A new food hall is set to open on Manchester’s Peter Street this year, adding three new kitchens and two new bars to the area’s already thriving food and drink scene.
Put together by the team behind the aperitivo and coffee bar Haunt, opened in the same building last summer, the new opening Exhibition will bring together three of Manchester’s best chef operators inside the iconic St George’s House.
Hosting three new kitchens from the Michelin-recommended Osma team, the Michelin-trained Carlone Martins of the Sao Paulo Project, and Ramsbottom’s lauded Basque fire cookery restaurant Baratxuri under one roof, this already sounds like it will blow every other local food hall out of the water.
Diners will be able to tuck into fine Brazilian-British fusion, Scandinavian and Basque dishes as part of the new dining experience, whilst elsewhere Exhibition will also boast two new bars, fresh beer straight from in-venue Manchester Union lager tanks, and a number of exhibition spaces for local artists.
Caroline Martins, Great British Menu chef and Manchester’s Chef of the Year nominee, will be launching the Sao Paulo Bistro, serving popular dishes from her popular fine-dining residency in Ancoats in a more relaxed setting.
ADVERTISEMENT
At her Bistro, you’ll find daintily-plated oysters, hand-dived scallops in creamy cassava, Lancashire ribeye steak sandwiches with Garstang blue, and a showstopper chocolate dessert made using liquid nitrogen and specially-imported cocoa beans from Brazil.
Read more:
ADVERTISEMENT
Keeping local suppliers at the heart of her menu whilst exploring her fusion theme, chef Caroline will work closely with Platt Fields Market Garden, Dormouse Chocolates, Northern Cure, The Flat Baker and more to promote quality produce.
She will be joined by a team from Ramsbottom favourite Baratxuri. The specialist fire cookery restaurant will also move in, serving a selection of lunchtime pintxos alongside its classic Basque dishes – available as a mixture of small and large plates.
Think big cuts of meat and whole fish with a mix of large sharing dishes, such as its famed Capricho Oro’ Txuleton (a 1kg bone-in rib steak), alongside various nibbles like boquerones and the finest grade jamon Iberico de bellota, sourced from free-range pigs that roam the oak forests between Spain and Portugal.
ADVERTISEMENT
Elsewhere, Prestwich favourite Osma will bring a new relaxed edge to its Scandinavian concept serving open sandwiches, fresh salads and hearty soups during the day before switching its menu offering to something a little more sultry come nightfall.
Think tempting small plates like Avruga caviar pots with toasted brioche, whole lobster with herb butter, sashimi with caper and shallots, and a dish of roasted and pickled beetroots with raspberry and rose,
Elsewhere, the bar operation will be headed up by the award-winning Gethin Jones (formerly of Ducie Street Warehouse and Cottonopolis) with a specialist cocktail bar menu focused exclusively on brandy throughout autumn.
The bar offering will also include a dedicated rotational line for Manchester breweries like Sureshot, Cloudwater and Pomona, and a carefully chosen wine list designed to complement the kitchens stellar food offering.
Due to open in Manchester this autumn, a date has not been set but we’re expecting it will be some time in November. To keep up to date until then, make sure to follow Exhibition on Instagram here.
Feature image – Supplied
Food & Drink
Kobbie Mainoo shouts out more of his favourite food spots in Manchester
Danny Jones
Man United star Kobbie Mainoo is back putting people onto his favourite places to eat in Manchester, and judging by his picks, he doesn’t just know football – he knows his food spots too.
The Stockport-born footballer turned 20 years old this month, and as well as celebrating leaving his teens with that impressive goal in the comeback against Lyon, the Manchester United midfielder was met with a birthday cake by his club, along with a fun little game of 20 questions.
Sharing the short but insightful Q&A, in which the number 37 dove into his favourite parts of matchdays, the best birthday gift he’s ever received, as well as the tried and tested dream dinner guest lineup.
Naming a very sporty trio of Mike Tyson, Michael Jordan and Jon Jones, the only logical next step was to ask him where his favourite places to eat around Manchester were, to which he answered…
That’s right, spotlighting a personal favourite of ours, the first Manc venue on his list was Pho Cue, the authentic family-run Vietnamese spot known for great value, top-quality street food such as their big hitter bánh mìs, as well as big queues every lunchtime.
If you don’t know already, then get to know.
As you can see, the second place he mentioned with the booked-up-till-kingdom come Onda Pasta Bar, which went viral for its ‘Tiramisu drawer’ last year and opened their first proper restaurant back in June.
Since then, it’s fair to say it’s more popular than ever and you’re lucky to get a table; if you, however, you’ll be treated to some of the most luxurious and indulgent pasta not just in Manchester but probably anywhere in the country, if you ask us.
These latest shout-outs come after Mainoo famously put Salford’s culinary kings, Burgerism, on the nationwide map after name-dropping them in his British GQ interview in November 2024.
You can watch the full thing HERE, but you already know the biggest takeaway from that chat, quite literally: the boy knows his burgers.
Kobbie is actually just one of several famous faces to have proclaimed Burgerism as the best in the business, at least in Greater Manchester of late.
Not only have British influencers Ollie Ball and Jacob Pasquill now become seemingly regular presenters on their social media, but online content creator turned boxer and WWE star Logan Paul also visited the beloved burger joint and reviewed it during a recent visit to the UK.
We’ll confess we’re more likely to take the local lad’s word on board over the bloke who used to make Vines, but it’s just yet more proof that the Manc food scene is top tier.
Come on, just look at the state of these selections:
Not a bad little spread there, Kobb… (Credit: The Manc Eats)
We’re not sure how much of this stuff Mainoo is allowed on the diet sheet, but we can at least confirm that Kobbie knows his Manchester food, and as far as favourites go, we might just stand a chance of becoming best friends yet.
Happy birthday to a young man with a very bright future and hopefully a very active metabolism.
Featured Images — Manchester United/The Manc Group
Food & Drink
Inside Voyeur, a mysterious new post-punk 80s-inspired cocktail bar
Daisy Jackson
A brand new cocktail bar is set to open in Manchester this week, with dark and mysterious interiors, 80s inspiration, and a raunchy theme.
Voyeur is opening in the heart of the Northern Quarter, and here it’s all about modern drinks in a post-punk 80s setting.
The walls are decorated with beautiful voyeurism photography from the 80s, including artists like David Hockney, Nick Taggart, and Malerie Marder.
Even the menus celebrate the artistic side of voyeurism, with drinks presented within a book of photography.
Those drinks include creative twists on drinks dating back more than a century, from the Kaleidescope of Lies (a two-in one cocktail inspired by a pina colada, with a strawberry daiquiri foam top) to The Voyeur (made with coriander-infused tequila for a savoury punch).
There’ll be monthly themed specials, kicking off with The Breakfast Club, where seasonal drinks take inspiration from Lucky Charms cereal, chai latte and an acai bowl.
Cocktails inspired by The Breakfast Club at VoyeurCocktails at Voyeur in the Northern QuarterInside Voyeur, a new Manchester cocktail barInside Voyeur, a new Manchester cocktail barVoyeur on Oldham StreetThe cocktail menu is presented as a photography book
The dark space is lit by marble table lamps and a glittering green disco ball (and not much else), perfect for an evening spent sipping cocktails into the early hours.
Between Thursdays and Sundays, Voyeur will have DJs spinning vinyls.
Voyeur is opening this week on Oldham Street and will be open from 5pm to 2am between Tuesday and Sunday.
Georgina Pellant -
4th October 2022 
