Sushi is now EVERYWHERE in Manchester. From grab-and-go takeaway offerings to cool street food-style spots in shipping containers to high-end restaurants that stand their ground on a global scale.
There’s so much sushi around I’m actually surprised Greggs don’t have a range yet.
So why should you go big, with a 14 course, £150 tasting menu? I’ll tell you why – because it really is the treat of a lifetime for any fresh fish fanatic.
Musu, despite its price tag, sits modestly on Bridge Street, just off Deansgate, its regal interior hidden from street view behind tasteful black drapes and a wooden panelled reception.
Once inside the body of the luxurious Manchester restaurant, the pristine wooden aesthetic continues, but whilst most of the restaurant (and incredibly well stocked bar) is dimly lit, the exposed open kitchen and sushi station shine like spotlights, showcasing the true star of the establishment – its chefs.
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I was lucky enough to take a seat for Musu’s Omakase menu.
Omakase translates to ‘I’ll leave it up to you’, demonstrating how the chef, who you’ll be sat in front of for two-three hours, is entirely in control of your dining experience. They’ve selected and constructed a menu based on which fish are in season, fresh, and their own refined preference. And if this meal is anything to go by, I’ll leave all my food choices to someone else forever.
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The day’s Omakase ingredients are presented to you before you eatThe Omakase experience involves sitting at Musu’s chef’s tableStandouts include Musu’s sashimi selection
First you’re shown all the produce that is going to make your meal, and how they were sourced and prepared. The tray of fish gleam like the jewels they are, in both taste and cost.
The 14 plates began with the only hot dish, Miso Soup. This of course is pimped out, with wagyu beef and shiitake mushroom adding to the rich saltiness. The wagyu is so tender it nearly melts into the soup and creates a rich sweet peppery flavour. It’s a strong start.
Next up begins a selection of sashimi. Sashimi is raw fish/shellfish, served only with fresh wasabi and a beautiful five-year-aged soy sauce containing rich sake.
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There isn’t anywhere to hide with sashimi and chef John doesn’t need to. Every dish looks like art, prepared in front of you – it’s amazing to see how expert cuts create exquisite plates. It’s like watching an artfully shot Netflix documentary, only for the TV to reach over and hand you the food after the credits.
Each of the six sashimi tastes so individual. The scallop from the Isle of Sky melts on the tongue, with a subtle salt taste. The four-day-aged Cornish seabass, paired perfectly with the rich soy, brings a sweetness to the fish. The Scottish salmon nearly swims down my throat, it’s so elegant and rich, whereas the Akami (bluefin tuna loin) packs a powerful and delicious fish flavour that you feel in the nose.
Musu’s head chef searing the Chu-toro in front of dinersThe white chocolate dessert at Musu in Manchester
Next came the 10 nigiri, fish served on a bed of rice. The craftsmanship and precision here is spectacular, with chef John pairing Hamchi with green chillies, allowing spice to burst out with a bite. Red Mullet is seared with a blowtorch and served with Yuzu zest to create tangy treat for the eyes and palette. The spectacle reaches its peak with the charcoal seared Chu-toro, the wooden burnt fish enriched by piney-smoky flavour. Finally the last nigiri is an A5 Wagyu beef, with autumnal truffle, a wild, earthy end to the nigiri.
I actually think ending on the Wagyu would be a perfect circle, meeting back to the start with the Miso Soup, but there’s one more fish dish before a sweet treat. It’s the Temaki, seaweed wrapped Tuna with Chu-toro, spring onion and sesame. It’s a big end to the fish dishes, the strong meaty tuna taste a perfect contrast to the fresh raw veg.
Finally the dessert, simple small and elegant salted white chocolate, served perfectly cold, with soya milk crisp, and almond dust providing a rough change in texture, and helping to stagger the sweetness. It’s a triumphant ending.
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The Omakase menu is not just a treat, it’s an education in how sushi can be masterfully executed, right here in the heart of landlocked Manchester.
The Manchester restaurant serving up the ‘world’s hottest curry’ for just a few days
Danny Jones
City centre favourite Zouk is serving up ‘the world’s hottest curry’ again to celebrate National Chilli Day next week.
The popular tea bar and grill located on Chester Street just off Oxford Road is slap bang in the middle of student central and has hordes of patrons lining up day in, day out, to taste their incredible Indian and Pakistani cuisine.
Now, to celebrate every spicy-food lover’s favourite day, Zouk is putting on special, limited-time-only menu to cater to all you heat freaks and speaking collectively on The Manc‘s behalf (several of us having tried it), it’s no joke.
The World’s Hottest Curry will be available for five days from Monday 24 to Friday 28 February, with a challenge on Thursday 27 February with prizes to anyone who can finish the fiery karahi.
The dishes
When it came to coming up with the world’s hottest curry, Zouk didn’t have to look far for inspiration, they simply picked the world’s hottest chilli: the Carolina Reaper Chilli.
