A massive new food hall is opening its doors in Manchester this weekend, with three floors packed with food from across Asia.
Hello Oriental has an Asian-inspired bakery and cafe, a Vietnamese restaurant, a Chinese supermarket, and a huge food hall serving East Asian street food.
The multi-storey ‘super-venue’ has been built beneath Symphony Park at the new Circle Square development just off Oxford Road.
It’s been inspired by dining destinations like Bang Bang Oriental in London, and 1800 in Miami.
The new supermarket at Hello Oriental. Credit: The Manc Group
The heart of Hello Oriental will be its food hall, Downtown Oriental, a vast market hall with a fast-paced open kitchen.
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Here, diners will be able to feast on everything from Chinese roasts to dim sum, baos to noodles, and fried rice to seafood.
Downtown Oriental, Hello Oriental’s new food hall. Credit: The Manc Group
Downtown Oriental will also serve bubble teas, and taiyaki ice cream, a type of soft-serve presented inside an adorable fish-shaped cone.
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Elsewhere, Hello Bakery will sell modern fusion bakes alongside coffees and high-grade teas.
Food at Hello Oriental. Credit: The Manc Group
On a purpose-built mezzanine level, Vietnamese restaurant Rice Paper Pho will serve traditional dishes like pho, summer rolls and salads, with plenty of vegan and gluten-free options.
A UK-first Hello Oriental supermarket will open soon, selling products, produce and ingredients from East Asia.
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Azim Kourah, director of Hello Oriental, added: “It’s been a long time in the making but we are thrilled to be opening our doors to Manchester.
Credit: The Manc Group
“From Saturday onwards, our brand-new concept will be spicing up Manchester’s food scene, bringing three floors of incredible flavour, excitement and atmosphere to the city.”
Bradley Topps, commercial director at Bruntwood SciTech, said: “Hello Oriental is going to be a real destination and cornerstone for Circle Square – there’s nothing else like this in the Northwest.
“Spread across three floors, there’s a space for every occasion, whether you’re looking for evening food, drinks and music, tea and cake, or to stock up on supplies from the specialist supermarket.
“The variety is unrivalled, the complex is incredibly cool, and it’s going to be bursting with atmosphere at all times of day.”
Hello Oriental joins TRIB3, a specialist high-intensity fitness studio, with a host of additional food, drink and entertainment also due to launch at Circle Square later this year.
Hello Oriental’s flagship food hall will open on Saturday 12 February and will be open daily from 10am to 11pm.
‘A lovely surprise’ says Manchester restaurant after being added to Michelin Guide
Daisy Jackson
A local restaurant in Manchester has said it’s a ‘proud moment’ as it gets added to the prestigious Michelin Guide.
10 Tib Lane, a gorgeous three-storey restaurant and bar tucked on a quiet city centre street, said it was ‘a lovely surprise’ to find themselves added to the guide.
The restaurant opened back in 2021, taking over the former Bock Biere Cafe on Tib Lane.
The beauty in its interiors lies in the building’s bones, with a stripped-back space showing off textured walls and wooden floors and big sash windows.
As you climb the stairs from the bar, you’ll find a restaurant serving up clever small plates with British produce but with a definite French influence.
10 Tib Lane comes from the same team behind beloved Chorlton neighbourhood bar Henry C, as well as the newly-opened Posie cocktail bar in the city centre.
The Michelin Guide said the restaurant is serving ‘well-crafted dishes’, highlighting its cheese beignets.
10 Tib Lane in ManchesterThe restaurant has been added to the Michelin Guide
The guide said: “Stretching over three floors of a tall, narrow townhouse, you enter this welcoming restaurant via its cosy bar – ideal for a cocktail or a glass from their selection of European natural and low-intervention wines – before heading up to dining rooms decked out in rustic, semi-industrial chic.
“Order some oysters or cheese beignets while you choose from a menu that shows off influences from both Spain (Cantabrian anchovies on toast) and France (chocolate ganache).
“Throughout the cooking, the well-crafted dishes allow top-quality ingredients to shine.”
Speaking of their Michelin Guide addition, 10 Tib Lane wrote: “What a lovely surprise to receive this week. Marking a proud moment for us and the team.”
The best rooftop bars and terraces in Manchester city centre
Danny Jones
It doesn’t matter whether it’s spring, pure summer heat, or even on a crisp autumn/winter’s day; whenever the sun breaks out in Manchester, part of our brain immediately turns to going for a pint – ideally on a rooftop bar, if possible.
Yes, beer gardens are great, but sunlight often gets blocked out by the rising number of tall buildings going up around the city centre.
Unless you’re up top in one of those buildings…
It’s not an absolute science, nor is it for everyone, but those of you who do like a few scoops up high on the odd occasion, here are some of the best rooftop bars and drinking terraces in Manchester.
