Bar consultant and creator of Drinks Enthusiast, (and general man-in-the-know when it comes to drinking in Manchester) Dave Marsland, takes a look at the next few months on the Manchester bar scene...
So my post looked at how the latter end of 2013 looked for the Manchester bar scene. This week though, we’re looking ahead, seeing what will be taking place in and around the city, giving you a sneak peak of what to look out for in the coming months.
New ventures are being built and stocked to the high standards that we Mancunians expect, with the horizon looking as bright as ever as a variety of themes are heading our way.
Award-winning restaurateur Steve Pilling, boss of the Damson restaurants at Heaton Moor and MediaCity, as well as Liquorice bar on King Street, will open Guilty By Association, to be located on Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter.
There are also high hopes that this year the Courthouse development on Deansgate will finally be ready to launch, with Steven Pilling's Roast Restaurant and Oyster House taking over the huge space in the lower ground floor of the development.
Red’s True BBQ is taking over the old Livebait restaurant opposite the Town Hall after the success of its Leeds venue. With phrases such as ‘the people need to be saved from bad barbecue. Red swore that no rib, sausage, breast nor burger would be cremated in his name’, you know that it will come to the City of Manchester with fanfare and noise!
Beef and Pudding will be close by, with the team behind the New Moon Pub Company taking their expertise from the likes of Knutsford and Kelsall to the former pub The Crown on Fountain Street. Promising an “urban pub and kitchen”, expect a proper Sunday roast, as well as their take on burgers, steak, puddings and other British classics.
The Northern Hospitality Week has been launched this year, bringing together and celebrating the whole of the hospitality industry in the North of England. The initiative will take place over 17th to the 23rd of March, with the hub being centred around the Northern Restaurant & Bar exhibition, the biggest hospitality event in the North, held in Manchester Central on the 18th and 19th of March. Keep your eyes peeled as more details get released!
The Manchester Bottle Beer Festival, hosted by your very own Drinks Enthusiast, is making its way to Lock 91 at the end of March. An afternoon dedicated to bottled ales, ciders and lagers, with food served up by the team at Flavours Found, it promises to open your eyes to some of the lesser known delights that the beer world has to offer.
The Liquorists are back with their ever popular trails, with rum being the serve of the day. You’ll get to sample five tots, five rum cocktails and matching food pairings along the way of five different bars within the city, hosted by one of the knowledgeable team at The Liquorists. They’ve also launched the Mississippi Blues Cruise to be held in March. Join them “for an evening of Creole cooking, tub thumping blues played live, and the finest drinks ever served on water. You will be supping on Whiskey, good ole bourbon! Old Fashioneds, Brown Derbys, Sazeracs…the finest American Whiskey, in the finest drinks.”
Of course, many of the bars available within the City Centre will be hosting events, master classes and tastings galore over the next few weeks and months, so make sure you keep an eye out for anything that might tickle your taste buds!
Until then, drink less but drink well!
Follow Dave on Twitter @drinksenthusist