Arc Inspirations has confirmed it will be opening the doors to Banyan Bar and Kitchen, its first bar and restaurant in Manchester, in the Corn Exchange at the beginning of October. With a sumptuous all-day offering using fresh, local ingredients, beautifully cooked and catering to all tastes and occasions, Banyan is ready to make an immediate impact in the city centre.
Occupying the corner unit of the Corn Exchange, Banyan has an impressive outdoor South facing terrace, offering 125 covers, giving customers the chance to enjoy the sunshine and views across Exchange Square, while two below ground private dining and party rooms, aptly named The Root and The Well, will enable guests to enjoy their special event in style.
During the day, the stylish and relaxing bar areas with floor to ceiling windows offer customers a perfect place to meet up for coffee and cake, breakfast/brunch, sharing boards, a nice chilled glass of champagne or a cocktail crafted by award winning mixologists. The comprehensive drinks menu includes an incredible array of cocktails, offering a mixture of the classics and some with a Banyan twist. The beer and wine list has been personally chosen by some of the best beer and wine connoisseurs in the country ensuring all tastes and palates are catered for.
The Kitchen area will seat 90, offering meals for everyone in a more formal setting. A huge open kitchen and a 20 cover Chef’s Table form part of the dining experience with attention to detail on the menu second to none, using fresh local produce to provide customers with a meal of the finest quality.
Martin Wolstencroft, Managing Director of Arc Inspirations, said; “The Corn Exchange is a unique, historic location, right in the heart of Manchester’s retail core and we’re excited about introducing Banyan into this burgeoning mix of restaurants and bars. Banyan is a stylish and genuine bar, serving beautiful food and drink – every last detail focusses on these principles. As a result, we’re a destination for all occasions and we’re looking forward to forging a path in the North West. We pride ourselves on hand picking personable members of staff, to ensure all our customers enjoy a welcoming experience on every visit. Banyan is a place you visit once, set down roots and return time and time again. We look forward to meeting you all in October!”
The Pen & Pencil To Open In Manchester’s Northern Quarter
An added touch of New York glamour is set to arrive in Manchester with the The Pen & Pencil bar and eatery which is set to open on the corner of Hilton and Tariff Street this August. Taking its name and inspiration from the infamous mid-20th Century bar on East 45th Street in New York, which was popular with newspaper journalists and ad men – the original ‘Mad Men’, The Pen & Pencil hopes to offer the perfect place for the NQ’s creative locals to chill, think, meet and enjoy great food and drink.
Open seven days a week, The Pen & Pencil will be open from 10am right through ’til late with a focus on a strong day time offering with great breakfast, brunch and lunch washed down with top quality coffee and freshly blended smoothies. The brunch menu typifies its American namesake and will include American pancakes served with buttermilk pancakes, blueberries, house made bourbon syrup and streaky bacon; Mexican breakfast with scrambled eggs, smoked bacon, avocado, Manchego cheese, tomato salsa, chipotle and sour cream and potato & courgette rosti, streaky bacon, avocado, poached eggs.
Evenings and weekends the menu will develop to include small plates and a few larger dishes with an international feel, for example, Lebanese Scotch Egg served with tahini, and Pork and Chive Dumplings. It will sit alongside a specially created cocktail list making the venue perfect for mid afternoon cocktails, after work gatherings, and those wanting to eat and drink until the early hours.
The cocktail list, created in-house, will feature amongst others Beer in the Bronx with gin, IPA syrup, pink grapefruit juice, sweet & dry vermouth and Cucumber & Sake Martini with cucumber, vodka, sake, sugar. A resident DJ will get the party started every weekend and the team are looking to curate a series of monthly live music nights. There is also offers a room for private hire for networking meetings, private parties and launch events.
The Pen & Pencil is the joint venture of two of Manchester’s established bar and restaurant operators, Dan Pollard who created The Violet Hour cocktail bar and lounge on Burton Road in West Didsbury and Kevin Connor, who previously ran the NQ institution, Dry Bar on Oldham Street.
Commenting on the launch Dan Pollard, said: “The opening of the Pen & Pencil is the realisation of a dream for both myself and Kevin. We are both huge fans of the style, atmosphere and food and drink offerings of 1950s New York bars that have been immortalised in numerous films and TV series. We are taking inspiration from them and some of their magic and history and making it relevant to Manchester, in particular its extremely sociable Northern Quarter community, today".
