A huge new restaurant has just opened up in Spinningfields, taking over the former Artisan and Manchester House sites.
Called Sakku Samba, it will fuse Brazilian and Japanese cuisine together in a swanky all-you-can-eat setting – complete with fistfuls of pink sakura trees, floral walls, neon lighting, and plenty of selfie traps, not least a room filled solely with giant lightbulbs.
Split across two floors, the new space includes a ground-floor caipirinha bar and a first-floor restaurant and bar with room for 400 covers, as well as two plush private dining rooms.
Elsewhere, there is a second restaurant for VIPs only with its very own access and private VIP corridor – something that is sure to appeal to the city’s glitterati crowd.
Image: The Manc Eats
Brought to the city by restauranteur Zack Isaak, the new arrival borrows from two popular concepts already well-established across the Pennines and promises a glitzy cocktail menu alongside a range of sushi platters, prime Brazilian steak cuts and small plates.
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The new dining concept will see guests order fresh sushi and traditional Brazilian meats in unlimited quantities via digital tablets on each table, meaning they will have access to over 150 varied dishes at the simple click of a button.
From Brazilian picanha and pork belly to Japanese hosomaki and fresh sashimi, the extensive menu at Sakku Samba celebrates a fusion of two distinct cultures.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Though this is restaurant owner Zack Isaak’s first Manchester-based endeavour, his other restaurants SAKKU and Estabulo have proven to be extremely popular with sites all across England.
Speaking on the new concept, Zack Isaak said: “Sakku Samba is all about creating an incredible dining experience. From the moment guests walk through the doors, to the minute they leave they’ll be blown away by our stunning decor, unique cocktails, beautiful menu and high end service.
“We wanted to come to Manchester with a bang, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do at our launch tomorrow evening. SakkuSamba is set to become the go-to place to dine here in Manchester.”
Sakku Samba’s arrival in the business district comes at a time of change for the area, which has been dominated by current and past Living Ventures businesses like Australasia, Manchester House, The Alchemist, and The Living Room almost since its inception.
This year will see more out-of-town concepts follow in its wake, with the planned arrival of brands like Sexy Fish in the former Armani unit, Giggling Squid in the former Carluccio’s site, Soho House at nearby Granada Studios and Mnky Hse at nearby Lloyd Street.
The restaurant will open its doors to walk ins on Wednesday 27 July following a swanky VIP launch party on Tuesday. Bookings can be made online now from 1 August onwards by visiting their website, www.sakkusamba.co.uk.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
A huge new restaurant has opened up in Spinningfields, returning a touch of glamour to a part of the district that has lain empty and forgotten for years.
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Taking over the former Artisan and Manchester House sites, once a mecca for Manchester’s glitterati, it
Called Sakku Samba, the glamorous new behemoth combines two popular existing concepts, Brazilian steakhouse Estabulo and sushi restaurant Sakku, to fuse Brazilian and Japanese cuisine together in a swanky all-you-can-eat setting.
Complete with fistfuls of pink sakura, neon lighting, and its very own VIP restaurant with separate access and corridors, this huge block of real estate has become a place for the city’s glitterati to gather once more.
The new restaurant and bar will launch
its Instagram-friendly brand of dining to Manchester – complete with a special VIP dining area and corridor.
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Taking over the former Artisan and Manchester House sites to form a glamorous all-you-can-eat behemoth, newcomer Sakku Samba fuses together Brazilian and Japanese cuisine under one roof.
Launched by restauranteur Zack Isaak, the new site combines two popular existing concepts, Brazilian steakhouse Estabulo and sushi restaurant Sakku, to offer Manchester something it hasn’t seen before – limitless dining in a VIP setting.
Inside, there are two bars, two private dining rooms, two restaurants (one for VIPs only) and a special private corridor for
the concepts of Estabulo Rodizio, an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse with a number of popular sites in Yorkshire, and Leeds’ all-you-can-eat sushi and Japanese grill venue, Sakku.
Split across two floors, ground-floor caiprinha bar and a first-floor restaurant with room for 400 covers.
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Beyond that, you’ll find a VIP dining room and two extra private dining rooms, an ‘Instagram trap’ selfie room lit with hundreds of kilowat bulbs, lemanc2020
At 400 cacpacity, it’s absolutely huge – with two private dining rooms, a private VIP corridor and restaurant as well as
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This Manchester restaurant serves an all-vegan roast with ‘meat’ and all the trimmings
Georgina Pellant
A Manchester vegan restaurant is serving an all-vegan roast with mock ‘meat’ and all the trimmings, putting an ethical twist on the British Sunday classic.Keen to see if it’s worth the hype, I took a trip down to try it out for myself – and left feeling pretty impressed.
Not being a vegan personally, I enlisted the help of two friends of the plant-powered persuasion to accompany me to get a real feel for every option.
Suffice it to say, it was a success and, whilst I won’t be converting to veganism any time soon, it’s nice to know that there are options out there for when I feel like being ‘good’.
