By Neil Sowerby
A DECADE after winning Restaurant of the Year in the Manchester Food and Drink Awards the Market Restaurant, on the corner of HIgh Street and Edge Street, has shut. A sad day for those of a certain age for whom it was a beacon – albeit a rather retro bistro of a beacon – of culinary hope in the Northern Quarter (when it wasn’t the NQ, if you get my drift.
The good news it is being taken over by the Moreau family, who are to transfer 63 Degrees their very French dining operation from the ground floor of The Light on Church Street into the alien territory of Solita, Almost Famous, Luck Lust Liquor & Burn.
A big plus for the new 63 Degrees (they are keeping the name) is they will double their number of covers because the Market has an upstairs space, thee Elizabeth Raffald Room. There will also be a 20-cover terrace.
In truth the Market had lost its way of late, hosting a drinks pop-up and staging a strange stunt serving Dr Oetker frozen pizzas. Quite a comedown after the glory years under the mighty triumvirate of Peter and Anne O’Grady and chef Su Su Edgecombe. They sold it on to Gary Newborough, once a devoted customer, who found it a tough act to live up to his predecessors.
Now a bare statement on the Market website reads: “Thanks to those customers and suppliers who have supported us over he last 34 years. This restaurant was one of the oldest and most well known independent restaurants in Manchester. Set in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, it was the original and we believe the finest eating experience in the area.”