Manchester restaurant Habas has made it into the prestigious Michelin guide just six months after opening its doors in the city.
The restaurant is the creation of esteemed chef Simon Shaw, who also has the two-AA Rosette and Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant El Gato Negro, as well as Canto (which has been newly-awarded a Michelin Plate) in Ancoats.
It opened in the lower level of the historic Manchester Reform Club building in June to mixed reviews.
Inside Habas. Credit: Supplied
However, it seems the naysayers are to be mostly ignored, as it’s already caught the eye of inspectors at Michelin, who advise diners to ‘arrive early for a cocktail in the bar before moving into the fun, slightly retro-style dining room’.
The guide continues: “Small sharing plates take their influences mainly from the Middle East but there are also hints of the Mediterranean to be seen.
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“Must-haves include the homemade pita bread, stuffed filo cigars and vegetable dishes.”
Food at Habas in Manchester. Credit: Joby Catto Photography
Housed inside the building’s former wine cellar, the menu follows a similar format to Shaw’s other popular Spanish and Portuguese-style city-centre restaurants – with a strong focus on small plates, ordered to share.
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Speaking on the inclusion of Habas in MICHELIN’s fourth live release of the year, Shaw said: “First and foremost I’m absolutely delighted. For a business that’s been such a long time in the making and yet still very much in its infancy its remarkable. It’s all credit to Craig, Kelly and their respective teams who are doing an incredible job.”
Habas is one of 12 Manchester restaurants recommended in this year’s guide, alongside Adam Reid at The French, Allotment vegan eatery, Tast, El Gato Negro, Porta Tapas, Canto, The Bull and Bear, 63 Degrees, Erst, Mana, and OSMA.
The restaurant has just introduced a new Sunday roast offering, with two options available and an option to bring your own wine for just an additional £5 corkage fee.
The announcement follows a new approach announced by Michelin this summer, which sees the guide announce new additions on a monthly basis for the very first time.
Usually, these are only revealed at the annual launch event – but we have to say, we’re enjoying the new approach, as it gives us something new to look forward to every month, instead of having to wait a whole year.
The most prestigious awards, however -Stars, Bib Gourmands and Green Stars – will be announced at the annual 2022 ceremony as usual. So we’ve still got a bit of a wait for those.
Featured image: Supplied
Food & Drink
Didsbury favourite Rustik has confirmed its will sadly be closing this month
Danny Jones
West Didsbury favourite Rustik has sadly announced it will be closing for food after a decade at the end of this month.
The beloved Burton cafe and bar has been a staple of the tight-knit foodie neighbourhood since 2015, but now the independent Irish eatery has confirmed that the business will be shutting down permanently in less than a fortnight.
Confirmed on Wednesday afternoon, 17 September, the casual Manc restaurant and hangout informed their loyal followers of the unfortunate news.
Unsurprisingly, their social media has been awash with condolences, collective sadness and support for the local institution.
Posting across all of their accounts, Rustik wrote: “After an unforgettable 10 years on Burton Road, the time has come to close our doors. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come — never in a million years did we imagine Rustik would grow into what it became.
“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to every single one of you who walked through our doors and supported us along the way. We poured everything we had — our time, our energy, our lives into making Rustik a space for everyone. And what a ride it’s been.
“From the chaotic, beautiful brunch shifts to late nights dancing on tables to ‘Wagon Wheel’, pushing through the challenges of COVID and helping our community with meals during hard times— we’ve done it all, together.
“To our amazing staff, past and present: thank you for your hard work, your dedication, and the love you brought every single day. You helped build something truly special, and we’ll never be able to thank you enough.
“To the incredible musicians who filled our space with life — keep doing what you do. The noise complaints? 100% worth the unforgettable nights.”
The team go on to detail that the official closing date is Tuesday, 30 September, reiterating that it is “business running as usual until then” and urging fans to “come down, grab your last Rustik fix, and raise a glass with us one final time.”
Signing off with an emotional farewell, they add: “Lastly, a message close to our hearts: please support your local cafes, bars, and independents. Hospitality is tough right now, and they need your support more than ever.
“Thank you for the most incredible decade of our lives. It’s over and out from us.”
It goes without saying that we’re gutted to see Rustik go and know how much it meant not only to the Burton Road community, but also to the Didsbury community, Chorlton and many other Greater Manchester natives.
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.
Georgina Pellant -
24th November 2021 
