There’s a new reason to head down to Stevenson Square, and it comes with wood smoke, frozen cola, 400g steaks and a seriously good sound system.
Dahlia Stereo has officially landed in the Northern Quarter, bringing together three things Manchester knows how to do very well: brilliant food, excellent drinks and music worth sticking around for.
The latest project from the team behind Ramona, Firehouse and other city favourites, Dahlia has been two years in the making. The result is a restaurant, bar and music venue rolled into one, with Latin American-inspired cooking at its heart and a soundtrack that carries on long after dinner.
And yes, the food is cooked over fire.
Welcome to Barbacoa Cósmica
Dahlia’s open-fire kitchen is the first of its kind in the city, drawing inspiration from travels across Latin America and the southern states of America. Think San Diego, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Jalisco, Austin and Miami, translated into a menu designed for sharing.
The kitchen itself is part theatre. Grab a seat at the counter, and you can watch chefs Will, Joe, Niamh and the team work over flames, charcoal and cast iron.
The opening menu is packed with things made for tearing, dunking, dipping and passing around the table.
First up are the charbreads, already shaping up to be one of Dahlia’s signatures. Made from 48-hour sourdough and baked in cast iron pans, they arrive with a beautifully blistered, leopard-spotted crust and a soft, fluffy centre.
There are also fresh corn tortillas made to order on the plancha, including a gluten-free option.
The breads are particularly good with Dahlia’s dips, including coal-roasted squash and jocoque, a whipped yoghurt topped with a smoky, crunchy peanut and chilli oil.
Then comes the Barbacoa.
The churrasco steak is a hefty 400g sharing plate of 28-day ex-dairy sirloin, brushed with Bertha-smoked beef fat and served with a sharp jalapeño and herb chimichurri.
The half achiote chicken is another standout. Marinated in achiote, chipotle, herbs and citrus before being fired to order for around 25 minutes, it arrives blackened, juicy and coated in a deep red achiote emulsion.
Alongside it, there are coal-roasted Massey Farm potatoes with Spanish aioli, fired corn and smoky mushroom rice, blackened to order.
Save room for pudding, too. Dafne’s blackberry pavlova keeps things relatively sensible, while the chocolate mousse takes the considerably less sensible route.
Then there’s the Liquorita
At the centre of Dahlia sits Bar Más Bonita, a neighbourhood liquor store-inspired bar specialising in tequila, mezcal, rum and other Latin spirits.
There’s Modelo on tap, a strong wine list spanning the Americas and beyond, and a drinks menu with plenty of personality.
The team are also making and bottling their own serves in-house.
The Champagne Su-Paloma combines the familiar citrusy hit of a paloma with Champagne, while the Fro-Co Frozen Cola is made to Dahlia’s own recipe and served with rum or tequila.
The music is a big deal
The clue is in the name. Dahlia Stereo has been designed around music, with a bespoke sound system handmade by Hatchett Sound and acoustic treatment engineered specifically for the space by Manchester’s Neuron AV.
The ambition is pretty serious. Rather than treating the music as background noise, Dahlia has built the room around it.
The venue has been designed to feel like an intimate club, with capacity kept below 200 people. After 9 pm, the restaurant shifts further towards its Stereo identity, with DJs taking over the booth and the music running into the night.
Programming comes from Want Studios’ Jonjo Williams, of Maribou State, and Rich Reason of Hit & Run, with a first season line-up that already includes Gilles Peterson, Quantic, Gia Fu, DJ Die, Joey Thor and more.
So, while you can turn up for dinner, there’s a strong chance you’ll still be there when the plates have been cleared.
A very Manchester kind of new opening
Dahlia Stereo sits just off Stevenson Square as part of The Hive, x+y’s new co-working development on Lever Street.
The opening celebrations run throughout September, with Gilles Peterson, Joey T, Jon Da Silva, Rich Reason and plenty of other DJs taking over the Stereo.
There’s also a rather good reason to get down there early.
Throughout September, diners can get 50% off their food bill on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays before 9pm while the new team gets up to speed. You’ll need to book a table and follow @dahliastereo on Instagram to qualify.
Dahlia Stereo is now open Wednesday to Sunday, from 4pm on weekdays and from midday at weekends, with late-night opening until 1am five nights a week.
Find out more here