The hospitality group, led by restaurateurs Sam and Emma Morgan alongside executive chef Andrew Sheridan, will open all-day dining destination The Counter within the city’s Island Building, located just off John Dalton Street.
Launching in September, it is said to mark the first stage of a wider roll out for the concept across major UK cities.
The 1,700sq m, 62-cover restaurant has been conceived as a ‘high-energy all-day dining destination where guests can drop in for breakfast meetings, long lunches, late-night dinners and cocktails that turn into even later nights’, according to the group.
Led by Sheridan, The Counter’s menu will comprise dishes designed for sharing and will not follows the traditional starters, mains and desserts format. Menus will change throughout the day, from breakfast flatbreads and daytime dishes through to rotisserie meats, large sharing plates and nostalgic desserts such as the knickerbocker glory.
“The food at The Counter is all about cooking the things we genuinely love eating. There are no restrictions and no rules,” says Sheridan.
“We want guests to order naturally, share everything, stay longer and enjoy the experience. It’s ingredient-led, produce-led and chef-led, but most importantly it’s fun.”
The drinks programme will be led by Jake Nutt, returning to Open Restaurant Group after roles at Ynyshir and Gwen.
The restaurant will have a chef’s counter seating six to eight guests directly at the pass as well as a 20-cover terrace. The main open-plan dining room will hace curved booth seating, a brass wine display and four-metre elm trees designed to bring the outdoors in.
It will also feature dedicated meat and fish dry-ageing cabinets alongside a full-scale rotisserie on which chicken as well as large joints of meat, whole cuts, seasonal game, fish and changing produce-led specials will be cooked. The rotisserie offer will evolve with the seasons and anchor The Counter’s Sunday lunch menu.
“Manchester is one of the greatest cities in the world for music, creativity and culture,” says Sam Morgan.
“We wanted to create a restaurant that genuinely reflects that energy. The Counter is about atmosphere as much as food. It’s glamorous but still grounded. High quality but relaxed.
“Somewhere people can come three times a week, whether that’s for breakfast, drinks, dinner or a long Sunday lunch. We want this to feel like a restaurant Manchester can really own.”
The Counter is one of a number of recent projects for Open Restaurant Group, which operates restaurants including Dishes by Andrew Sheridan, Black & Green, Sow and Noted. The group recently partnered with chef Tony Parkin, who had previously earned Michelin stars at the Tudor Room at Great Fosters Hotel in Surrey and at Ireland’s Cliff House Hotel, to open Daise in The Wirral, and last year it took on the former Da Noi site in Chester to open all-day dining restaurant Noted.