Manchester food news ft. new Bundobust, Doner Haus, alpine Six By Nico menu, 50% off Rosa’s Thai Cafe and more

The Corn Exchange’s newest restaurant has opened its doors and is ready to give Manchester a bit of Berlin charm. Doner Haus’ menu is, unsurprisingly, very kebab based but also brings other Berlin delights such as currywurst to Exchange Square. Having taken over the old Byron Burger site, the restaurant is the latest from the Glasgow based Doner Haus and has plenty of veggie options despite the meat heavy expectation of a kebab house.

Kampus, the latest development from Capital & Centric, has been coming together on Aytoun Street in the city centre for the past few months and now the new neighbourhood has revealed details of its debut restaurant – and its an unusual one. Instead of going for a glitzy, shiny new building, Higher Ground will be housed in an old security cabin on stilts known as The Bungalow. The restaurant has some impressive pedigree behind it too, with former Where The Light Gets In Head Chef Joseph Ottaway and former Fera General Manager Richard Cossins leading the pop-up. The aim is for this space to eventually become a permanent restaurant for their approachable and changing menu – expect it to open on Friday 21 February 2020.

Open for a couple of weeks now, Old Granada Studios has become home to a brand new cocktail bar and distillery. Project Halcyon in the Bonded Warehouse is the first bar for the St John’s neighbourhood around Quay Street. The ‘mob chic’ space is run by craft distillery Zymurgorium, and is styled on the prohibition era bars of gangster Chicago but with some modern touches of decadence. Guests don’t even need to go to the bar as they can use the retro phones to ring through an order before checking out the photo booth styled like a barber’s chair. Read our full preview here.

Honest Burger seems to have settled in nicely into the Manchester burger scene with its restaurant on Bridge Street and they hope to tempt more diners with a decadent special burger. The Fondue is, as one would expect, a cheese heavy Alpine celebration with five different melted cheeses – Comté, Beaufort, Vacherin Fribourgeois, Abondance and Emmental – some garlic and white wine popped on top of a burger patty. Be quick though, this is only available until Monday 2 March.

If your true love is of the four legged variety then Hatch is the place for you to try and catch Cupid’s arrow this Valentine’s Day. If you’re single but dogged-up, then you can meet other like minded dog obsessed singles at the pooch friendly box park. With special four leg based snacks and drinks (including paw-secco) there’s no need for your furry friend to feel left out when you’re chatting to the human at the other end of the lead. The canine speed dating is on from 6pm and runs until 9pm. Find out more here.

Manchester’s ever changing Scottish import, Six By Nico, is ready for another new menu, this time inspired by the mountains. The Alps will be cooking at the restaurant on the old Roc & Rye site from Tuesday 18 February, inviting diners to feel the pull of the slopes. The six course tasting menu will feature cheese, obviously, with tartiflette and raclette fondue on both the vegetarian and meat menu, whilst the fifth courses are black garlic cappelletti (stuffed pasta) or chicken and pork farcon respectively. As usual, the menu will cook for six weeks and then disappear from the restaurant.

Having been trailed for a while, Brick Lane favourite Rosa’s is ready to launch on Deansgate as they continue their expansion around the country. Following on from a Liverpool launch, Rosa’s will be opening in the old Handmade Burger Co building with a soft launch on the weekend of February 22. If you’re desperate to see what all the fuss is about, you can book ahead for the Saturday or Sunday and nab yourself 50% off. Learn more here.

If you think there’s no such thing as a free lunch, you may not be surprised that the free curry at Kabana comes with a catch – but one we think pretty fair. The Northern Quarter curry house is to host No Such Thing from theatre company Quarantine, where diners have a half hour chat with a stranger in exchange for lunch. Taking place every month since 2012, the next one is this Thursday 13 February. Spaces are free but are first come first served so register for a space in advance.

Fans of vegan and vegetarian Indian food are in for a treat this week, as the Bundobust team are gearing up to unveil details of their highly anticipated second space. At the time of writing, exact specifics are scarce – however we do know that this new restaurant will be based in South Manchester and feature the same high quality Indian street food and craft beers that visitors of their flagship Manchester Piccadilly have come to know and love. Watch this space.