Simply irresistible!
TOM REVEALS HIS PHILOSOPHY AT NEW BAR AND RESTAURANT
MANCHESTER’S historic Stock Exchange reawakens this week with a new restaurant from Michelinstarred chef Tom Kerridge at its heart.
After lying dormant for years, the historic, grade II-listed Norfolk Street building has been transformed into a luxury boutique hotel by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs’ GG Hospitality group.
The former trading floor, with its spectacular domed ceiling, is now home to Kerridge’s restaurant and bar The Bull & Bear, named after stock market terms in a nod to the building’s heritage.
A gleaming marble lobby leads through to the bar, where there’s space for around 40 people to drink and order from a bar snacks menu.
A timeless fit-out makes the most of the original Edwardian stained glass windows and original wood panelling, which has been repainted in a muted green to match the marble fireplaces and comfy, reclining bar stools.
In the 87-cover dining room, marble-topped tables are hugged by curving leather booths beneath the domed ceiling, which is lit up to dramatic effect and underscored by a brass statue of a headless superhero sculpted by Tom’s wife Beth CullenKerridge.
The grandeur is softened by gallery walls of contemporary artwork and big-screen TVs showing the news at breakfast and major sports games throughout the day, with the volume off.
An open kitchen stands at one end with a counter where diners can sit and watch the chefs at work.
Promising refined British comfort food, the menu includes dishes such as smoked chicken and ham hock terrine with piccalilli; crispy pig’s head with celeriac remoulade and spiced date sauce; rotisserie celeriac with winter truffle; and the signature burger from Kerridge’s Michelin-starred Marlow pub The Coach, topped with smoked brisket and dill pickle.
“We’ve done something new for Manchester that we haven’t tried anywhere else but now the teams at The Hand & Flowers [his two Michelin-starred Marlow pub] and The Coach are wanting to do it,” said Tom.
“It’s a very simple baked potato cooked on the rotisserie and served with raw steak. We’re trying about three or four amazing heritage potatoes and serving it with a confit egg yolk coked in beef fat. For me, it’s the simple things done well that really work.”
The menu makes use of local produce including smoked salmon from the Manchester Smokehouse and beers from Salford’s Seven Brothers brewery, alongside suppliers used at Tom’s Marlow pubs. After a series of dinners for family and friends in the industry, the restaurant officially opens to the public on Friday, along with the rest of the hotel. Spread over five floors including two new storeys built above the dome, the accommodation ranges from standard rooms starting at £200 a night to the top floor penthouse, The House, a 3,500 square foot apartment with its own private roof terrace, which will set guests back £1,750 a night. A brass-banistered staircase sweeps up from the lobby to one of the most impressive suites, The Boardroom, which features original
Tom Kerridge stained glass reception doors, pillars and a massive ‘mini’ bar behind the thick iron doors of one of the old vaults.
A specially commissioned spiral staircase has also been installed, swirling up from the basement private dining room, The Vault, to The House on the top floor. Rooms and corridors around the hotel are decorated with original photos, architectural drawings and artifacts from the Stock Exchange in its heyday, as well as new photography highlighting its period details.
Tom said it was the building’s beauty that had drawn him to the project, after being invited to view it by Gary Neville when the Manchester United legend was dining at his London restaurant, Kerridge’s Bar & Grill, at the Corinthia Hotel.
“The restaurant space is what I fell in love with. The domed ceiling is just stunning,” he said.
“The guys have done a wonderful job of restoring this incredible building. From the outside it’s a beautiful building but when you walk in the reception area, for me, it’s just absolutely stunning.”