Kevin continued: “Our brunch/lunch menu will be one of the best in the city and, the fact that we will be open seven days a week from 10am right through to late, will ensure we cater for weekday and weekend guests, whether they want cocktails, business meetings, while away a couple of hours with a top quality coffee, or a Saturday night late one accompanied by one of Manchester’s finest DJs, The Pen & Pencil is set to be the place to be.”
La Meets Nq As Retro Diner Opens Its Infamous Doors With Vip Launch
The one million pound Infamous Diner opened its doors in style on Thursday, July 23, with a star studded VIP party. Coronation Street stars Brooke Vincent, Katie McGlynn and Catherine Tyldesley joined a host of other celebs, journalists and VIPs, to celebrate the opening of the diner, which brings together LA and the NQ.
The 1950’s inspired ‘all American’ diner with more than a side of the Northern Quarter, opened with a stateside splash with guests tucking into mini burgers, dogs , mac n cheese, toasted sandwiches, marinara meatballs, French toast, waffles and New York cheesecake all made fresh daily on the premises.And they enjoyed tipples from the newly created cocktail menu including Strawberry Daiquiris, Californian Caiprinha and frozen maragarita shots, whilst being entertained by the Infamous cheerleaders, the Norternettes band and Elvis and Buddy Holly impersonators.
Open from 7am until late, seven days a week (9am on Sunday) and with capacity for more than 80, MAD (Mark Andrew Developments) the name behind favourite hot spots Rosylee, Walrus and Hula among others, promises big flavours, big plates and service with a smile from its 50’s styled servers. With no expense spared, there’s a perfect ‘back to the future’ marble counter with raspberry pink booths, silver ceiling and LA neon lighting throughout, creating a stunning setting for cocktails, food and fun, including a juke box with retro tunes from the era.
In true diner spirit, there’s also free refills on filter coffee, an authentic American breakfast menu that includes pancake stacks and waffles with maple syrup available through the day, as well as hot dogs, burgers, shakes, fries and sides, all created by Group Executive Head Chef, Chris Byron and starting from £3.75 for a breakfast.
MAD’s mixologists have also been working up a new cocktail menu that will put Infamous firmly on the bar map with American Bourbon classics including the Maple Manhattan and Salted Caramel Old Fashioned. Plus the newly created Infamous Invents list, with concoctions that include the Coconut & Lychee Margarita, Californian Caiprinha and Palm Springs, starting from £6.
“Manchester thinks it has had American diners before but there has been nothing like the Infamous Diner,” said Mark Andrew, Managing Director. “We have created the perfect diner that comes straight out of ‘Back to the Future’, Hairspray and all the classic movies. The name sums it up. It will be Infamous and we can’t wait to open the doors on a new experience for Mancunians.”
And Infamous made sure it didn’t leave out customers on launch day, giving away 300 free burgers and bags of popcorn ‘in a first come first served’ giveaway at noon before the VIP party. “We wanted to give our customers a taste of Infamous Diner and had a huge queue today where we gave out free burgers and popcorn and we’re looking forward to giving them an Infamous Diner welcome on our first day of opening tomorrow,” added Mark.
An application to open an as of yet unnamed cocktail back at 26 Lever Street has been lodged with the city council. Details are currently very vague indeed, but we will certainly keep our ears to the ground. _ August 2015
The Quadrangle is ot host a new bar in the form of Dokie Dokie. Details are sparse at present, but the consultation period ends on September 7th, so no doubt more information will follow soon. _ August 2015
Taps, the popular Great Northern Warehouse area bar hotspot is to close after 6 years of trading. Its sister bar Epernay, which is located upstairs, will however continue trading. In Taps place will open No1 Watson Street, which has been described as industry insiders as 'a jack of all trades, late 60s Scandinavian-styled beer haven. _ August 2015
Manchester's Albert Hall on Peter St is to host Albert's Schloss, a cook haus and bier palace, which is German for a restaurant and beer house. Initial photos look very grand, and the opening date is currently pencilled in for mid-October. _ August 2015
