It’s the first day of Manchester’s Famous Christmas markets, so where does a lone dinner head to lunch? Well I’m not in the mood to be surrounded by giddy market goers and tourists being bumped and bashed as I try to eat a large German Hot Dog or plate or cheesy potatoes in the Manchester drizzle. But im not quite as bar humbug as I may sound I would still like to watch the hustle and bustle of the markets whilst I tuck into some warming British food. With this in mind I head to The Round.
The Round? I hear you ask where is that, well even as I’m writing this I’m not sure I should let you in on one of the city’s lesser known dinning destinations, do I want to share my relaxing lunchtime destination with the cities dinners?. Hmm decisions decisions and in the words of Magnus Magnusson "I've started so I'll finish"... [click here to read the full review]
Manchester’s ultimate luxury Italian, Rosso has been named Restaurant of the Year in both the North and Overall in the Food Awards for England and Wales. Thousands of nominations flooded in for this year’s inaugural Food Awards. Voted for by the public, the awards are designed to recognise and commend the efforts of restaurants, gastro pubs, cafes and bistros across England and Wales.
Rosso was nominated in both the Fine Dining category and in the category for Restaurant of the Year, which it won twice for in the North and Overall. By doing so, Rosso successfully beat a selection of esteemed restaurants such as The Academy in Liverpool, The Podium in Manchester and Upstairs at the Grill in Chester. The decadent evening was hosted by Miss United Kingdom Supernational Rachelle Perez and took place at the Piccadilly Mercure Hotel earlier this week.
The Rosso team expressed their happiness over the success of their win: “We’re delighted to be recognised as the Best Restaurant of the Year and it’s a wonderful feeling to know that the public helped us to achieve this by voting for us. We work to provide a luxury, authentic and delectable Italian experience and so we are thrilled to hear our guests recognise and enjoy our restaurant as one of the best.”
The team behind Manchester’s boutique Indian eatery, Mughli, are set to open their third northern venture in the form of a pop-up restaurant in Alderley Edge. The venue, which has aptly been named The Railway Cafe, is currently taking shape in a perfect location nearby the village train station and is set to open in the first week of December for 10 weeks.
Esteemed local chef, David Gale, who has worked closely with Mughli to create a unique, Indian-inspired small-plates menu for the pop-up, has been named as its Executive Chef. Gale, who most recently led the kitchen in the successful Lawn Club in Spinningfields, was previously the Executive Chef of the Hilton Deansgate (where he won North West Chef of the Year) with a successful career in London working with culinary greats such as La Dennis and Ducasse, as well as the remarkable achievement of winning a 5 Diamond Award when in charge of the opening of Soho House New York.
The pop-up will also feature a specialist gin bar headed by multi-award winning bartender, Craig Harper of Fever Tree Tonics as well as the ‘World’s Best Gin Bartender’, Jamie Jones. “We genuinely love what we do here at Mughli and its great when we’re given an opportunity such as this to work with some of the most talented people in the industry.” The spirited duo have created a bespoke tipples menu to perfectly compliment the style of food on offer, focussing primarily on accentuated gin & tonics with a conciseyet creatively considered cocktail menu, imported Indian soft-drinks and local craft beers.
The Railway Cafe comes at the end of a busy year for the four brothers. In Manchester, Mughli has featured on National Television on several occasions, fed the likes of the Prime Minister, Jared Leto, Nigel Slater & Will.i.am, and has recently launched a new, heat-sealed delivery service from its Manchester restaurant. In London, their British coffee shop and wine bar, Damson & Co, located in the culinary melting pot of Soho, has achieved remarkable success in a very short space of time and works have also now commenced on a new, all-day neighbourhood brasserie, Queenswood, which is expected to open in Battersea early next year
Despite their busy schedules, Mughli’s Sax and Haz Arshad insist that the pop-up in Alderley was not an opportunity they wanted to miss: “We had been talking with Chef Gale for some time and when we were asked to launch a pop-up restaurant in one of our favourite suburbs, it seemed the perfect fit for the exciting, collaborative style of menu we were looking to introduce to the North West.”
When you're knocking on a bit like me, your childhood memories of bowling alleys are most probably, fuelled by the wonder of hindsight, comprised of dodgy shoes, point scoring machines which made no sense at all, especially not when trying to enter your group's names. This was all complemented by bad, often microwaved food, dodgy hot dogs, and soft drinks in paper cups, all of which you could only consume alley-side as you laughed at all your mates, who were probably even worse than you at bowling. Not so in my case. I've always been terrible at bowling.
