Aumbry, the multi-award winning restaurant in Prestwich from Heston Blumethal prodigee's Laurence Tottigham and Mary Ellen McDough has re-opened with new extended hours after briefly closing for refurbishment. There's a new reception and bar area together with an overhauled kitchen and the exterior of the building has also received a makeover. The downstairs restaurant has new flooring whilst work continues apace upstairs with a new lounge area, gentlemen's cloakroom and refurbished ladies' toilets all expected to be completed by the end of March. ~27 Feb
After winning ITV's Britain's Best Dish in 2010, chef Jonathon Davies has teamed up with judge and celebrity two-time Michelin Star Chef, John Burton-Race to launch the world's first interactive restaurant. This brand new concept allows members of the public to take full control of running a restaurant by deciding every element, from the location and the cuisine to the chefs and décor. Once they've voted on where they want it to be, they'll be invited to join and collaborate in the creation and running of the restaurant itself. ~27 Feb
Following Brunning & Price's purchase of the long derelict Jackson's Wharf in Castlefield, they have now submitted a licensing application, proposing opening hours of 10am until 12:30am, seven days a week, for The Wharf, as it will be called.
Restaurants Of Manchester were involved in the successful campaign to prevent previous owner Peel Holdings demolishing the building to replace it with 118 apartments, so we're very excited about the opening of this gastro pub from one of the region's best operators. ~ 24th Feb 2012
Eduardo and Luis, the Chilean brothers who were behind Leoni's Latin Cellar, have decided to concentrate on their beloved home cuisine by opening Santiago Restaurante in the same basement just around the corner from the Town Hall. It's a welcome move as Chilean cuisine is regarded as one of the best in the world, fusing Latin American influences with European ingredients, and you'll find delicacies not available anywhere else in Manchester. ~20 Feb
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has found rare Joy Division and New Order master tapes alongside £1.1m worth of guns, gold and jewellery when converting the banking vaults in the former HSBC Midland Bank on King Street into a stunning private dining room at his new Jamie's Italian. The room retains nearly all the original features of the vaults, including the safe deposit boxes if not their contents, which sadly for Jamie, he's had to hand to the Treasury. ~14 Feb
Before he had barely opened the doors to his new Manchester branch of Jamie's Italian, Jamie Oliver was already being courted for a role with Manchester City Council. The exceptionally hard-working yet never media-shy Labour councillor Pat Carney confirmed that he had urged the Town Hall to get in touch with the celebrity chef to join them on projects teaching school children about healthy eating, weight management and the dangers of smoking. ~13 Feb
In 1959 Monsieur Gineste de Saurs bought an Italian restaurant in Paris, called Le Relais de Venise, as an outlet to sell his family's wines. Without a restaurant background, he kept the operation simple, adding a ‘L’Entrecôte’ sign outside and serving just a salad starter followed by steak frites. Little did he know that it would become one of the most celebrated restaurants in the world and a branch would open on Manchester's King Street, 53 years later. Work is underway on the old Armani unit for a spring launch. ~ 9 Feb
Jamie Oliver's highly-anticipated Manchester restaurant is exclusively giving Restaurants Of Manchester readers 50% Off food, the week ahead of the official launch. Jamie's Italian is set to open to the public on 20th February, however there is a limited number of places available for our exclusive preview sessions, which will give his new team a chance to test drive the menu in the impressive King Street building. ~9 Feb
Following their sale of Jackson's Wharf to pub operator Brunning and Price, Peel Holdings have now put the adjoining Castle Quay up for sale for £3.4m. Home to Choice Restaurant, Bar Eight cafe, Key 103 radio and, until this year, your very own Restaurants Of Manchester, the beautiful Grade II listed building was built in 1831 by the Manchester Ship Canal Company. As well as a few other offices, the building is also home to a small number of apartments whose residents, including Jason Orange and Mike Harding, successfully campaigned to prevent their landlord demolishing Jackson's Wharf. ~ 1 Feb
The ground floor of King's College in The Northern Quarter (on the opposite side of Stevenson Square from NoHo bar) is set to become Pizza Slice, a pizza restaurant with late night opening ~ 17 Feb 2012
Boltonian upmarket Chinese buffet chain, The Chinese Buffet, has announced ambitious plans to unveil twenty new restaurants in the next five years, including a TCB Express in Manchester city centre ~ 17 Feb 2012
Following their recent Prestwich opening, Didsbury's Istanbul Grill are set to open a third unit with the £400,000 refurbishment of the former Weavers Bar in Cheadle ~ 16 Feb 2012
Pure Space on New Wakefield Street (just off Oxford Road opposite the Palace Hotel) is set to re-open as a newBlackdog Ballroom in May 2012, taking the same concept as its Northern Quarter original. ~ 15th Feb
