A striking new addition to Manchester’s dining scene has opened its doors this week amidst the glass towers of Deansgate Square.
With towering eight-foot-high bamboo walls, a gleaming tan marble bar, a giant (fake) bonsai and a trio of squat stone moai stationed squarely at its door, it might be called Kitten but it’s anything but cute.
Majestic, yes, and ever so slightly imposing, the restaurant’s grand interiors set the stage for a promisingly fresh and modern take on Japanese fine dining in Manchester.
All that’s left now is to try the food – and despite initial concerns it could be all fur coat and no knickers, we’re pleased to say that is not the case, not at all.
With a focus on fireside cooking, high-end sushi and sashimi, Kitten’s striking sushi bar takes centre stage in the restaurant – offering a front-row seat to all the sushi-making action to a privilieged few.
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The restaurant offers a one-of-a-kind chef’s table sushi experience with artfully constructed raw dishes overseen by Head Sushi Chef Daniel Zhou, formerly of Peter Street Kitchen.
We, however, manage to miss said sushi action – sitting away from the bar at a table overlooking a sun-lit Deansgate Square. Still, in fairness, the quality of the plates speak for themselves.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Beautiful ceramic dishes lined with snow pea and avocado maki topped with scallops and tabiko hit the table, joined by a house nigiri selection with salmon, tuna, sea bass and Japanese hamachi and squid.
Dusty pink sashimi follows, joined by lightly breaded shell-on prawns and an artfully-constructed dish of seared tuna, Kewpie, chillies and pickles – their freshness and crunch perfectly complementing the rich softness of the fish and Japanese mayo.
As well as specialist sushi, Kitten also boasts a giant Robatayak grill from which we enjoy a whole seabass rubbed in a red miso and sesame seed marinade.
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Its skin is blackened from the charcoal, giving it a smoky edge and aroma, but beneath that the flesh is soft, tenderly flaking away from the vertebra.
Image: The Manc Eats
Served solo, initially we find ourselves looking for accompanying side plates – but as we delve in, we soon realise it more than stands up on its own.
The cocktail menu is just as impressive. Midori, the luminous green melon liqueur star of many an adolescent mixer, is given a new lease of life in layered Japanese iced teas and Japanese slippers – the latter a mixture of orange Cointreau, lemon juice and melon.
Elsewhere, you’ll find a rich and satisfyingly garnishless take on an espresso martini, yuzu-laced margaritas and French 75’s, and house-infused gin made sharp and prickly with horseradish, then mellowed with cucumber.
Overall the kitchen here is led by Head Chef Josh Gabrielides, formerly of Ivy Asia, supported by a wider kitchen team that boasts experience from Copenhagen-based restaurant chain Sticks and Sushi s well as other top-ranked Pan-Asian restaurants.
Semi-open, it’s set into a fortress-like double-height wall with a second hatch overlooking the restaurant another floor above.
Further dishes from the robata menu include premium steak cuts, with veggie and vegan-friendly options available for those who prefer a plant-based diet.
Elegant and glamorous with a quality menu to boot, on first impressions Kitten looks set to be a triumph – adding another much-needed string to the bow of the city’s East Asian dining scene.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
News
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Georgina Pellant -
14th June 2022 
