Is this city’s most Grand dining room?
MANCHESTER’S most magnificent dining room reopens today as Grand Pacific, a colossal new bar and restaurant from Living Ventures.
The historic Reform Club has undergone an extraordinary transformation from its most recent guise as Room, with a spectacular fit-out styled on the grand old colonial hotels of south east Asia.
An enormous oak staircase sweeps up to the palatial first floor hall, where ornate floor to ceiling windows and turrets looking out across King Street flood the room with sunlight.
The building’s grade II* listed splendour has been sensitively preserved, from the pitch pine ceiling to the stone fireplaces, and enhanced by a classic, colonialstyle design scheme by interiors guru Michelle Derbyshire.
A 25-seat long bar, inspired by Raffles Hotel in Singapore in its heyday and overhung by a great golden palm chandelier, runs down the middle of the space, serving cocktails with a tropical twist such as the Hibiscus Collins (£9) and The Grand Pineapple, served in a golden pineapple cup you can choose to keep for £20.
Towards the back of the room is the main dining space, where diners are seated at cream leather booths to enjoy an informal, panAsian menu featuring appetisers such as sushi bowls (£8.75) and gyoza (£6), and mains, including tempura Szechuan sea bass with crispy noodles (£17.95), lamb massaman curry (£17.95) and teasmoked salmon with cucumber salad (£17.95).
Classic Sunday roasts, carved at the table and accompanied by music from the Palm Court Band, and decadent high teas will also be served in the 120-cover space.
Formerly home to the notorious Reform restaurant, the site was snapped up by the late Tim Bacon in what he described as ‘the quickest deal in Living Ventures history.’
He had already begun work with Michelle on the design before he passed away last year and his initials have been etched onto a window panel as a poignant, permanent tribute to him in the space he was so passionate about bringing back to life.
Founded as a gentlemen’s club for Liberal politicians and opened by then Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone in 1871, it was here that the likes of Winston Churchill and Lloyd George would address the people of Manchester from its balustraded balcony, and where the city’s great and good would gather to unwind inside.
Living Ventures CEO Jeremy Roberts said: “We are delighted to bring this beautiful room back to life and echo its glorious past as the home of the historic Manchester Reform Club. Its heritage as a place to relax, eat and drink and just enjoy some of the pleasures of life simply oozes from the walls and it is our privilege and pleasure to let it continue to be what it was always meant to be.”
Grand Pacific opens today from 12pm and will be open seven days a week.