River Cafe chef opens ‘exclusive’ new Manchester restaurant and bar

A Cocktail With Dry Ice And A Skewer Of Cherries At Rendition Bar Manchester

Kelly Bishop 2 June 2021

Get your beret on, Rendition reckons there’s a food revolution on the way

There’s a lot going on around the bottom end of Deansgate at the moment. The glittering trio of towers at Deansgate Square is becoming one of Manchester’s most affluent neighbourhoods and has recently added posh cocktail bar Atomeca and slick coffee joint Mule to its list of fancy watering holes. Deansgate Mews at The Great Northern is welcoming new bars, restaurants and an upscale butcher from Ancoats and Northern Quarter favourites.

With Rendition, we are launching an aspirational restaurant the likes that Manchester has never seen before

Now, moving into the space formally occupied by upscale tapas joint Tapeo & Wine comes Rendition. A restaurant and bar that is claiming to be Manchester’s “most exclusive”. Does that mean most people won’t be allowed in then?

Spirits And Liqueurs On The Bar At Rendition Bar And Restaurant Deansgate Manchester — **Rendition's bar will serve high end cocktails, wine, beer and champers**

Maybe, it comes from the team behind the similarly exclusive 90s London celeb haunt China White. A restaurant that seemed to exist solely to provide paparazzi with the opportunity to snap unflattering photos of paralytic “It girls”.

But hang on, there’s someone else involved whose approach is far more inclusive than exclusive.

Rendition will be overseen by executive chef Arthur Potts Dawson, former head chef of The River Café in London. Potts Dawson, who has also worked with the likes of the Roux brothers, Petersham Nurseries, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver is also known for the 2011 Channel 4 documentary The People’s Supermarket. The series followed his attempts to create a community supermarket in Bloomsbury, London staffed by local residents and selling low-cost food that is fair to local customers and producers. He is also heavily involved in World Food Programme initiatives to tackle food waste and encourage sustainable farming practices.

An odd match indeed then, but it certainly sounds interesting.

A Chef Drizzles Gravy On A Hasselback Potato At Rendition Restaurant Manchester — **Head chef at Rendition will be Stuart Valentine**

What's on the bar and restaurant menu at Rendition?

On the ever-changing, seasonal, locally sourced menu will be dishes like oysters with shallots, vinegar, tabasco and lemon, North Yorkshire potato croquettes with tomato jam, chalk stream trout with samphire and asparagus in a parsley root purée, rose veal fillet with smoked carrots and ox tongue in a marrow sauce, and grilled lamb rump with peas, broad beans, lamb bacon and Hasselback potato.

The cocktail list will include Tea Party (four white spirits, lychee, apple, coconut, lemon, “boiled” with CO2 and served in a teacup), Illegal Margarita (Joven Mezcal, Mandarine Napoleon, lemon and agave) and Late Breakfast (Tanqueray Gin, Campari, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, coffee and elderflower and Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic Water).

Tapeo And Wine Tapas Restaurant Deansgate Manchester — **Rendition will be in the space formerly occupied by Tapeo and Wine**

What does the team at Rendition have to say about the new restaurant?

Arthur Potts-Dawson said “With Rendition, we are launching an aspirational restaurant the likes that Manchester has never seen before. Our seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients form the backbone of a menu that has been created to impeccably high standards.”

Mancunian Stuart Valentine - who trained at Heathcotes and has previously worked at Albert Square Chop House, Cosy Club and Tariff and Dale - will be Head Chef leading a team of nine “world-class chefs”.

Arthur added: “Stuart’s expertise as one of Manchester’s most experienced and talented head chefs is a huge asset to the Rendition team.”

Rendition’s General Manager Marc Fink has previously headed up food and beverage for one of the world's leading lifestyle hotel brands, citizenM.

He said: “Having spent the last 10 years perfecting the craft of running a restaurant, I am excited to return to Manchester - a city thriving with possibility and innovation.

“Arthur’s evocative vision for the food story at Rendition drew me in from the offset and convinced me that Rendition provides a unique offering that has the capability to become something truly magical.

“Manchester has an abundance of fast-casual style eateries, but at Rendition we are excited to revolutionise the Manchester dining and drink scene by offering only the best of the best.”

Rendition opens on 3 June.

Rendition 209 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3NW