The food critic Grace Dent has published a rave review of one of Manchester’s new restaurant openings, Musu, bestowing national kudos on the Bridge Street eatery.
Referred to by the Guardian reviewer as ‘very possibly the most expensive restaurant in Manchester’, in a glowing write up she compares it to ‘the Starship Enterprise, albeit one with geishas on the walls and a £110 seven-course menu’.
Already a favourite of Ilkay Gundogan’s notoriously hard-to-please wife (it’s the only eatery she’s praised since famously saying that the Manchester food and drink scene was ‘horrible’), thankfully, Musu has now found a more discerning reviewer to recommend it.
Dent opens by advising ‘all who have already taken terrible umbrage that Musu even exists’ to ‘abandon reading this review here’, before going on to say she, personally, is ‘rather cheered that there are still people north of Watford who have the faith and gumption to open places as pointedly bonkers as this.’
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
The 55-cover restaurant is described as being ‘as dark in places as Adrian Mole’s bedroom’, with plenty of attention paid to its ‘theatrical’ detailing.
ADVERTISEMENT
A glass-fronted private dining room that, ‘at the touch of a button, turns frosted’, gets a special mention, as does Musu’s bold ‘Japanese murals, globe lighting and […] nakedly open kitchen’.
But the real praise is reserved for the cooking of chef Michael Shaw, formerly of Gordon Ramsay Inc and Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, hailed as ‘minuscule portions of exquisite pleasure that linger in your mind.’
As she reels through the seven-course tasting menu, praising each dish as she goes, things go from great to excellent.
At one point, after digging into Musu’s sashimi (described as ‘ three of the finest pieces of sashimi imaginable’) she proffers: ‘I felt like handing my badge back there and then – it’s over; I won’t ever taste better’, before moving on to another ‘outstanding’ dish.
ADVERTISEMENT
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
If there is a criticism, it’s that upon finishing the seven courses she still finds herself hungry – commenting: ‘Very rarely – in fact, never – do I wish I’d chosen the longer tasting menu, though at £150 plus drinks, that would have been guaranteed to cause a reader revolt.’
This, in turn, leads to some good-natured musing on just who all these people are spending hundreds in ‘mobbed’ Musu on a Friday night, with Dent asking pointedly: ‘Where are they getting their money? None of them seemed to be the type to have Brink’s-Mat gold buried at the bottom of their garden.’
Summarising, she writes: “If you’ve already decided to boycott Musu over the sheer cost, the din and the small portions, I must at this point stress that the food is outstanding.
“Sure, Musu isn’t for everybody, but if someone else is funding your wanton extravagance, then drag them there. It’s unforgettable for many reasons: some of them are hilarious, yes, but mostly they’re just plain good.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Read more:The best restaurants and bars to open in Manchester in 2022
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Eats
A ‘saucy’ new Korean fried chicken restaurant is opening in the Gay Village
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new Korean fried chicken restaurant and cocktail bar is set to open on Canal Street this week.
CLUK is promising some big deals and amazing giveaways to celebrate its launch in Manchester, including free food and prize draws.
The newcomer in the heart of the city will specialise in Korean-style crispy fried chicken, but also warming ramen bowls, and salt & pepper classics.
Signature dishes will include Korean cheese-powder fried chicken, and Cheese Volcano Chicken.
CLUK will also serve dishes like kimchi cheese loaded fries, salt & pepper chicken, and huge sharing platters.
You can customise your Korean fried chicken order by size, choosing between wings and boneless and picking a flavour out of honey garlic, sweet and spicy, honey mustard, and honey and sour.
They promise it’ll all be ‘saucy, crunchy, and seriously addictive’.
That’s all washed down with ice-cold beers and creative cocktails, like martinis, spritzes and sours.
CLUK is now open in the Gay Village in ManchesterA spread of CLUK dishesInside CLUK ManchesterFried chicken with Korean cheese powderInside CLUK Manchester
The CLUK team are hoping to create a fun late-night dining option for this buzzing corner of the city centre.
To celebrate its launch on Thursday 18 September, CLUK have announced a whole heap of promotions.
This includes free chicken bao for the first 50 guests to visit during the first five days.
Over the two week launch period, visitors can spin the wheel whenever you spend £12 – spend £24 and spin twice.
And there are big prizes available – the top prize is a £100 gift card or £50 cash, with other prizes including free drinks, food and a £3 voucher as a consolation prize.
Plus, anyone who buys a gift card and tops it up with £100 will receive a free beer or cider.
When those two weeks are up, CLUK will run a £1,000 prize draw.
Plans lodged to turn Ducie Street Warehouse into huge food hall
Daisy Jackson
Ducie Street Warehouse could be transformed into a massive food hall, with new plans lodged.
The historic warehouse building near Manchester Piccadilly has worn a few hats over the years.
When it first opened, it was a home to Bistrotheque, a London export that bowed out from the beautiful Grade II-listed building after just six months.
Since then, it’s become a bustling all-day space where you can sit with a laptop for hours (and many do), snacking on a simple menu of flatbreads and salads as well as great cocktails.
But now it looks like Ducie Street Warehouse is in store for a major shake-up again, with plans now lodged to transform the space into huge food hall with more than 500 covers.
The planning application comes from the same team behind Edinburgh Street Food up in Scotland, which is packed with street food traders serving a range of cuisines.
If the plans for Manchester Street Food go ahead, the warehouse on Ducie Street will become the home of a 10-kitchen food hall.
It would flip most of the ground floor, including the terrace, while the upstairs continues operating as a hotel.
The plans also show that the existing private dining area will be turned into a casual games room, with the addition of pool tables, arcade machines and foosball tables.
Ducie Street Warehouse could be turned into a food hall. Credit: The Manc Group
Manchester Street Food will join a flurry of food halls across the city, with Mackie Mayor just a short walk away, along with the waterside venue Society, and the newly-opened House of Social.
The plans also mention minor changes to the exterior of the building, illuminating an external lift shaft in a rainbow hue.
Their application states: “The ‘Street Food’ brand works with a range of vibrant and independent street food vendors to provide varied yet complementary choices, whilst showcasing local breweries and distilleries.
“Their operations focus on supporting local businesses and to diverse the food and beverage offer to create a welcoming and accessible food experiences.
“The ’Street Food’ brand was first established in the form of Edinburgh Street Food which opened in 2023, and which welcomes a broad demographic. It is recognised as a cultural and culinary hub whilst contributing positively to the local economy.
“Building on the success of Edinburgh Street Food, the Applicant is keen to expand further and enhance Manchester’s hospitality, gastronomy and evening economy.
“As such, this full planning application has been prepared to enable the operation of Manchester Street Food from a prime city centre location at Ducie Street Warehouse.”
Do you think Manchester has the appetite for yet another street food hall?
Georgina Pellant -
27th March 2023 
