The top line: Little Beast has opened at Medlock Square in the heart of Manchester’s Etihad Campus. The 105-cover restaurant has been developed by restaurant consultant Laura Montana and MasterChef: The Professionals 2024 winner Daniel Merriman, with the concept designed around the ‘rhythm of the moon’ and a menu that changes with the seasons. Merriman’s experience also includes time at the Northcote, The Cottage in the Wood, The Lyonn Inn and Fishmore Hall Hotel. Little Beast is part of Manchester City’s £300m Medlock Square development, which is adding restaurants, a food hall and a 401-room hotel beside the expanded Etihad Stadium, with the aim of drawing visitors to the campus year-round.
On the menu: The restaurant serves small plates divided into moon-themed sections. The ‘Harvest Moon’ starters include roasted carrots with garlic yoghurt, spiced dukkah and chervil; Little Beast cured trout pastrami with whipped crème fraîche, sea buckthorn and Cotswold honey jam; and cheese on toast with brioche, red onion jam, Mrs Kirkham’s cheese custard and chive. The ‘Sturgeon and Hunter Moon’ mains include cod loin with curry sauce, squash fondant, kaffir lime, pickled cucumber and fermented English lettuce; chicken ballotine with pickled mushroom purée, roasted maitake mushroom and truffle sauce; and 500g dairy cow sirloin on the bone, served to share with sherry glaze, truffle and black onion butter. Desserts include affogato cheesecake ice cream with Grind coffee and grated chocolate, alongside a ‘S’more’ made with dark chocolate namelaka, bergamot, white balsamic caramel and frozen marshmallow. The bar serves classic cocktails alongside house drinks, including the Sweet Pea Royal, made with sweet pea syrup, St Germain elderflower and crémant; the Pink Moon, with Feilden Rye whisky, raspberry, jalapeño and nectarine; and a fig Negroni.
The vibe: Manchester-based WANT Studio worked with Montana to develop the interior concept and branding. The interior design was led by design director Liam McCue and Adelaide Winter, whose previous work includes high profile Manchester ventures Albert’s Schloss, The Firehouse, Ramona and Diecast. The design features dark charcoal walls decorated with vintage-style posters, warm-toned lighting, timber, and rust-red upholstery. Banquette-style seating is paired with simple rounded wooden tables and curved mid-century-style chairs.
And another thing:Manchester has seen a moon-inspired restaurant before in Michael O’Hare’s ill-fated, ‘Space Age Asian’ The Rabbit in the Moon.
Medlock Square, Etihad Campus, 214 Alan Turing Wy, Manchester M11 3DS / https://www.medlocksquare.com/little-beast