Combining the 1,569,000 Scoville scorcher of a chilli with their much-loved and already spicy chicken karahi and vegetable karahi recipes, they knew they were on a winner. You might have to sign a waiver to eat it but that’s all part of the fun, right?
Typically prepared in a wok and cooked over hot flames with tomatoes, ginger, garlic, peppercorns and cumin to create the sauce base, the karahi originates from the Northwest region of Pakistan and has a great flavour. Depending on how brave you’re feeling, you can have it as a kebab or a full curry.
Credit: Supplied
That being said, this version does contain dried Carolina Reapers so you might not taste much beyond the heat of the sun after a few seconds. While the chilli is deemed suitable for human consumption, even Zouk’s chefs have admitted to struggling with the dish. Gulp. So, what can you win?
The challenge and prizes
Us Brits love a good curry and we already know that plenty of you won’t be able to resist the urge to take on the Reaper Challenge simply out of pride, so we might as well just tell you what you’ll have to eat in order to win the prizes.
Here’s what’s up for grabs:
Finish the full Carolina Reaper Curry (either chicken or veg) in one sitting (max eating time 30 minutes and no helping from companions), Zouk will give you the meal for free.
PLUS, a £50 Zouk Gift Card so you can come back at a later date to try their full menu (including some less omg-spicy options).
You’ll also get a Zouk Ice Cream Sunday to help cool off afterwards. Trust us, you’ll need it.
Issuing a statement for National Chilli Day and the Reaper Challenge, owner Tayub Amjad said: “Our food is usually more about flavour than heat but it’s National Chilli Day, and we know our customers love this challenge.
“For those who complete the challenge, you still have chance to come back and dine on us at a future date, so you will still get to experience the real Zouk too.”
What you thinking, Manchester? Are you up for taking on the world’s hottest curry?
Prestwich pizzeria Dokes announces closure as neighbourhood goes through big changes
Daisy Jackson
One of Prestwich’s best-loved independent restaurants has announced the end of its current chapter, saying that it’s become too difficult to operate with tighter and tighter margins.
Dokes, a pizzeria that also served arguably the town’s best roast dinner, has said that it’s going to ‘have to call it a day’ after three years in the proudly independent neighbourhood.
The news comes just months after Rudy’s opened its first Prestwich restaurant just across the road from Dokes, though that of course may just be a coincidence…
The restaurant comes from the same team behind Elnecot in Ancoats, and opened in 2022, promising delicious pizzas made with (wherever possible) British ingredients.
In a statement issued today, chef and owner Michael Clay said that ‘it’s just not been possible for us to make the money required for the size of team needed to run as a pizza restaurant’.
He wrote: “We are a small restaurant and the margins that were there pre-Covid are not achievable anymore at this scale and only getting tighter month on month.”
He then teased that they would be keeping the Bury New Road site on, with plans to reopen as a new concept.
Prestwich has been growing in popularity in recent years, with a blossoming food and drink scene and healthily increasing house prices.
It’s on the precipice of a £100m overhaul too, which will see the Longfield Centre transformed and new facilities built near the tram stop, including a community hub, a new village square, a market hall, flexible retail and leisure spaces, landscaped outdoor and green spaces, a new travel hub off Fairfax Road and around 200 homes.
It’s always been a village packed with local small businesses until this year, when both Rudy’s and Gail’s opened up – prompting this heartfelt statement from another local indie.
Dokes’ full statement reads: “After nearly 3 years of trying our hardest, unfortunately we’re going to have to call it a day.
“Having originally taken on the premises in between the two lockdowns (remember them?!), we’ve been extremely proud of what we have achieved under sometimes unbelievably difficult circumstances. Our staff have been the cornerstone of this and we would like to thank them for all of their hard work. The feedback we have received over the past couple of years on their food, service and hospitality has been absolutely incredible and we are extremely grateful for the hard work they have put in and the commitment they have shown.
“We feel like we have created a product that you have absolutely loved and a space that you have enjoyed coming to and we now really feel like a part of the Prestwich community – and for that we can’t thank you enough! You came for the pizzas and stayed for the roasts and it’s been a lot of fun.
“Try as we might though, it’s just not been possible for us to make the money required for the size of team needed to run as a pizza restaurant. We are a small restaurant and the margins that were there pre-Covid are not achievable anymore at this scale and only getting tighter month on month.
“So it is with a heavy heart that we are closing the door on this chapter BUT…we aren’t going to be leaving you completely…
“We have plans for the place which we will be updating you about very soon so please watch this space for more details. We hope you’re going to love it.
“As Dokes, Sunday 9th March will be our final service so please come down over the next couple of weeks, grab a pizza or a roast and say hello. It would be lovely to see you all. Bookings are open and the cellar is stocked so lets fill the little place up and go out with a bang!
The Manc -
16th November 2023 
