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The Manc -
15th April 2020
The Manc -
15th April 2020 News
10 major restaurants and bars that have closed in Manchester already this year
Daisy Jackson
We are barely a quarter of the way through the year, and already it feels like Manchester is having a brutal year of restaurant and bar closures.
Already this year we’ve bid farewell to restaurants that should, in any other economic climate, stood the test of time.
We’re talking long-standing neighbourhood favourites, restaurants that have caught the eye of the prestigious Michelin Guide, local institutions, and award-winning bars.
But, with the hospitality industry battling ever-increasing costs and a stark lack of support from the Government, we might be seeing a lot more of this to come, industry insiders have warned.
We’ve rounded up 10 restaurant and bar closures that have shocked Manchester already this year.
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Climat
A real wake-up call for everyone about the dire circumstances facing hospitality landed last month, when Climat closed its doors for good.
Despite a Michelin Guide recommendation, rave reviews across the board, and an enviable location with views across Manchester, the finances for the restaurant just didn’t stack up. And they were brutally honest about those finances in their closing statement.
Climat’s founder listed an annual energy bill of £112k a year, a 33% increase in staff wages, and a jump in business rates from £12,000 a year to £38,000 a year among the reasons for its closure.
TNQ
One of the Northern Quarter’s longest-standing restaurants announced it would be closing its doors for good back in February.
In a brutally honest statement TNQ said that it had become ‘no longer viable’ to run the restaurant, listing costs like an £8k a month energy bill.
This independent business said it was focused on paying the staff ‘every penny they’re owed’ and finding them all new jobs in the industry.
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KAJI
KAJI opened on Bridge Street back in 2022, a big glitzy, futuristic restaurant space with a modern Japanese menu, which quickly drew in all sorts of glamorous customers (like when Ilkay Gundogan’s wife – who had famously described Manchester’s restaurant scene as ‘horrible’ – actually liked the food here).
But despite a rebrand from MUSU to KAJI and pulling in some impressive chefs, it appears that this glamorous spot has closed for good last month, with repossession notices now in the windows.
The restaurant remained silent on its closure, but it’s no longer possible to book a table here.
Restaurant Orme
This is a bit of a weird one because it hasn’t actually closed yet – but Restaurant Orme in Urmston has notified followers that with ‘great sadness’ they are intending to sell the business.
In a statement, the Michelin-recommended restaurant acknowledged the ‘significant economic pressures’ facing the restaurant industry, writing: “We find an increasing disparity between perceived value and the true cost of operations, rendering long-term sustainability unfeasible.”
But they also detailed that a break in their lease has allowed them to ‘thoughtfully consider’ their circumstances and make the ‘right choice for our growing families’.
You’ve still got time to visit, but I wouldn’t delay.
Topkapi
Just this month, we’ve had to bid goodbye to a bit of a local institution.
Topkapi Palace has closed its doors on Deansgate after almost five decades in the city, making it the longest-running Turkish restaurant in Manchester.
This one triggered a wave of discussion, with one local operator warning: “If we keep letting places like this go, we lose more than food, we lose culture, history, identity.”
Peaky Blinders
This one maybe stuck around for a bit longer than anyone expected, if we’re being honest, but the enormous Peaky Blinders-inspired bar on Peter Street shut down back in March.
Peaky Blinders opened back in 2018 in the former Sakana site, with plenty of nods to the popular Netflix series – including oil paintings of the main characters on the wall.
Peaky Blinders said in a statement: “It is with an extremely heavy heart that we unfortunately have to announce the closure of Peaky Blinders Manchester with immediate effect. We are devastated it has had to end this way, but grateful for the journey.”
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The prime piece of real estate didn’t stay empty for long, though – there’s a huge Irish bar in there now.
Banyan
It was known and loved for its epic happy hour deals and its bottomless brunches, but glitzy Spinningfields bar Banyan shut down right at the start of this year.
It’s part of the Arc Inspirations group that also operates Manahatta and Box, and still operates another Banyan across town at the Corn Exchange.
Their sign in the door read: “Thank you so much for your custom over the years, we’ve loved being part of this wonderful city and have made so many friends.