The 10 best rooftop and ‘sky’ bars in Manchester city centre
1. YES
First up, whenever someone asks you the question, “Do you want to go and sit on a sun-soaked rooftop terrace with some bevs?”, the answer is simple: HELL. YES.
So many members of our team, both past and present, have called this their favourite outdoor drinking spot or bar in town full-stop, whether they spent their uni days here or love those cheap discounted Aperol spritzes every summer. Yes, it gets busy sometimes, but it’s for good reason – the place is mint.
2. Sora
Number two is more of a bar and restaurant, in truth, but we do love it a lot. Located above Malmaison’s Deansgate location – dangerously close to our office, by the way (like, literally next door) – Sora specialises in Pan-Asian-inspired dishes and drinks, including some very good sushi.
It’s well worth going along to try their ‘oriental afternoon tea‘ if you’re so inclined, but even if not, it’s just a very cool place to sip away.
Our third choice is one of Manchester city centre’s newest and fanciest additions, situated within the ever-growing St. Michael’s complex, developed by Gary Neville.
A number of recent openings have popped up in here, including Grind Coffee, which also benefits from the rooftop setting, but ‘Claude’s Skyview Bar’ inside Chotto Matte’s Manchester site is something very unique, indeed.
From the high end to the downright legendary for our money, in most people’s books, it doesn’t get much better than the likes of Terrace in the Northern Quarter, which has the benefit of having not only three floors but multiple outdoor areas and patios.
The best of the lot, however, is undeniably the rooftop area, which stretches nearly the entire square footage of the Thomas Street venue, and itself has multiple sections – each with a slightly different feel.
5. 20 Stories
Back over to the posher side of things now, and 20 Stories is one of those places that people literally travel into Manchester for to grab a great new profile picture with their tipple, and it is an undeniably Instagram-worthy venue.
With wonderful views across the city from No. 1 Spinningfields on Hardman Square, it’s an ideal suggestion for a classy glass of wine or fizz on a special occasion, though you’ll be far from the only one making the most of the vantage point.
Time for a nice middle ground in the form of Atlas Bar over on the corner of the Deansgate-Castlefield interchange, which has been sitting pretty on its little perch for three decades now.
While it may not be high up in the sky, the canopied terrace on the cosy balcony out the back, complete with outdoor heaters, benches in direct sunlight, as well as comfy cushioned seating under the retractable cover, might just be one of the best all-seasons drinking spots of this ilk. Always has been.
7. King Street Townhouse Hotel
Heading back across the city now and over to King Street Townhouse, the stunning hotel and spa operated by THG sits as somewhat of a best-kept secret on the back of Booth St, and one of the reasons it’s such a hidden gem is that stunning rooftop terrace.
It may only be small in comparison to some other rooftop bars in Manchester, but that’s part of what we think makes it special. Whether you’re there for a full stay, a treatment, or just a drink, this is where you should tie a ribbon on it.
Next up, once again, we’re going for an entirely different vibe with this one, and another admittedly more student-centric hangout, but Brickhouse Social is nevertheless a very fun place to grab a pint up high.
They cover several floors these days, including the Kable nightclub down in the basement, but their rooftop terrace is also one of the best value-for-money bars in Manchester city centre. Catch you at ‘The Greenhouse’ sometime soon.
Over to our Amy’s favourite beer garden/outdoor drinking spot, which just so happens to be Beeswing elevated right above the Nell’s over at Kampus.
Sitting just across the water from Canal Street and the bustle of Gay Village, this one feels like arguably the perfect blend of handy central location and lively atmosphere, while still feeling tucked away enough for you to enjoy a quiet moment.
Last but not least, we have to speak a little bit about the still relatively new ‘Ivy on the Roof’ experience over at the famous bar and brasserie over in Spinningfields, where footballers and countless other celebrities dine, drink and dance every week.
As for us lot, let’s be honest: we’re the real ones that make places like this truly tick all year-round; there’s also the slightly more intimate ‘Skylight Terrace’ room, which offers another sanctuary up and away from the rest of the glitz and glamour of the restaurant.
Finally, before we leave you, we couldn’t wrap this up without mentioning the long-standing Cloud 23 bar sitting the same number of storeys up in the former Hilton skyscraper, now simply known as The Manchester Deansgate Hotel.
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You could argue that the Beetham Tower bar is the one that started it all here in Manchester, offering that kind of panoramic view over drinks long before virtually anyone else in the city. Most of you don’t need telling that it’s there, but we thought it’d be rude not to give a nod to one of the OGs.
Now, it goes without saying that this is by no means an exhaustive list, and if you think there’s somewhere that’s been criminally overlooked, feel free to give us some stick in the comments.
There’s something novel about rooftop bars that we’ll simply never tire of, and with Manchester’s skyline growing and getting taller and taller all the time, you can expect more and more of them to pop up in the coming years.
Daisy Jackson -
11th February 2022 
