last year. It can only help The Eagle and Child’s chances of reclaiming this year’s MFDF 'Pub of The Year' title which it won in 2014, although their trophy cabinet isn’t exactly empty. It’s positively heaving with relatively recent accolades from The Good Food Guide, The Independent and The Observer Food Monthly.
BARBE-QUEUING FOR PIZZA
(07/07) Sometimes, it’s difficult to decide what you fancy eating, so if you ever find yourself torn between ordering pizza and having a BBQ then just head down to Crazy Pedro’s. Following their previously, somewhat demented specials such as the ‘Dirty Northerner’ made with chips, cheese and gravy, the almighty Greggs sausage roll inspired ‘Dreggs’ and last month’s Chicken Tikka Curry Mile pizza, now they’re unleashing ‘Rain or Shine’, as their summer special.
Taking inspiration from the British BBQ season, it’s a smoking combination of meaty favourites; mini burgers, old English sausages, piri piri chicken and chipotle slaw. Available as a special throughout July, it is priced at £3 a slice or £15 for a whole 16-inch pizza.
EL GATO NEGROWTH
(06/07) Still only in its fifth month, Spanish restaurant El Gato Negro on King Street is churning out some impressive numbers. Figures released by the restaurant reveal that they have so far served 100,000 drinks and dishes including over 7,000 portions of mini Catalan chorizo and 8,274 individual lamb skewers.
Their bartenders have been kept busy creating over 12,000 cocktails, the most popular tipple being ‘The Pretty Little Poison', with over 1,093 having been shaken and stirred. One of the city’s most anticipated restaurant launches in 2016, El Gato Negro still maintains a nine week waiting list for peak weekend bookings. It recently jumped straight into the list of National Restaurant Awards Top 100 at no 81, making it one of the top three Manchester restaurants alongside Manchester House and The French.
VOLTA AT THE REFUGE
We’ve just been for a snoop around the Volta boy’s mighty new restaurant, bar and lounge project at The Palace Hotel (formerly the Refuge Assurance building) on Oxford Road - part of international hotel group Starwood’s £40m ‘urban lifestyle’ makeover of the building. Titled ‘Volta at the Refuge’, the 10,000 sq ft space – opening in September – will feature a 139-cover restaurant, a 40ft long lobby bar, a covered ‘Winter Garden’ courtyard, a den-cum-lounge area and a late-night basement ‘events space’ (we’re not allowed to call it a club, it upsets the hotel guests). Take a look...
BACK TO BLACK
(05/07) So another operator has bit the dust in the doomed former Inland Revenue office on Mount Street, an unfruitful site in recent years to Beluga, Citrus, Velvet Central and now Bourbon and Black, who yesterday announced their closure via Facebook. A sign pasted to the windows tells passers-by the Southern US-style meat and hard liquor gaff will be ‘re-opening soon’, however, they have referred any future bookings to their original and more successful site in Didsbury - which remains trading.
A shame this as the terrace, wedged as it is between Central Library, Town Hall and the Friend’s Meeting House, remains one of the finest in the city. Still, a few days of sun does not a business make – particularly in Manchester. Be interesting to see who next has the danglies to take on the curse of No.2... 2:1 odds on Byron?
DIDSBURY GOES BANANAS
(05/07) Chilli Banana, the popular Thai restaurant with branches in Wilmslow, Bramhall, Liverpool and Macclesfield, have just announced plans to open a fifth branch at 105 Lapwing Lane, Didsbury (opposite West Didsbury tram stop) in September.
The restaurant group celebrates its twentieth year in business this year. As well as a small shindig this week, plans are in hand for a fundraising birthday banquet in September. They are also ditching their old literal logo of a cheerful chilli and beaming banana to one that reflects Chilli Banana’s position as an award-winning destination restaurant.
The restaurant and the logo have come a long way from two decades ago when an A board announced 'Thai food sold here' outside the Royal Oak in Alderley Edge. Three years ago they moved to their present two-storey town centre site on Water Lane, Wilmslow which now serves more than 1,000 meals a week and employs around 30 staff.
JUNK PUNKS
(03/07) Those barnpots behind Friday Food Fights, Up In Your Grill and the soon-to-launch BEAT STREET have just confirmed the second season of their sell-out boozy crazy golf course, JunkYard Golf Club, with the release of a typically bizarre video featuring Dirk Kluntz – a (possibly) Austrian disco calamity.
After almost six minutes you'll never get back, Kluntz unveils Piccadilly Place (opposite Piccadilly Station) as the new home of the ‘bigger, better, weirder’ Junkyard, featuring three bars, two new courses and plenty more crap sourced on Gumtree and stuck together with Pritt Stick.
Junkyard Golf Club round 2 will open from 11 August for seven days a week until Christmas. Keep an eye on their Facebook for updates and more from this utter Kluntz...
VICTORIAN SNAFFLES
(01/07) Ever dreamt about a bath full of curry? Well we certainly have and our dreams are set to become a reality this weekend, as Victoria Baths will be hosting a celebration of global street food on Sunday 3rd July. From 11am - 4pm punters can dive into a sensational selection of stalls selling everything from Mediterranean fusion food to South African BBQ. As well as the food stalls, popular Indian Street Food vendor and MFDF award nominee, Chaat Cart will host a pop-up, sit down Hindoostane feast in the Pineapple room at 12.30pm. Tickets for the three course meal cost £25 and are available here.
All visitors can also take part in ‘Discover Victoria Baths’ tours every half an hour to see the wonderful architecture and discuss the building’s rich history. A behind-the-scenes ‘Off Limits’ tour will be at 2pm, giving visitors the chance to explore some of the lesser known parts of the building.
General admission £4. Entry/guided tour £7. Under 16s and Friends of Victoria Baths FREE.
BLANC-DE-BLANC
(01/07) Raymond Blanc was in town this week, the first time his presence has been seen in the area since his ill-fated Petit Blanc, off Chapel Walks, closed in 2010. He was in Knutsford to celebrate the launch of Brasserie Blanc which has now opened on the site previously occupied by Loch Fyne. Monsieur Blanc is the Creative Director of the 20-strong French brasserie group, whose menus are inspired by the homely cuisine food his mum used to make for friends and family.
His gastro-pub group ‘The White Brasserie Company’ have also just re-opened The Oakwood at the former Loch Fyne site in Alderley Edge. This is the first northern outlet for the upmarket hospitality company which aims to combine the warm informality of a traditional pub with the food ethic of a typical French brasserie. Raymond also assured Confidential that his people are already on the lookout for Brasserie Blanc sites in both Manchester and Liverpool. Ooh la laah.
Raymond gets his leg over Lily... the River Lily
TATTU CREW FOR NQ?
(01/07) Confidential hears the brothers behind sumptuous Asian-inspired Spinningfields bar-restaurant, Tattu, are eyeing up a site in Northern Quarter. Adam and Drew Jones, who also hold a stake in city centre pizza and hotdog cave, Dogs’n’Dough, have applied for a premises licence for the ground floor and basement of Cheetwood House on Newton Street – currently home to Mr Beardmore’s barbers, Fan Boy 3 games store and soon to be home of Idle Hands coffeehouse. Proposed opening hours for the new venue are Monday to Sunday 8am to 2.30am.