“Don’t be a stranger, we’d love to continue to welcome you to our Banyan bar in the Corn Exchange. Team Banyan.”
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House of Fu
One of Manchester’s coolest ramen spots quietly closed its doors in March, saying the site just ‘doesn’t click’.
House of Fu opened just two and a half years ago on Portland Street, following major success across in Leeds.
They wrote: “It’s been a wild two and a half years. To say the economic landscape has been challenging would be a bit of an understatement, but sometimes a site just doesn’t click. You live and hopefully learn.”
Project Halcyon
Project Halcyon was formerly named one of the best cocktail bars in the UK, famed for its speakeasy-style setting that drew inspiration from Prohibition-era Chicago.
But it closed for good back in February, writing: “Project Halcyon has poured its last cocktail.
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“It was with sincere regret that due to unexpected challenges at the ownership level we must close our doors for the foreseeable. Though we say goodbye, the memories live on.
“Thank you to everyone who shared in our craft, our community, and our story.”
Simmons
London-born bar brand Simmons closed their Manchester site just over a year after opening their first Northern location, right in the heart of one of town’s busiest nightlife strips.
An otherwise well-established and popular chain down south, Simmons had a total of 15 different bars in central London, but things clearly didn’t quite take off as planned here in Manchester.
They wrote: “It’s never easy to say goodbye. We’re incredibly proud of what the team built here and so grateful to them, as well as everyone who joined us over the past year.
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“We’ve had some unforgettable nights. We love Manchester, and we hope to be back under the right conditions.”
Read more
- ‘We were so lucky to have it’ – Has Manchester’s hospo scene reached a dangerous tipping point?
- The Marble Arch is increasingly becoming much more than a pub – it’s now a brilliant Manc bistro
- A Withington boozer has been named ‘Pub of the Year’ in South Manchester for 2026
Featured image: The Manc Group
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Renting is now cheaper than buying across much of the UK – but not in one Greater Manchester area
Emily Sergeant
New statistics have revealed that renting a property is now cheaper than buying one across much of the UK.
But in one popular Greater Manchester area, it still remains the other way around.
According to leading property platform Rightmove, which has analysed the latest price data, the average monthly rent in Great Britain is now lower than a typical new mortgage payment – with the average advertised monthly rent nationwide being £1,547 and a new mortgage on a typical home currently costing around £1,670 a month.
This means that renters, for the first time since June 2025, are coming out £123 a month better off than buyers.
Rightmove says that, to arrive at that figure, it used the current average asking price of £373,971, paired with the average two-year fixed rate of 5.35% recorded so far in April, and with calculations assuming a 20% deposit and a 30-year term.
So, what has changed then? Well, the simple answer is that mortgage rates have gone up.
The average two-year fixed rate sat at 4.24% in February, but by April, it had climbed to 5.35%, and unfortunately, that increase is enough to push a new buyer’s monthly payment above what many people are currently paying in rent.
The national picture does not tell the whole story though, however, as there are real differences from one part of the country to another, largely driven by local property prices.
As mentioned earlier, there is one popular Greater Manchester residential area where buying is still cheaper than renting overall, according to the latest data – and that is Salford.
In Salford, the average asking price of a property is £245,478 with an average monthly mortgage repayment being £1,096, whereas the average monthly rent sits at £1,323, so this means that a +£277 difference.
Rightmove property experts say Salford is helped by ‘more affordable’ property prices keeping borrowing costs ‘in check’.
Read more:
- Manchester has been named one of the UK’s top property hotspots for 2026
- Greater Manchester town named one of Britain’s ‘happiest’ places to live in 2026
- Council reveals £11.7m plan to tackle empty homes across the region
“Mortgage payments have risen quite sharply in a short space of time for new buyers,” commented Rightmove property expert, Colleen Babcock.
“It will be interesting to see whether more would-be buyers turn to renting temporarily while rates remain high, particularly when monthly costs can exceed average rents and the timing of rate cuts is still unclear.”
Featured Image – Shvets Production (via Pexels)
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