Anyway, everybody likes bowling though right, even if you're rubbish at it. That’s part of the fun after all. But bowling alleys have always been about, well, bowling. The food and drink were blatant after-thoughts, and you didn’t ever go bowling with the mission of satisfying the taste buds or stomach. That was usually done afterwards or beforehand at another food chain on the same chain laden business park as the bowling alley itself.
Now don’t get me wrong, whilst All Star Lanes is clearly a bowling alley and a very good one at that may I add, it's also a bar and restaurant. You don’t have to bowl to eat, You don’t have to eat to drink, you don’t have to drink to bowl, etc. Anyway, you get my point. Its whatever you want it to be...[click here for full review]
The former Chicago Rock Café building has been at the heart of a £1million transformation, the result of which is Manchester’s newest and largest pan-Asian restaurant. ‘Sakana’ has been tipped to become the best restaurant in Manchester, seating over 400 diners and employing almost 100 staff. But first, what does the name ‘Sakana’ actually mean? Well quite simply it is to ‘enjoy alcohol with food’…
A key feature of the lavish bar is the six metre high steel tree, which forms a somewhat spectacular centrepiece within the split-level venue. The illuminated Japanese maple was designed by local artist Sarah Gallagher-Hayes, while in other areas of the restaurant, contemporary artwork by Japanese artist Masako is displayed on white washed walls. Open air seating at the front and a swanky bar gives a stylish and welcoming feel, before guests are transported through to an explosion of sights and sounds in the Japanese restaurant on the ground floor complete with sushi bar, robata grill and two teppanyaki areas where diners can watch dishes being freshly prepared
On the first floor is a spectacular pan-Asian fine dining restaurant, as well as a “residents area” bar where those wishing to splash out can have their pick of an array of rare and vintage wines from a black list, signed off to show which bottle you’ve drunk! A highlight of the list is the £3,600 1996 vintage Petrus! Stewart Yip, owner of restaurants Red Chilli and Ocean Treasure in Manchester is behind the venue with the help of sons Simon, Andy and Ricky and cousin Tim Yip who together run the Rock Star Leisure Group.
Press Officer for the venue Mark Hayward said “Manchester is growing rapidly as a city, and the demands of the dining scene here are growing too. The team know the city inside out and they have created a venue that is not just of a high standard regionally, but will challenge restaurants both nationally and internationally. Sakana is about to mix up the social scene of Manchester for sure”.
Business Development Manager Dan Robinson says “We’re aiming to create that elusive ‘third place’ for people to feel really comfortable and at home in Manchester. We think we have created a really unique dining offering here”.
Work continues to the exterior of the building for the coming few weeks but the venue is now open to the public. A VIP red carpet event is set to take place on Thursday 27th November to welcome the glitterati of the city to enjoy a true taste of pan-Asian cuisine at its best.
Gusto will open in city centre Manchester on Friday 5th December with a new-look brand reflecting its unique 8000 sq ft location on Lloyd Street within the stunning surroundings of the Grade II listed Elliot House, and an exciting new business chapter for the restaurants.
The design takes its cues and inspiration from the traditional grand cafés of Europe, accessible and welcoming, but with a hint of decadence and a touch of luxury. A spacious open dining room with rows of cast iron columns will be light and airy during the day, warm and intimate in the evening, with a glowing and glistening island bar at its centre
A striking display kitchen will enable diners to witness the theatre, activity and hustle within the restaurant, making them feel part of the action. Guests can expect a stylish destination bar and restaurant that will encompass a classic yet contemporary interior comprising of patterned marble floors and counters, glossy polished plaster and stained glass. With a private dining room adding another interesting dimension, Gusto will offer refreshed meeting and dining options for nearby businesses.
Gusto was backed by Palatine Private Equity in a management buyout earlier this year. Partner Gary Tipper and Investment Director Beth Houghton, joined the company’s board as non-executive directors to help the business roll-out its expansion plans across the UK.
Sue Crimes Managing Director of Gusto says: "This is a very exciting time for myself and the Gusto team - the Manchester restaurant will set the standard for the Gusto brand going forward. After this city-centre opening the group will roll out the new look branding across the existing estate within the next 18 months in addition to opening new restaurants across the country ."
Culinary legend; Marco Pierre-White is behind the launch of a new MediaCityUK based restaurant. Based in the Holiday Inn's current 'Hub' restaurant, the venture will be ItalianAmerican themed, in a steakhouse style setting, offering steaks, pizzas, pastas and burgers. The restaurant is set to launch in October.
_ 10 Sept 2014
