CHALK is a new independent bar and restaurant soon to open on Wilmslow Road.
"The mood will be very relaxed and informal during the day, but in the evenings, that will be when the cocktails and the champagne come out and the mood changes into an exciting and vibrant evening venue.”
The new venture, located between Grove Lane and South Road, is the creation of Didsbury-based businessman Chris Longmate and Dominic Gottelier, former general manager of long-standing gastro pub The Wizard in Nether Alderley.
£350,000 has been thrown at the three adjoining units on Wilmslow Road to transform the space into a 3,700 sq ft offering ‘both great food and a lively bar atmosphere under one roof’. There’ll be ‘zoned’ dining and bar areas with the main restaurant seating 80 people and an outdoor terrace.
The menu, created with former Wizard head chef Colin McKevitt, will be focussed on high quality with contemporary English dishes including Lancashire cheese terrine, ham hock black pudding and blackened fillet of cod on spiced lentils aimed at clientele from ‘the prestigious south of Manchester and Cheshire’ – Didsbury’s pram sorority and lunching ladies will relish the sound of an entire ‘champagne wall’.
“There are lots of either small independent bars or small independent restaurants – but not both together,” said Longmate. “The look is classic contemporary, but it’s also a lovely warm and inviting space.
"The mood will be very relaxed and informal during the day, but in the evenings, that will be when the cocktails and the champagne come out and the mood changes into an exciting and vibrant evening venue.”
Longmate and Gottelier have also begun a recruitment drive with 45 jobs available for opening on May 14.
Chalk Bar and Grill, 784-788 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, M20 2DR. 0161 445 1042
