New restaurant is great story for city
PLANS have been revealed for a £3m pan-Asian restaurant and bar inside Manchester’s historic Freemason’s Hall from the owner of celebrity hotspot Panacea.
Fable is set to occupy the central part of the ground floor and basement of the grade II listed Bridge Street building, which is being redeveloped into a new food and drink destination called Manchester Hall.
The restaurant would serve a mainly Japanese menu with lavish decor to match, drawing influence from Asian fables and culture, according to a planning application.
The application has been lodged by Panacea founder and co-owner Joe Akka, who plans to develop the concept into a global hospitality brand.
“The intention for Fable is to expand the brand in major cities internationally,” a letter attached to the application reveals.
“London will be Fable’s second location and the intention thereafter is to take the brand to key cities across Europe, the Middle East and USA. And it all starts in Manchester.”
Projected to cost between £2.75m and £3m, the fit-out would feature two giant dragon sculptures suspended from the ceiling and lightbox art at each end of the Memorial Hall, which would house the restaurant, plus a DJ booth in the shape of a hand holding a fish.
“Both the existing space and Fable narratives provide a rich mix of symbolism and mysticism,” a statement by designers Shed states.
“This has resulted in the introduction of large-scale animals/objects and feature furniture as a way of responding to the impressive rooms and creating an interior that is equally bold and mesmerising without disrupting the featured elements.” A bar with its own entrance on Wood Street would also be created in the Derby Lodge room and corridor, featuring a central bar and a DJ booth built around the existing pulpit, and preserving original features such as the walnut doors and panelling. Fable is scheduled to open this spring if it gets the go-ahead. It will join Leeds-based tapas restaurant, Pintura, as one of several new tenants inside the building, along with a nine-room boutique hotel. The Freemasons, who opened the lodge in 1929, will retain use of the third floor. Planning application