Deansgate, Manchester
Bringing a taste of New York
to Deansgate, Manahatta is the latest cocktail bar and restaurant from Arc
Inspirations. It’s a lively and atmospheric bar which taps into the trends of
daytime drinking and all-day partying.
Arc Inspirations are the
company behind Banyan Bar & Kitchen, which has more than a dozen branches
all over the country. It has been a fixture in the Corn Exchange since the
revamp of the old Triangle shopping centre and a sister restaurant has recently
opened in Spinningfields.
Step inside and you’re
transported to the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. It has the vibe of a
late-night cocktail bar, even at one o’clock on a Sunday afternoon, with dimmed
lights, silk hanging curtains, stylish booths and lounge seating.
It’s less of a restaurant,
more of a cocktail bar which serves food. When I booked my table online, I had
to specify that I wanted to be in the ‘Food Area’. It was, in fact, my second
attempt. I originally attempted to book for a Saturday afternoon a few weeks
ago, but my request was declined as they were fully booked, so it’s obviously
very popular.
We were seated in a high,
rectangular booth looking out across the bar, which meant we were able to soak
up the atmosphere.
There’s an extensive drinks
menu: cocktails, mocktails, gin, wine, larger, ales, beers, spirits, prosecco
and champagne, with Happy Hour taking place every day from 4.00pm – 7.00pm.
Food wise, it’s a snacky menu,
with brunch served until through the day until 4.00pm and the main menu
available from 12.00 noon. It’s fairly standard American comfort food, probably
better suited to lunchtime than evening.
To start, I had Salt and
Pepper Calamari, served with garlic aioli for dipping. The calamari was tasty
and cooked well, but, despite the batter being crispy, I couldn’t detect much
of a salt and pepper flavour. £7.50 is fairly standard for a seafood starter in
the city centre, but for the portion it was perhaps a little steep.
 |
| Salt and Pepper Calamari |
My main course was
disappointing. I had a Pestorella wrap: buffalo mozzarella, grilled sweet
peppers, tomatoes, pickled red onions and green pesto mayo folded up inside a
piadina, which is a traditional Italian flatbread. The piadina was slightly
chewy and tasted undercooked, but there was plenty of filling inside it and it
made for a tasty bite. However, it could have been much better had it been
served warm. Whilst mozzarella can be enjoyed cold perfectly well, the peppers
and tomatoes were barely lukewarm. A warm wrap with gooey, melted mozzarella
gluing it all together would been much better. The fries were disappointing: crispy
but too thin, tasteless and not very well seasoned.
 |
| Pestorella Wrap |
Manahatta serve up bubble
waffles for dessert. I’ve seen these knocking around food stalls on Market
Street. They’re what I like to think of as ‘instagrammable food’; they might
look good on photos, but they’ve never really appealed to me. However, when I
spied these being delivered to the table next to us, my eyes were green with
food envy and my taste buds were salivating. Three different flavours are on
offer: Berry Delight, Choc Delight and Banoffee, but all three contain
chocolate, which is off the menu during Lent.
I’d definitely want to try one if I was to return, although my main
course didn’t inspire me enough to tempt me back for a second go.
Sadly, there was a group of
screeching ladies who had clearly been enjoying their Bottomless Brunch for
several hours before we arrived. Their unnecessary, attention-seeking and
downright selfish screams and shrieks bounced off the bare brick walls and left
us unable to hear ourselves think, let alone have a conversation. It’s not
ideal when you’re meeting friends for a catch-up and a leisurely lunch, is it?
Call me a bore, but this highlights everything that’s wrong with this Bottomless Brunch trend. For £26.95, you can enjoy a meal and as much alcohol as you can manage to guzzle. Encouraging people to drink themselves into oblivion with only an Eggs Benedict to soak it all up on a Sunday morning is, frankly, irresponsible. Given that you also have to pay a £5 upgrade for many of the food options, its expensive too.
Shrieking ladies aside, I
enjoyed the ambience of Manahatta, but the food was nothing more than average.
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