THERE’s nowhere else in town you’d come face to face with a 17 course tasting menu for £75 that encompasses dishes from some culinary outer space, but then The Rabbit In The Moon is the brainchild of Michael O’Hare, whose daringly artistic food combinations shot him to fame on BBC’s Great British Menu – his unique talent further recognised by a Michelin star for his Leeds restaurant, The Man Behind The Curtain.
Its cuisine may not be everyone’s cup of umami, yet the shock, wow factor has it booked up weeks in advance and there is no doubting the rare technical ability of its hirsute creator. Both shock and awe are firmly in place in the newly opened Rabbit on the top two floors of Urbis, pledged to serve 'space-age Asian food’ in a tasting menu only – 17 courses for £75 – from Tuesday to Saturday, dinner only.
That menu currently reads: Moon rabbit, Kumamoto Oyster, Wagyu truffle nigiri, Toro melt, Salmon skin, Inari Sticky halibut ribs, Chinese bacon butty, Razor clam udon, Crispy red curry, Pain au unagi, Kimchi duck broth, Duck umeboshi nigiri, Duck liver satay, Electric lime leaf, Plum stone, Moon cake, Bubble waffle. (The Pain au unagi and Chinese bacon butty are pictured below)
To get these fusion fancies spot on he’s brought in his protege from Leeds, 21-year-old Luke Cockerill with the cocktail offering coming from Matt Whiley, one of London’s top operators.
It’s the opening shot from GG Hospitality, the development firm run by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs. They will open a further branch of their Cafe Football Concept downstairs at Urbis within, appropriately, the National Football Museum.
O’Hare was appointed consultant for this and for their major project transforming the old Stock Exchange building into a boutique hotel and restaurant complex. Work is ongoing. It will be amazing if this is anything like as sleek and chic as the newborn Rabbit.
The name comes from east Asian legends based on markings on the moon which are said to represent a rabbit with a mortar and pestle. In China the rabbit is preparing the elixir of life; in Japanese tradition it's pounding the ingredients for rice cake. Cynics might say it sounds pie in the sky, but soft launch reports have been very positive. ToM will fly to the Moon in the New Year and bring back our verdict.
The Rabbit In The Moon, Urbis Building, Cathedral Gardens, Todd St, City Centre, Manchester M4 3BG. 0161 804 8560.