This autumn sees the launch of Exhibition, a new 6,000sqft concept in Manchester city centre comprising three award-winning independent kitchens, two bars, and dedicated exhibition spaces for local artists.
The venue is opening in St George’s House on Museum Street, just off Peter Street and is being launched by the family behind Peter Street’s Haunt, a coffee shop and aperitivo bar.
Nestled within the Grade II listed building, which was previously the site of the Museum of Natural History back in 1909, the interiors have been stripped back to reveal the original industrial shell. Steeped in rich history, the building sits on the site of the 1817 Peterloo Massacre and is the place where the body of Hannah Beswick (the Manchester Mummy) was found.
Exhibition will be the new home for eclectic independent food, innovative drinks and boundary-pushing entertainment in Manchester’s vibrant city centre. From small plates to big sharers, the venue promises an exquisite dining experience, with global inspiration and local heart.
Two beautiful bars will offer local beers on tap, an extensive wine list and premium spirits, plus an expertly curated cocktail menu that will celebrate seasonality.After dark, the venue will play host to nightly DJs and entertainers, and also offer seven dedicated areas for local artists to exhibit their work every season.
Exhibition has today revealed that the award-winning kitchens that will join the space when it opens this November are popular restaurants Osma, Sao Paulo Bistro and Baratxuri.
The team behind Osma, the Prestwich-based restaurant named in the Michelin Guide within its first year of opening, will be bringing its ethos of Scandinavian taste experiences with a relaxed edge, and all dishes on the menu will be crafted using local ingredients.
Danielle Heron, Chef at Osma, said: “We are honoured and grateful to be given the opportunity to bring Osma to the city centre, in an incredible space with such talented people. What we find the most thrilling about Exhibition is how it combines great food and drinks with exciting art and music, all under one roof. We’re looking forward to meeting more of the people of Manchester, so pop in and say 'hallo'.”
During the day, Osma will serve open sandwiches with fillings such as cured Scottish salmon, golden beetroots, spinach & mustard, or rump of beef with onion jam, rocket and parmesan, all alongside fresh salads and hearty soups. In the evening, there will be a new selection of tempting small plates such as Avruga caviar pots with toasted brioche, a sashimi plate served with caper and shallot sauce, whole lobster with herb butter or a dish of roasted and pickled beetroots with raspberry and rose.
Also joining is Great British Menu chef and Manchester’s Chef of the Year nominee Caroline Martins of the Sao Paulo Project with a new version of her Brazilian-British fusion cuisine.
The Sao Paulo Bistro will be a more relaxed spin on her popular fine-dining residency At Blossom Street Social in Ancoats. Still focused on Brazilian-British fusion cuisine, local suppliers producers and traders will be at the heart of the new menu including Platt Fields Market Garden, Dormouse Chocolates, Northern Cure and The Flat Baker.
"From the first time I heard about Exhibition, I knew it was going to be a special, one-of-a-kind venue,” says Caroline. “While Manchester is already an incredible culinary destination, Exhibition is set to level-up the dining options in the centre of the city and become a real hotspot for anyone looking for delicious food with plenty of high quality drinks options in a stunning setting. Exhibition will be hard to beat for fans of fine food in Manchester."
Menu highlights include hand-dived scallops with creamy cassava sauce, Sao Paulo steak sandwich made with Lancashire ribeye and Garstang blue sauce, and a showstopper chocolate dessert using liquid nitrogen.
Specialist fire cookery restaurant, Baratxuri, is the third to join the line-up at the new venue. Already a favourite in Ramsbottom, Baratxuri will be introducing its classic Basque dishes of big cuts of meat and whole fish to the Manchester city centre space with Asado (bigger dishes for sharing) such as its famed Capricho Oro’ Txuleton - a 1kg bone-in rib steak, and Raciones (smaller plates); featuring dishes such as Boquerones, Jamon Iberico de Bellota. The team will also boast an extensive range of Pintxos served daily at lunchtime.
“We’re so excited to be involved with Exhibition,” says Joe Botham, owner of Baratxuri. “This venue is shaping up to be a ‘must visit’ and we are humbled and extremely proud to be cooking alongside such incredible kitchens. I honestly believe that Exhibition will rival the great market kitchens of Bilbao and Madrid and bring to Manchester a proper grown-up, casual yet really high quality dining experience.”
Spearheading the drinks menu for both bars in the 400-capacity venue, will be new General Manager Gethin Jones who has previously worked as a drinks consultant, and managed the likes of Ducie Street Warehouse, Cottonopolis and Edinburgh Castle Pub.
Seasonality will dictate the evolution of the food, music and art, and this will be echoed at the venue’s cocktail bar which will promote a new spirit each season, starting with brandy for Autumn. Seven dedicated areas will also see a new local artist exhibiting their work every season.
The main bar will be the first in the city to offer Manchester Union straight from the tanks, alongside a dedicated rotational line for Manchester breweries such as Sureshot, Cloudwater and Pomona. Exhibition’s wine list will feature many bottles with minimal intervention, approachable styles, with a high quality Verdejo on draught.
After dark, Exhibition will transform into a late night bar with DJs, live singers and musicians taking centre stage. Expect an eclectic mix of genres and a curated roster of both local and international DJs, every Wednesday-Sunday.
Exhibition, which is from the family behind Peter Street’s Haunt, is set to open this Autumn and will also play host to nightly DJs and entertainers, showcasing the very best of Manchester’s renowned creative scene.
For more information and to have the chance to attend the grand opening in November, please sign up to the mailing list at EXHIBITION MCR.
Instagram: @exhibition.mcr