A new cafe bar with vibrant decor, colourful coffees, and cocktails served in glass slippers has opened in Manchester.
By day, On The Hush – which has opened doors on Church Street in the heart of the Northern Quarter – is a cute Instagrammable cafe that’s serving up some of the most indulgent brunches in the city centre, alongside colourful coffees, sweet treats, and more – but by night, it transforms into a quirky cocktail bar with live entertainment.
Its bright interior perfectly blends beautiful floral displays against graffiti covered walls to create a space that looks great from every angle.
The venue’s official invite-only launch is happening on Thursday 4 November.
On The Hush looks set to become one of Manchester’s most popular brunch venues, with a menu that has something for everyone, including plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, such as vegan pancakes with berries and salted caramel ice cream, brioche cinnamon and vanilla French toast, and the classic avocado on toast.
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On The Hush looks set to become one of Manchester’s most popular brunch venues, with a menu that has something for everyone / Credit: Instagram (@onthehushmcr)
The stand-out of the iconic hot drink menu has to be the Unicorn Latte, which comes in a choice of colours – bright pink, lilac, blue, green, or vanilla – and is topped off with glitter and flakes of edible gold.
The cocktail menu is equally as mouth-watering, with twists on classic cocktails including a butterscotch cookie Old Fashioned, a salted caramel Espresso Martini, and a Pornstar Tikitini.
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But if you’re looking for the ideal cocktail to share on your socials, then look no further than the Cinderella sharer – which combines gunpowder and rosehip pink gin, with triple sec, coconut, pink grapefruit, and grenadine to create an exquisite floral cocktail that’s served in a giant glass slipper.
The venue has also gone the extra mile to not only make sure it looks picture-perfect, but that the quality of food and drinks are up there with some of the best in Manchester.
If you’re looking for the ideal cocktail to share on your socials, then look no further than the Cinderella sharer / Credit: Instagram (@onthehushmcr)
Speaking on the opening of the new venue, David Faini – owner of On The Hush – said: “Our vision for On The Hush was to create a beautiful venue where guests can relax in the day over delicious food and hot drinks, but then it comes alive at night with high quality cocktails and great music.
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“Ensuring that we not only have a fantastic looking venue, but also a great atmosphere and delicious food and drinks is paramount to us so we’ve recruited a really strong bar and kitchen team.
“We can’t wait for everyone to come and let us know what they think.”
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On The Hush will be open on Wednesdays to Sundays, from 10am til late.
To celebrate the launch, On The Hush will be offering cocktails at 2-4-1 all day every day throughout November, and the bottomless brunches will be just £27 per person from 12-7pm.
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To book, head over to On The Hush’s Instagram here.
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.
A glimpse at Manchester’s newest restaurant and bar, opening soon with beautiful skyline views
Daisy Jackson
A beautiful new 14th-floor food and drink destination is coming to Manchester in the coming weeks, home to both a new restaurant AND a new bar.
This will be the latest addition to Manchester’s Treehouse Hotel, which opened last year transforming a huge building at the end of Deansgate.
Now the hotel is unveiling the final chapter of its opening, with a new elevated dining and drinking offering, with beautiful skyline views.
Up first will be rooftop restaurant Sistermoon, a new project from acclaimed chef Sam Grainger (you know him from Madre, among others).
Sam will be working alongside Luke Cowdrey and Justin Crawford (Electric Chair, Volta, Freight Island) on Sistermoon, a Southeast Asian BBQ concept inspired by his time cooking with a local family in Thailand.
Also opening way up here on the 14th floor will be The Nest, a new signature bar with panoramic views of Manchester that will be a destination for late-night drinks and social occasions.
Treehouse Hotel is opening a new 14th-floor restaurant and bar
And at the very top of the hotel, The Hideout will open as an intimate rooftop lounge and event space designed for private hire.
The final phase of the hotel will also see nine premium suites open, from huge Presidential Suites to interconnecting rooms – expect walk-in wardrobes, kitchens, and skyline views.
Treehouse Hotel is already home to 224 playful guest rooms, the award-winning Pip restaurant, the private Flix cinema, and Playground gym.
Sistermoon, The Nest, and The Hideout will open on 11 June – you can sign up to find out more HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd November 2021 
