This autumn, one of London’s most high-end Asian restaurants will open its doors in Manchester.
Since opening in Mayfair seven years ago, Sexy Fish has made a name for itself as a glitzy celeb outpost that does glamourous dining to the max.
Here, theatre is very much the draw – so if you like a bit of flair with your dinner, we expect that come the autumn, Sexy Fish will be calling your name.
In its Mayfair restaurant, sushi is served on burnished silver sculptures and garnished with free-flowing waterfalls of dry ice, whilst whole lobsters are deep-fried in tempura batter with a smoked Marie Rose dipping sauce at £50 a pop.
It’s the sort of place where caviar sits at the top of the menu as a snack, with a choice of three styles no less – Siberian (£60), Oscietra (£115), and Beluga (£215) – where you can indulge in mandarin ponzu-drenched yellowtail sashimi (£19.60) and a crispy duck salad dressed with deep-pink, identikit cubes of watermelon (£24.10), all whilst staring at millions of pounds worth of bespoke artwork.
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Simply put, it’s pretty sexy. Sexy if you like to eat fish, and also sexy if you don’t.
The ceilings, the art, the lamb (a caramelised lamb rack with red kosho, anchovy, and herb features on the Manchester menu, and is well worth an order), and the truffled wagyu sushi, are just a handful of things that would pull us back here for a special occasion.
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And that’s before we even get really stuck into talking about the fish.
The impressive showstopping sushi and sashimi platter at Sexy Fish. / Image: The Manc Eats
Lobster tempura at Sexy Fish. / Image: The Manc Eats
Must-tries include a dish of caramelised black cod, which sits atop a smear of spicy miso and flakes apart at the merest hint of a fork, and the ultimate sexy fish showstopper – a mega sushi and sashimi platter with seemingly infinite rows of sashimi, maki, and nigiri.
Elsewhere, a fluffy cloud of waving bonito flakes sits on top of a troop of asparagus lined up straight as soldiers, whilst foie gras and truffle add a touch of the lascivious to the humble gyoza.
One of the most hotly anticipated openings of the year, when it lands in Manchester this autumn, the restaurant will take over the former Armani shop in Spinningfields – right above Manchester’s original sexy sushi spot, Australasia.
The team at Sexy Fish have purchased the second floor of the building, simply to knock it through and create and impressive double-heigh ceiling, and say that the Spinningfields’ site will be more akin to their Miami venture – full of bright colours, as well as spectacular artworks from international artist, Damien Hirst.
These will include three giant sculptures incorporating creatures from under the sea that have specially created for the space, iconic ‘Fish Lamps’ from world-famous designer and architect Frank Gehry, a beautiful Verde Esmerelda stone floor, and a series of bespoke glass columns created by master Venetian glassmakers on the island of Murano.
The dessert board at Sexy Fish features a whole cheesecake. / Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Sexy Fish Manchester will also feature a one-of-a-kind destination bar of glowing pink onyx and glass, set against a backdrop of a cascading waterfall, with its own laboratory on site where the bar team can create their various tinctures, shrubs, sprays, and distillates.
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From the autumn, Sexy Fish will be open for lunch and dinner, offering delectable a la carte options, Omakase tasting menus, and late-night dining options.
Devised by internationally renowned and acclaimed Chef Director, Bjoern Weissgerber, the menus will also include unique recipes exclusive to Manchester with four bespoke dishes and four cocktails inspired by the city.
The restaurant will house a large Champagne collection with a selection of the world’s top vintages from leading estates, and an excellent sake wine selection.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Guests will also be able to enjoy creations from the innovative Trinity Menu, a collection of award-winning cocktails from London and Miami, alongside four bespoke serves curated specifically for Sexy Fish Manchester.
These include the likes of Strawberry & Grapefruit, featuring Hibiki Harmony Japanese whisky, strawberry, grapefruit, black pepper, lemon and soda, and Tonic & Mango, created with Manchester’s own Thomas Dakin Gin, aromatic tonic water, mango, coconut, and pandan.
Sexy Fish Manchester will also feature a stunning private dining room, The Tropical Reef Room, with a picturesque aquarium filled with a magical cacophony of exotic fish. Its private dining room in Mayfair is currently home to one of the biggest coral reefs in Europe.
Sexy Fish will open its doors in Spinningfields on 12 October 2023.
Featured Image – The Manc Eats
Eats
You can now go on a wine tour around Manchester city centre
Daisy Jackson
We’ve had pub crawls, lockdown gin tin walks – and now there’s an organised wine tour you can do around Manchester.
