LIKE the proverbial buses, you wait for one acclaimed London chain to set up in Manchester and two come along in two days. Hot on the heels of Iberica announcing they are launching in Spinningfields on Wednesday, March 4 Hawksmoor tell us they are opening their doors on Deansgate on Thursday, March 5.
The Hawksmoor is the first outside London, where the Spitalfields original, Seven Dials, Guildhall and Air Street have just been joined by a fifth in Knightsbridge (pictured in this order below).
Having, on a recent whirlwind reccie in The Smoke, experienced three in a day and met co-founders Huw Gott and Will Becket (pictured below) I think I’ve got a grasp of the concept, which works wonderfully with no noticeable weak link. And I’m not just saying that because they lavished their full range of steaks and cocktails on our party. The offering is stunning and there was no indication (a lack of commitment to oysters aside) that there’ll be any “dumbing down” in the foray north.
Manchester has the chance to make up its mind in advance of the official opening during a two-week soft launch period, in which customers can enjoy 50 per cent off food. To be in with a chance of getting a reservation during this period, from February 19--March 4, guests need to sign up at this link before midnight on Monday, January 26 and the instructions to book will be sent on Tuesday, January 27 at 11am.
Hawksmoor, Manchester is based in the Victorian Courthouse building at 184-186 Deansgate. Damson’s Steve Pilling appears to have pulled out of his proposed venture elsewhere in the site because of similarities to Hawksmoor; a very different operation, Hand Made Burger Company, is already in situ in this beautiful late Victorian edifice.
Will Beckett says: “It feels great, after years of trying to open a restaurant in Manchester and months of building works, tastings and anticipation to be finally on the verge of launching the restaurant. We really hope Manchester likes what we’ve created – really high standards of food, drink and service, but in a relaxed environment with none of the stuffiness that sometimes comes with fine dining.
“We’ve really got to know Manchester over these last few months and believe Hawksmoor will be a great addition to the dining scene in the city. We love the Courthouse. It’s proved to be the perfect location for us and we hope we’ve done it justice.”
I sense a commitment to the north’s produce, too, when it matches their standards. Already they source all their beef from ethically raised, grass-fed Longhorn stock reared by The Ginger Pig near Pickering in North Yorkshire; their beer offering may well be augmented by Manchester’s finest ales, to complement their canny cocktail menu and an immaculately chosen wine list designed to partner, in particular, their range of dry-aged steaks. Steak cuts in enormous sizes (at admittedly enormous prices) are chalked up – encouraging tables to share the meat mountain. It should be gross but when they are sliced up, pinky purple flesh is framed in dark char – a work of art almost. Best steak I've ever tasted. Well, close.
Service promises much. In the 2013 Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For Hawksmoor came fifth (our own Living Ventures was ninth – a former LV employee Lucy Noone is reservations and marketing manager at Hawksmoor Manchester).
Stand-outs at the meal we had at Hawksmoor Seven Dials ranged from Brixham Crab on Toast to Roast Scallops with White Port and Garlic, comforting sides of nutmeggy Creamed Spinach and Macaroni Cheese to steak mains of D-Rump, Porterhouse and perfectly fat-seamed Rib-Eye. Oh and their Bone Marrow in Green Sauce was the equal of, if not better than, Fergus Henderson’s classic interpretation, while grown men around me were going all Meg Ryan over the Anchovy Mayonnaise.
My one regret (as an unashamed fish aficionado) was the absence of the Roast Shoulder of Turbot – a speciality of the Air Street, Piccadilly branch.
Still I did manage to beg an extra Half A Native Lobster with hazelnut and garlic butter from exec chef Richard Turner, who’ll be overseeing the transition to Manchester. Gorgeous stuff. Man cannot live by steak alone. But when it comes as good as Hawksmoor’s I’m willing to try.
Hawksmoor Manchester, 184-186 Deansgate. http://thehawksmoor.com/locations/manchester