Ribs, rum, bourbon and beer are set to become Manchesters new favourites as the team behind Black Dog Ballroom, Dog Bowl and The Liars Club gets set to launch a new cocktail bar and rib joint, Cane & Grain, from Friday 11 July 2014. Replacing Thomas Restaurant and Bar, the new venture will open on central Thomas Street this summer.
Cane & Grain, which is set over three floors, is a new concept by The Liars Club founder and rum expert, Lyndon Higginson. It will take its inspiration from the previous site to Thomas which was called Cast and has legendary Northern Quarter status as a skate shop and party hangout. The ground floor will be a nod towards the 1980s skate scene.
The first floor is going to be a much more subtle affair. Bars which it draws inspiration from include cool, lo-fi yet high quality hangouts like Please Don't Tell and Little Branch in NYC. Look out for antique glassware, copper bar tops, homemade bitters and syrups and skilled mixers in this relaxed hideaway.
Drinks laboratory
The second floor will house Manchester's first bar laboratory where bartenders will be creating and constantly developing new and unique drinks and ideas. Lyndon Higginson says: There is a distinct lack of classic cocktail bars in Manchester and our first floor bar is going to fill that gap. We arent just aiming for the best bar in Manchester we want to be the best bar in the world.
The food menu, created by Dog Bowl chef Barry Gamble, will offer a selection of varieties of ribs and sides. Cane & Grain joins an extremely successful family of bars. Black Dog Ballroom in the Northern Quarter opened in September 2009 and has won awards including Best Bar of 2010 by the Manchester Evening News CityLife and Best Bar of 2011 by Manchester Confidential. It was joined by Black Dog Ballroom New Wakefield Street in March 2012 and Dog Bowl bowling alley in March 2013. The group enjoyed further success in 2011 with the triumphant launch of Tiki Dive Bar and Caribbean Rum Shop, The Liars Club, in the old Purple Pussy Cat site underneath Mojo.
From Thu 10 Jul, Cane & Grain Thomas Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, open daily, noon-2am, www.caneandgrain.co.uk