Artisan Manchester Spinningfields Restaurant

Artisan Kitchen and BarSpinningfiels in Manchester is one of the hottest destinations in the city right now. With so many trendy new bars and eateries, it’s become a meeting point for meals, cocktails after work and even nights out. One of the additions to the area is Artisan Kitchen and Bar, a cool hub of food and drinks perfect for either a romantic date or a night out with mates. Having been to blogger events at Artisan before – and being really impressed by the venue – I was excited to pop along to try out my first meal there myself.

Artisan in Manchester Spinningfields is decorated in such a kitsch, rustic way and yet still feels modern and sophisticated. I was welcomed in by their lovely staff and my waitress for the meal, Busha, who was so friendly and helpful. She recommended I try out their cocktails – a girl after my own heart – so I started off with an Artisan Special, a Plum and Basil Sling, which was absolutely delicious and not like any cocktail I had ever tried before.

To kick off our meal, my guest and I chose one starter and one item from the ‘Nibbles’ menu; can’t be getting too full too quickly, can we? We shared a platter of Garlic Rub Bread – funny name, but you have to quite literally rub the bread with oil and garlic to create your own garlic bread, which is a fun idea!

We also dipped it into our shared starter of Baked Camembert. Come on, I’ll always choose the cheese! The Camembert is cooked in Artisan’s fire oven, which Busha told me was the central point of their menu, and comes served with homemade crisps. This was so delicious and indulgent, really a lovely way to start a meal and a course which I would definitely order again.

Time for another cocktail! This time I went for a Pineapple and Tarragon Sling, another unusual combination but one that works so well! As quite the cocktail expert (not sure if I should be proud of that or not) I was surprised to see so many delicious ingredients on Artisan’s Specials drinks menu and now I’m going to make in my mission to try each one…

For our mains, we wanted to make the most of trying out Artisan’s fire oven and chose accordingly. I went for the 8oz fillet steak, which was absolutely delicious. Served with matchstick fries, it was absolutely cooked to my preference and a pleasure to eat. I really loved this and didn’t want it to end!

My guest went for the Beef Short Rib Burger, which looked almost like pulled beef and was served in a bagel bun to give a sweet twist. He really enjoyed this, and told me how he would definitely choose this again! The portion sizes were generous and we were also made to feel very looked after throughout.

One more drink? This time I went for Artisan’s Passionfruit and Pomegranate Sling for a bit of a sweeter taste. Although I loved both cocktails before, this was definitely my favourite one as I do have quite the sweet tooth. Honestly, if you go to Artisan you have to try the cocktails, they are each created fresh for you and look just as beautiful as they taste!

To finish off, we just had to go for some dessert to satisfy my sweet cravings. My plus one chose the chocolate and hazelnut brownie, which was served warm with vanilla increcream and chocolate sauce. This really is a classic dessert and Artisan did not disappoint. I had to steal a cheeky bite or two as I just couldn’t resist.

My choice was recommended by Busha, who said I just needed to try out their Italian pistachio merrange. And she was so right! This is honestly the nicest dessert I have had in a restaurant for a very long time. Served with chantilly cream, berries and pomegranate, the merrange is coloured green by the pistachio and complimented with lashings of lemon. It was so refreshing to complete the meal with and absolutely delicious!

If you are looking for somewhere to eat in Spinningfields, Artisan wins for me. It is cool, kitsch, friendly and delicious, and you really can’t go wrong with that. I’m already planning to bring my friends here next time we are around that way!