With three different roast choices on offer, Wholesome Junkies is the first restaurant in the city centre to venture past the usual vegan choices of mushroom Wellington and roasted squash and go all-out with a variety of mock meat options.
Meats have been created in partnership with Liverpool vegan brand CB Sushi, using their mock beef and turkey joints to give vegans the feeling of a ‘proper’ roast.
Glazed ‘turkey’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings. / Image: The Manc Eats
‘Beef’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with onion gravy, Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the good bits. / Image: The Manc Eats
Think glazed ‘turkey’ filled with stuffing, medallions of ‘beef’ and crispy deep-fried oyster mushrooms, all served with lashings of onion gravy, ‘buttered’ seasonal greens, glazed carrots and parsnips, deep-fried stuffing balls, crispy roasties and fluffy Yorkshire puddings created by Mabel’s.
Having tried all three, I have to say that my favourite was the turkey. It’s actually my least favourite meat to eat, so it was something of a surprise to find I enjoyed the vegan version much more than the real thing.
The texture was spot on, and there was none of the dryness you typically associate with the bird. Washed down with a pint of locally-brewed Cloudwater Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale, it absolutely hit the spot.
The deep-fried oyster mushroom roast at Wholesome Junkies. / Image: The Manc Eats
Cloudwater’s Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale. / Image: The Manc Eats
Coming in a close second was the deep-fried oyster mushroom roast, which was so packed with flavour that it almost felt like I was eating fried chicken with my Sunday dinner.
As for the beef, it didn’t really do it for me – tasting more of herbs than red meat, but then, I don’t suppose there are many vegans queueing up the block for a bloody meat substitute.
Wholesome Junkies has long been a favourite with Manchester vegans. First shooting to fame in 2018 with an appearance on BBC2’s Million Pound Menu, owner Chelsea appeared on the show to ask for 95,000 to open her own vegan junk food restaurant.
Prior to that, she’d been running her Wholesome Junkies concept as a street food pop-up at sites like Grub and Ancoats General Store.
Whilst her bid to impress the BBC judges was not successful at the time, the TV appearance put her on the map and within a year she had her own Arndale market stall.
Fast forward a few more, and in 2022 she opened her first bricks and mortar restaurant – taking over the former Umezushi site at 4 Mirabel Street.
Since moving in, she’s completely transformed it: decking it out in bright colours and filling every corner with quirky little ornaments and decorations.
Strings of fairy lights, hanging mushrooms and frames filled with pictures from local artists all make the small space feel incredibly warm and welcoming – and our visit the restaurant was absolutely packed.
At a time when so many vegan restaurants seem to be closing, it was an absolute joy to see so many bums on seats during our visit.
Veganuary might almost be over, but if you’re a vegan – or simply just trying to cut down on your meat consumption – it’s definitely worth giving this one a go.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
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Meet the couple who quit their jobs to sell sandwiches from their Northern Quarter flat
Georgina Pellant
If you’re a fan of things in bread (and honestly, who isn’t) then there’s a new Italian sandwich dealer in town that you absolutely need to get down your neck.
Serving up some of the best butties we’ve had in a long time, it’s called Ad Maiora and is being run by a couple who are making absolutely everything out of a kitchen in their little Manchester flat.
Collected from a nondescript door on a Norther Quarter back street, we’re talking giant focaccia-style loaves generously stuffed with premium ingredients like ‘nduja, spicy Tuscan sausage, smoked scamorza, mortadella, burrata and red pesto.
The brainchild of Sardinian couple Daniela Steri and Enrico Pinna, all of their sandwiches are made using only top quality Italian ingredients with a total of nine different options to choose from.
From the vegan-friendly La Nonna (Italian hummus, roasted aubergine, olives, sundried tomatoes and rocket) to a huge array of different cheesy and meaty delights, fillings include parma ham, gorgonzola DOP, truffled brie, Milano salami and crumbled pistachios.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Their bread is baked freshly by hand each morning using a tiny domestic oven, and they’re already baking up to 60 loaves of schiacciata (a traditional Tuscan flatbread) a day to keep up with the demand – putting just four in the oven at a time, over and over again.
On our visit, the pair tell us that they moved over from Sardinia to the UK six years ago and first tried living in London for a year (they say they hated it) before making the move up to Manchester.
In that time, they say they’ve fallen in love with the city of Manchester and with the Northern Quarter in particular.
Inspired by the brilliant food scene in their area, two months ago they both decided to pack in their jobs and pursue their own business instead – and haven’t looked back since.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Previously, Daniela tells us she’d worked at hotel Dakota in housekeeping for three years whilst her partner, Enrico, had been employed at Ezra and Gil. Despite their hospitality experience, though, neither of them had made bread before.
That doesn’t seem to be holding them back, though, and demand for their sandwiches is rocketing as word spreads about the new homemade Italian butties for sale on a Manchester backstreet.
Georgina Pellant -
25th July 2022 
