THE BEST OF MANCHESTER

IT’S been a big year for Manchester’s restaurant scene. Mana finally reclaimed the city a Michelin star after four decades without one; celebrity chef Tom Kerridge opened The Bull & Bear inside Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs’ long-awaited Stock Exchange Hotel; and more high profile newcomers including Bistrotheque and Kala also made their mark.

And while its pace has slowed, the city’s restaurant scene has continued to grow despite a spate of closures in the last 12 months.

Next year there’s more new openings on the way, from a Japanese basement bar and robata grill to an Ancoats music venue and restaurant.

Here are some of the places to look out for.

Mosu

PROMISING ‘a true taste of Tokyo after dark,’ robata grill bar Mosu will open beneath Barton Arcade in the former Be At One unit, previously The Circle Club.

Meaning to ‘ignite flame,’ the concept is inspired by Japan’s backstreet izakaya bars - basically the country’s answer to a pub, with casual food and drinks and a lively environment.

After a £2m transformation, the basement space will have a 70-cover restaurant with an open kitchen and robata grill where meat and seafood will be cooked over Japanese binchotan coal.

Diners can expect a menu that ‘focuses on traditional Japanese elements fused with an elegant twist where refinement rules over invention.’

There’ll also be a sushi counter using British seafood alongside daily imports from Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market.

The restaurant will take table bookings from 4pm until midnight, Thursday to Sunday, while the bar and lounge area will be open until 4am, serving cocktails, beers, wines and what owners promise will be ‘the most exquisite sake menu in Manchester.’

Opening in spring

Hotel Brooklyn

THE bosses of Manchester’s Hotel Gotham open their latest luxury bolthole in the city next year, with a number of food and drink offerings inside.

Based on Portland street, Hotel Brooklyn takes its inspiration from the hip New York borough and its parallels with Manchester.

It will have a public lobby serving coffee and cocktails, plus a cosy snug with an open fireplace and a record player spinning vintage vinyls from the Manchester music scene.

A restaurant named Runyon’s, after American writer Damon Runyon, will serve US and European dishes such as crab flake a la newberg and bacon fried rice, while the top floor will be crowned by rooftop bar Salvation.

The 189-room new build promises to be the city’s most accessible hotel, developed with the