The Alchemist has officially reopened its doors to show off its £550k refurbishment and its revamped menu.
The bar’s flagship site in Spinningfields has been part of Manchester’s bar scene since 2010, and is back open for business this week after its extensive makeover.
Guests are now greeted by a cosmic-inspired bar and restaurant space packed with dark black and grey walls, navy tiling, twinkling white lights and touches of brass.
The theatrical potions-inspired cocktails that The Alchemist became famed for remain in situ – expect plenty of bubbling, smoking concoctions with more than a few hidden tricks in the glass… colour-changing cocktail, anyone?
Inside the restaurant space at The Alchemist after its refurbishment. Credit: The Manc Group
In fact, many of the drinks are so fanciful that they actually come with a safety warning (do not eat or handle the dry ice, please).
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The food offering has been overhauled in a way that will delight plant-based diners, collaborating with Meatless Farm to create a menu that’s 44% vegan and 58% gluten free.
Dishes include plant-based, chicken-style bites in either a tangy Korean gochujang sauce, or salt and pepper, with a disarmingly convincing texture.
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Plant-based Korean bites, and vegetable gyoza
Sweet bao with miso caramel and berries
Food at The Alchemist after its refurbishment. Credit: The Manc Group
There’s also tofu ‘prawn’ toast, plant-based duck bao with miso mayo, and Meatless Farm beef-style burgers on the sustainability-focused menu.
Diners will find a strong Asian-fusion slant to the food here, including cheese and kimchi toasties, katsu curries, gyoza and curried fish.
The Alchemist is bringing its theatrical spin on hospitality to food now too, with mini sizzling yakitori grills delivered to tables loaded with barbecue chicken and sides.
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The Alchemist has undergone a cosmic-inspired refurbishment. Credit: The Manc Group
The Asian inspiration carries through to desserts, in a crispy sweet bao stuffed with berries and miso caramel, and a yakitori caramelised pineapple.
Culinary director Seamus O’Donnell said: “We’ve really tuned into our guests and team members’ feedback and have worked our food offering to bring it even further in line with the sustainable efforts of the brand.
“We understand that many people have dietary requirements and are choosing a more Flexitarian lifestyle. Our menu is now sitting at 58% vegetarian and 44% plant based.
“Of course, theatre hasn’t been compromised with locally sourced seasonal fish from the coast of Scotland used in our electric-pink trout and the addition of our Yakitori grills, enhancing the magic at the table.
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“We try to keep a sense of play at the forefront of our menus so doing that sustainably has been a great challenge and we’re proud to see it pay off.”
Featured image: The Manc Group
City Centre
Greater Manchester officially launches five-year climate change action plan
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester has officially begun its five-year climate change action plan, with the overarching goal of becoming a net-zero city region by 2038.
The comprehensive pledge put together over a number of years itself will see Manchester City Council and the nearby local authorities put into action a number of key measures that will help to reduce not only central carbon figures but, eventually, across the 10 boroughs in turn.
Over the last 15 years, emissions have been reduced by approximately 64%, saving an estimated 44,344 tonnes of carbon through cleaner building energy, street lighting and other electronics, as well as the increasingly green and over-growing Bee Network.
They have also insisted that it isn’t just about cutting down on greenhouse gases; the aim is to make the city region and the surrounding areas more sustainable, affordable and create a better standard of life.
Our five-year plan to tackle climate change launches today. 🌏
It details how we’ll continue to deliver dramatic reductions in the amount of carbon we emit (the biggest contributor to climate change). 🏙️
As per the summary on the Council website, in addition to creating more efficient homes, they’re hoping to provide more access to nature and good-quality green space, “public transport you can rely on”, and “better health and wellbeing for those who live, work, study and visit here.”
With a steadily recovering local and national economy (touch wood), they’re also hoping for an influx of new jobs, too.
Summarising the key bullet points leading up to the end of the decade, these are the next steps currently outlined by the Council:
Lower carbon emissions
Grow the use of renewable energy
Improve low-carbon travel in the city
Improve air quality
Grow the city’s natural environment and boost biodiversity
Improve resilience to flooding and extreme heat
Engage and involve our workforce and our city’s communities
Reduce waste and grow reuse, repair, sharing and recycling
Support a move to a more circular economy
Minimise the negative impact of events held in the city
Develop our knowledge of our indirect emissions and lower them
Create a green financing strategy and explore new funding models for the city
Influence the environmental practices of other organisations
As for emissions, the target is now to drop the present output by another 34%, which will prevent almost 43,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from being pumped into the atmosphere.
Having touched upon the continued expansion of the Bee Network infrastructure, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is also set to install multiple new travel links over the coming years, including both new tram stops and train stations – further
You can read the climate action plan in full HERE.
Manchester’s firework displays are ‘back with a bang’ as they return from 2026
Emily Sergeant
Council-organised firework displays in Manchester’s parks are set to return from next year, it has been confirmed.
You may remember that these once-popular events have not been held since 2019, as the COVID-19 pandemic initially prevented them from taking place from 2020 onwards, and then following that, they remained paused on a trial basis while the Manchester City Council sought to ‘reprioritise funding’ to support a wider range of free community events across the city.
But now, as it seems, the door was never shut on their potential return.
An ‘improved financial position’ now means that the Council is in a position to bring firework events back, while also still continuing to support other community events.
Papers setting out the Council’s financial position show that fairer funding being introduced by the Government next year will leave the Council better off than previously anticipated, he the reason firework displays have been brought back into the mix.
The Council has admitted that ‘pressures remain’ after so many years of financial cuts, but this new funding creates the opportunity to invest in the things residents have said matter the most to them.
“Manchester prides itself on free community events and we know many people have missed Bonfire night firework spectaculars,” commented Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council.
“That’s why we are pleased to confirm they’ll be back by popular demand in 2026.
“We know that generations of Mancunians have enjoyed Council-organised displays and that free family events are a great way to bring people together… [and] now that this Government is actually investing in Councils like ours rather than the cuts we had since 2010, we can bring back Bonfire events.”
Daisy Jackson -
30th March 2022 
