The first images have been published of a brand new double venue set to open in Northern Quarter this month.
Lost Cat – a modern neighbourhood social club and cocktail spot – is taking over the old Eat New York site on 64 Oldham Street, with Junior Jackson’s – the ‘crazy cousin’ of Bunny Jackson’s – setting up in the basement.
The pair of venues are the latest concepts from Lyndon Higginson – the man behind the scenes at multiple Manchester sites such as Bay Horse Tavern, Bunny Jackson’s, Cane & Grain, Crazy Pedro’s, Junkyard Golf Club, The Liars Club and Wolf at the Door.
Lost Cat
At street level, Lost Cat will serve “serious beers and stupid cocktails” within laidback, timber-style surroundings.
A food menu will be supplied by wildly popular NY bagels and burger joint Triple B (who also announced a collab with O’Sheas Beer Garden in April).
ADVERTISEMENT
Laid out across two floors, Lost Cat will host intimate gigs and resident DJ sets from Dutch Uncles, with a revolving door of weekly guest performers for live music.
A further floor is also being added in 2022 – set to feature an extra bar and rooftop cinema.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lost Cat will open from midday to midnight Sunday to Wednesday and stay serving until 3am from Thursday to Saturday.
Lost Cat Lost CatLost Cat
Bouncing around downstairs in the basement at 64 Oldham Street, meanwhile, will be Bunny Jacksons’ wiry relative Junior.
Decorated in graffiti-scrawled walls and grungy lighting, Junior Jackson’s is described as having the “same amount of bourbon and same amount of not giving a fuck attitude” as its bigger buddy on First Street.
ADVERTISEMENT
Adorned in American flags and a wild hodgepodge of artwork and photography, the dive bar will also have its own private room with a fully-stocked beer fridge available to reserve for events.
Junior Jackson’s will also be home to what owners have described as “Manchester’s second best jukebox” – meaning there’ll be plenty of bangers ringing around the drinking den all night long.
And indeed, like its cousin Bunny, Junior Jackson’s is definitely one for late crowd.
Doors open at 5pm each evening and won’t close ’til 3am.
Lost Cat and Junior Jackson’s will open at 64 Oldham Street, Manchester, M4 1 LE.
Food & Drink
Yard and Coop is collaborating with The Great Kathmandu on a special burger
The Manc
Yard and Coop is collaborating with The Great Kathmandu on a special burger for National Curry week.
The buttermilk fried chicken heroes have teamed up with Gopal Dangol, the visionary founder of Didsbury’s beloved Nepalese restaurant, to create an absolute gem.
Combining The Great Kathmandu’s award winning Makhan Chara sauce with Yard and Coop’s famous fried chicken, it will be available throughout the coming month starting from Monday 2 October.
Using Yard and Coop’s 24-hour brined buttermilk chicken, plus crunchy slaw with lime and coriander, the one-off special features homemade bhaji bits and cardamom salt.
The main event, however, has to be the two Yard and Coop buttermilk fried chicken thighs dunked in The Great Kathmandu’s mouthwatering Makhn Chara buttermilk sauce.
The iconic Makhan Chara, created as a culmination of Gopal’s culinary experiences in the vibrant and diverse food landscape of 1960s India, serves as a tapestry of flavors and textures that reflects his masterful understanding of Indian and Nepalese cuisine.
Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
Despite numerous chefs and restaurants attempting to replicate the Makhan Chara, none have managed to capture the nuanced balance of flavors and textures that Gopal Dangol originally conceived.
An inviting blend of orange and red hues, achieved through the natural pigments of the tomatoes and spices, sets the dish apart visually and – combined with Yard and Coop’s crunchy, crispy buttermilk chicken – makes for a striking burger.
Known for its towering dirty burgers and fried chicken plates, served under tongue-in-cheek names like The Dirty Bird and The Massive C*ck, buttermilk fried chicken thighs are very much the order of the day at Yard and Coop.
The restaurant has been a staple on Edge Street for as long as we can remember, and now we have one more reason to visit.
To find out more and book a table at Yard and Coop to try the special burger, click here.
Food & Drink
The Mean Eyed Cat – Manchester’s brand new Deep South-inspired dive bar opens in Northern Quarter
Daisy Jackson
The Mean Eyed Cat, a Deep South-inspired dive bar with free pizza, is ready to open its doors in Manchester city centre.
The bar is already a familiar face on the bar scene, pulling out all the party vibes for almost two decades.
It’s now slinking its way onto Oldham Street, with a late-night sister bar, Tiki Hideaway, tucked down in the basement.
The Mean Eyed Cat has taken what was the futuristic, Blade Runner-esque dining room of District and flipped it into an American dream, with neon signs, weathered wooden walls, and rows of beers and bourbons behind the bar.
District’s old basement cocktail bar is now dripping in straw ceilings and bamboo walls as it turns fully into a Hawaiian-themed rum shack famed for its flaming Zombies.
The Mean Eyed Cat comes with plenty of unusual details – where else in town could you roll a dice and let fate decide how much your round at the bar will cost (FYI, it’s 25% off if you roll a two or a four, and it’s free if you roll a six).
Every drink you purchase at The Mean Eyed Cat in Manchester between 5pm and 9pm comes with a free pizza. Credit: The Manc GroupYou can roll a dice at the bar at The Mean Eyed Cat in Manchester to save money on your round. Credit: The Manc Group
Every drink you purchase between 5pm and 9pm comes with a free pizza. The catch, you ask? Nope, there isn’t one.
Pizza toppings include cheeseburger, chipotle fajita and buffalo cauliflower, with the West Yorkshire branch getting through hundreds every day.
There are several Johnny Cash-themed drinks on the Mean Eyed Cat menu, including I Walk The Lime (a Key Lime Pie-inspired creamy classic with Absolut lime vodka, apple juice, sugar syrup, cream, lime curd and a sprinkling of lime zest) and Ting of Fire (a zesty, fruity, vodka number with watermelon liqueur and Ting grapefruit juice).
Grant Dexter, Managing Director at Escapism Bars, said: “With many hospitality firms and venues feeling the pinch due to the energy crisis and cost of living, it’s exciting to be able to open these awesome venue, which includes not one but two incredible bars, in this popular area in Manchester which spans the NQ and Ancoats.
“We opened The Mean-Eyed Cat in Leeds back in 2004 and it has stood the test of time, attracting students, after work drinkers, party goers and anyone that likes to let their hair down. We can’t wait to see what Manchester’s legendary revellers make of the venues!”
The Manc -
12th May 2021 
