IT’S happened twice lately to Taste of Manchester – arranging to meet up in the wrong bar. And we don’t mean we turned up in the ‘other’ Alchemist, an alternative Chop House or confused Yard & Coop with Folk & Soul.
No, it’s the identikit nature of newcomers that throws us sometimes. Refinery in Spinningfields seems not dissimilar at first glance to Living Ventures’ superior Alchemist around the corner and now the Refinery chain’s creators Drake & Morgan have come up with The Anthologist, due to open on July 2 at One St Peter’s Square.
They promise “a relaxed all-day bar and restaurant perfect for everything from breakfast meetings to client updates over lunch, after work drinks or dinner with friends” and “a constant flow of new drinks and dishes from across the globe, a unique range of innovative cocktails and all-day dining.”
This self-styled big sister to The Refinery has an oddly familiar look in the artist’s impression sent to us (main picture, Refinery, below).
The London-based operators’ MD Jillian MacLean told us: “We are delighted to be opening our second bar and restaurant in Manchester. We have a genuine affection for Manchester and its people. It’s a very proud and distinctively different city that does things in its own unique style.
“That fact has underpinned our approach with The Anthologist in Manchester. We want to introduce a refreshingly independent bar-restaurant experience that comes with a few new exciting additions for our lovely customers and feels very much part of this great city.”
In the first two weeks after launch, guests can enjoy special offers at The Anthologist, with 50 per cent off food for bookings between Monday July 2 and Sunday July 8 and 25 per cent off food for bookings between Monday July 9t and Sunday July 15. Book via [email protected].
A major plus point is, like the London original, The Anthologist is dog-friendly. It also offer a choice of five salads inspired by our fave Kiwi fusion food guru, Peter Gordon. The likes of baby beetroot with broad beans, goat’s curd and hazelnuts; kohlrabi with watermelon, tofu, mangetout and candied walnuts; and roast cauliflower with seeds, olives, broad beans, peas and olive tapenade.
Innovative cocktails will include Yoga Mat & Cha, a blend of spit-roasted pineapple gin by the Boutique-y Gin Company, yoghurt, almond milk, honey green tea, baking soda, lemon, sage and hazelnut and the Grassland with Ketel One vodka, absinthe, apple juice, lemon, dandelion and burdock bitters, grapefruit and rosemary tonic.
The Anthologist, One St Peter’s Square, Manchester, M2 3DE.