OUR definition of a great bar has never been the presence of fluffy woollen throws on every chair back, ’scandi-chic furnishings’ and omnipresent candlelight. All smacks of ‘hygge’, that hype tag of the moment. Still we are keen to welcome The Refinery, a dynamic arrival in the new XYZ (Cotton) Building to brighten up that wind-blown stretch of Spinningfields dubbed The Leftbank. It opens on Monday, November 28.
Our gut instincts side with fellow pre-Christmas openers, BEASTro, born out of the brilliant home-grown Bangers and Bacon on the start-up site there, but their modest operation is not really in competition with the big bucks of London bar group Drake & Morgan.
Both places will be offering all-day dining with brunch at weekends, but the comparison stops there The Refinery promising ‘classic British casual dining’ (full menu here) in their 80 cover restaurant and cocktails from a drop-dead gorgeous looking bar – plus board games for children and a promise of chocolates in the toilets, apparently.
The same formula is promised for D & M’s second Manchester site schdeuled for One St Peter’s Square in the spring.
The group currently runs nine bars and restaurants across London including the group’s flagship Drake & Morgan at King’s Cross, which opened last autumn. The opening of St Peter’s Square will bring the total portfolio to 14.
The Refinery Spinningfields, XYZ Building, 2 Hardman Boulevard, Spinningfields, M3 3AQ.