& CULTURE A whole new world of
HUDDERSFIELD has seen many new bars and restaurants open up over the past year. Independents, such as Cafe Mandalay and Sketch, as well as national chains, like Manjaros and Revolucion de Cuba, have all been attracted to the area in last 12 months.
Most encouraging of all is the wide variety of establishments setting up shop in Kirklees – from Huddersfield’s first wine shop and bar, Kwas, to artisan dessert parlour, Heavenly Desserts. offers a taster of what’s on offer. In February Thai restaurant Siam Square opened in John William Street, Huddersfield, in the place of closed Chinese eatery Canton Chef. Although the new business was put up for sale in December, with a price tag of just under £100,000, it consistently gets good reviews and remains open and trading. African-Caribbean grill chain, Manjaros, moved into the former residence of the now-closed Ox and Bone on Firth Street, Huddersfield. The announcement was made in April but it took until the start of December for the soft launch. At the moment they are only accepting pre-bookings until they accept walk-ins after the full opening in 2019. Street this year. The £1m Cuban bar was opened in November with enough space for 450 people, making it one of the town’s biggest bars and eateries.
Sketch is all about secrecy. From New Street, Huddersfield, you can only see a mysterious lantern with the bar’s name subtly lit up. Descend a few steps though and you find a prohibition-era style cocktail bar. After a “Halloween trick” fake opening in October the bar officially launched a month later. first Huddersfield outlet in October. The restaurant and takeaway in Bradford Road has been an instant hit with residents looking for good quality fish and chips for a decent price.
Back in January married couple Jennifer Malasin and Phi Ti Torn turned the former Discovery Bay restaurant and cocktail bar, which closed in 2017, into TJ Thai and Japanese. Before opening the Wood Street, Huddersfield, eatery, Jennifer grew up in Las Vegas where her grandmother opened the first thai restaurant in the Nevada city.