Manchesters Alchemist is a cocktail institution. A visit here feels really special, while trademark cocktails like pineapple foam-topped French Martini mark the bar out as a scene leader. With two more branches in the chain (New York Street and Leeds), it's a proper smash for the Living Ventures group.
The decor is a part of the occasion. Theres an iconic back wall and triple-height ceilings. Everything is gold, brass or leather. If you could party in a rich Victorian banker's fantasy, it might look a bit like this, and the menu complements the look, with alchemical magic galore.
Cocktails, like newcomer, The Bubble Bath (£7.50) have been composed to have an impact. This thing keeps bubbling like the magic porridge pot that children read about at school. It looks astonishing, and we spend at least the first 10 minutes of our meal just looking at it.
On-trend
Taste wise, its a little sweet, but the soft apple, gin and Aperol combo is on-trend. But there are more than 100 other options. I particularly like the look of the White Cosmo (£6.95) at the next table, complete with an orchid encased in ice. Elsewhere wild concepts like Lavender Daiquiri (£7.50), hip flasks that you can refill or take away, aged Negronis (£10) and colour-changing cocktails are par for the course at this mixologist's paradise.
Sizzling chicken fajitas (£11.95) and prawns wrapped in outsized filo wizards hats (£4.95) add to the feeling that you are part of an illusionists set. But the tricks arent just for show. My Bang Bang Chicken salad (£4.95), is sophisticated and spicy while the fillet steak main (£19.95), is as simple as it should be. The peppercorn sauce is a little dense, and the fries a little bendy, but theres no faulting the cut.
Living Ventures group is behind the likes of feted pan-Asian restaurants and bars like Australasia and Grand Pacific and, of course, Manchester House which was the subject of the subject of a recent BBC2 series. Alchemist is the only one to have proliferated, though, and it's easy to see why.
This being a date-night kind of place, desserts are naughty. Belgian waffles, and cherry-toting Eton mess are just two shareable options. Some of the cocktails are pretty sweet too, and the Smoky Old Fashioned is a great punctuation mark. The waitress uses an actual smoke gun to push the flavour into a wide-based, test tub thing and we finish our meal outside, chatting to friends and admiring the craftsmanship thats gone into making this one of Living Ventures biggest hits.
Alchemist, 3 Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3HF. Tel: 0161 817 2950, www.thealchemist.uk.com