A new series of events, simply titled Manchester Wine Tours, will whisk guests around town sampling some of the city’s very best bars and pubs.
The leisurely three-hour tours will showcase the best places to buy and drink wine around our city, with plenty of plonk to drink on the way round.
Launched by local food and drink writer and WSET-qualified wine expert Kelly Bishop, the Manchester Wine Tours will feature Manchester bars, restaurants, pubs and wine shops specially chosen by Kelly.
She’ll be picking places with an interesting range of bottles, and that are true local favourites.
These ‘posh pub crawls’ will give people the chance to try something new, learn a little about wine, and discover a new favourite boozer.
And Kelly is promising to keep them accessible to everyone from total wine beginners to long-term enthusiasts.
Each tour will cost £75 per person and will include a guided tour around Manchester city centre, six small glasses of wine and a series of wine-matched snacks at four different places.
Along the way, Kelly will also be on hand to point out local points of interest and things you might not already know about the city.
Kelly Bishop will lead the wine tours around Manchester. Credit: Debbie EllisEach Manchester Wine Tour will feature different bars and include snacks. Credit: Debbie EllisManchester Wine Tours will launch in October. Credit: Debbie Ellis
On this wine tasting ‘with legs’, guests will have the opportunity to learn about wine in a relaxed, fun, sociable and informal way.
Kelly Bishop said: “I started Manchester Wine Tours to celebrate the incredible wine offering in Manchester. Manchester is known for great restaurants and bars selling nationally celebrated craft beer and cocktails, but there is a really impressive wine scene here too.
“I’m passionate about wine and am really excited to share my knowledge and enthusiasm with locals and tourists alike.
“I want to show people that although this might be classed as a ‘high-end activity’ with really good quality wine and matching snacks, wine tasting definitely doesn’t have to be snobby or stuffy. I want it to appeal to anyone over 18 who is interested in wine and introduce them to some of my favourite wine spots in Manchester.”
Tours will start in October 2023 with the first events on Sunday 22 and Sunday 29 October (3pm-6pm). From November onwards, tours will be every Wednesday evening (7pm-10pm) and Sunday afternoon (3pm-6pm).
There will also be four special Christmas tours on 10, 13, 17 and 20 December. These are £100pp and will feature extra special wines and festive snacks.
Manchester City’s Matheus Nunes rolls back the years and goes to work at Flat Baker in Ancoats
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Matheus Nunes has already impressed many during his short time at the Etihad so far, but he impressed a few more this weekend not with his skills on the pitch but in the kitchen after moonlighting at a popular Manchester bakery, The Flat Baker in Ancoats.
The recent Man City signing might only have the one assist to his name during his time as a Blue thus far, but he’s served up more than a baker’s dozen to local Manc residents thanks to a quick shift as a pastry chef this past weekend.
However, it was by no means his first time in the kitchen, as Nunes revealed that he used to work in a bakery during the earlier days of his footballing career.
Getting put to work on one of The Flat Baker‘s bestsellers, their unbelievably addictive pastel de natas — trust us, they’re utterly sinful these things — the bakery’s owners Débora and her husband, also called Matheus, got the City star back up to speed. You can see the full video here:
Matheus Nunes surprised a fair few locals after popping up at this beloved Manc bakery.
That being said, as you can see, the 25-year-old midfielder was a bit of a dab hand after a few goes at it; the fact he not only had prior experience but also shares the same heritage as the bakery’s founders no doubt helped.
Born in Brazil but raised in Portugal — two places where these unmistakable sweet treats are most famous — Nunes explained how he, his mother and English step-father moved to Europe for “a better life” and to help his chances of becoming a footballer.
The former Wolves player went on to explain how he “failed a lot in school” and eventually his mum gave him a choice: “give up football or school, in order to start working”.
Starting out in his godfather’s bakery, he went on to spend a fair bit of time making bread and pastries and even appeared in a similar video back in Portugal after signing for Sporting Lisbon.
Naturally, the trio did eventually touch on football a little bit, with Nunes discussing what it’s like to play under Pep Guardiola and how nice it’s been to arrive at a club where there are plenty of Portuguese-speaking players like Ederson, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and others.
Débora also joked about how he has fared getting used to ‘Rainchester’ and he was polite enough to smile it off and simply reiterated that playing for City was oppurtunity he culdn’t pass up.
So, if things don’t work out in the Premier League, he can always swap the sky blue shirt of city for a lovely chef’s apron and help out over at The Flat Baker.
Georgina Pellant -
8th September 2023 
