Manchesters dining out scene is set to expand with a new addition in Autumn 2014 when the ARIL Group opens Asha Indian restaurant in Manchester. The launch will be attended by Asha Bhosle, the multi-award-winning Indian singer, who is the inspiration behind the restaurant chain.
Ashas menus include contemporary pan-Indian cooking alongside a modern cocktail menu and carefully selected wine list. The Victorian building, facing the Theatre Royale, comprises 6000 sq. ft over two floors. Upper ground floor includes a 100-cover restaurant while the lower ground floor will host a cocktail bar for 70 and private dining.
Asha opened her first restaurant at Wafi City, Dubai in 2002, and the brand now takes in much of the Middle East as well as a Michelin-commended outlet in Birmingham. Peter Warden, known in Manchester for his role in the opening of venues including Restaurant Bar and Grill and Piccolino returns to the city after three years with the ARIL Group where he is now General Manager.
Warden says: We are tremendously excited about our new upcoming cocktail bar and restaurant in Manchester. This will be our tenth Ashas around the world and for the Manchester venue we have taken a major leap forward in the evolution of the brand. I am sure that the good people of Manchester will be delighted with the fantastic décor, delicious drinks and amazing award winning food that they will be able to enjoy when we open in October.
Asha is not only the inspiration for the restaurant. She was also muse to British band Cornershop, which paid tribute to her with their song Brimful of Asha. She also features in the Guinness Book of World Records , as the most recorded artist in music history, with over 11,000 songs in over 20 Indian languages, and in over 1,000 Bollywood movies. Design company, Luxe Interior International, is designing the Manchester restaurant.
From October 2014, Asha, Peter Street, Manchester, www.ashasrestaurants.com