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The Manc -
22nd April 2020
The Manc -
22nd April 2020 Eats
Acclaimed Manchester cocktail bar shuts down after a decade due to ‘persistent water issues’
Daisy Jackson
An acclaimed cocktail bar in Manchester has announced its closure after more than a decade in the city centre.
Wood & Company, which opened in a time when ‘secret’ and ‘hidden’ bars were all the rage in the city, has confirmed it’s closing down for good.
The bar has said that ‘persistent water issues in our old basement building’, along with rising costs, has led to them taking the touch decision to call it a day.
And the announcement comes just one week after Manchester bid farewell to another of its leading cocktail bars, when Red Light shut down.
Wood & Company is tucked away off Cross Street, disguised behind an almost completely anonymous door reading ‘Goods entrance, keep clear’.
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The bar first opened in April 2016 on South King Street, taking over the former 39 Steps site, and was the work of the team behind fellow Manchester bars NoHo and Dusk Til Pawn.
From the outset, Wood & Company deliberately kept things low-key. There was no grand launch or flashy frontage – instead, drinkers had to find the unassuming entrance and head downstairs into a dark, intimate basement, where the focus was firmly on cocktails.
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It quickly established a reputation for doing the basics exceptionally well, with a menu mixing classics with more inventive creations and bartenders who knew their stuff. While the ‘hidden bar’ trend eventually became something of a Manchester cliché, Wood & Company managed to outlast the fad and build a loyal following of its own.
Over the years, its understated, New York-inspired atmosphere and serious approach to cocktails made it one of the city’s more enduring independent drinking spots.
But sadly, it’s now the end of the road.
Wood & Company said in a statement: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce this news.
“Unfortunately, due to persistent water issues in our old basement building and rising costs, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors for the final time after 10 years.
“Thank you to everyone who visited, many great nights were had.”
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Featured image: The Manc Group
Eats
Roman kitchen Bar Caput replaces Stockport’s only Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant
Daisy Jackson
Stockport’s only Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, Cantaloupe, has closed its doors – but the team have quickly pivoted to launch a brand-new concept in its place.
If Cantaloupe was simple Mediterranean small plates and great wine, Bar Caput is all cocktails, pizza… and still great wine.
The new concept from the same team behind the original restaurant is inspired by ‘the drinking and aperitivi culture of Rome’.
The intention is that while Cantaloupe was a real destination restaurant – especially after earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand earlier this year – Bar Caput will be a more return-to-time-and-time-again neighbourhood haunt.
On the menu, you’ll find brilliant, bright cocktails, like the ‘Bicycle Thief’ made with gin, Campari and grapefruit, and the refreshing ‘Calindri’ (named after the legendary Italian actor).
Then for the food, the bulk of the menu centres around Roman-style pizzas, with thin, crispy bases and fantastic quality toppings.
There’s currently one with zucchini flowers, and thick anchovy fillets, finished with fior di latter.
If you don’t like the punchy salty flavour of anchovy, give that one a swerve and instead grab a Friggitelli, which has crispy guanciale and vibrant green peppers on it.
There are also plenty of nibbles and snacks if you’re not coming in for a full meal, from house-pickled market veggies to a cacio e pepe fritto which is, as the name suggests, cheesy, peppery, and fried.
Cantaloupe’s sort-of closure was a sad blow for Stockport, particularly after the restaurant had earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand earlier this year and a place in the Good Food Guide’s Top 100.
The team said at the time that they were proud of everything they had achieved at Cantaloupe, from filling tables with industry names to ‘doing it all from a kitchen measuring just 75cm by 3m 15cm, with subpar equipment’.
But they were equally keen to thank the people who had supported them along the way.
“We’re so grateful for the support we’ve received from Stockport and the wider community,” they said. “We’ve been blessed with great guests, many of whom have become regulars.”
They also thanked their suppliers and the staff who had helped make Cantaloupe what it was.
And while saying goodbye to Cantaloupe might have been a blow, Bar Caput feels like a pretty exciting replacement.
With Roman-inspired pizza, aperitivi and cocktails now taking over the space, the team are keeping their place in Stockport’s food scene – just with a slightly different flavour.
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Featured image: The Manc Group
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