Manchester Art Gallery launching new café
Manchester Art Gallery have joined forces with an acclaimed former Aumbry chef in a bid to refresh the gallery’s café.
Award-winning chef, Mary-Ellen McTague, best known for her Aumbry success, as well as working in Michelin-starred kitchens and on collaborations such as The Real Junk Food Project, is helping to develop the new and exciting concept for the café at the city centre’s main gallery.
The café, which is set to open on Friday June 16, is offering an updated menu, with traditional and classic dishes available which will have a particular focus on the Mancunian culinary heritage. Cakes, pastries, homemade sourdough will feature on the menu, alongside soups, sandwiches, salads, cheese boards and braises.
The cafe will also offer 100 covers, table service, and outside seating in front of the gallery.
Mary-Ellen McTague, said: “The café is in one of the most beautiful and iconic buildings in Manchester, right at the heart of the city. Our aim is to create something for all to enjoy; we want to see people coming into our cafe whether or not they are visiting the gallery, because they can count on the quality of the food and drink and a warm welcome”
“We’ll be cooking classic dishes such as quiche and Welsh Rarebit; griddle scones, Chelsea Buns, lardy cake and crumpets; and reviving the Breville toastie”
The food will be locally sourced where possible, with the milk, eggs and butter coming from nearby farms in Cheshire and Lancashire, and the flour from Yorkshire. A Victorian kitchen garden located at the front of the gallery will provide some of the produce for the kitchen and everything will be made in-house, including the bread and cured meats.
The drinks menu will also offer a wide selection of wine, beer, coffee and soft drinks. The children’s menu has been created in partnership with Real Junk Food Manchester, to offer children’s meals on a pay as you feel basis. Real Junk Food Manchester is a not for profit company who source perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste and cook it up into meals, with a focus on health and nutrition.
Thom Hetherington, who has recently been appointed as a Trustee of Manchester Art Gallery, said: “The gallery has nourished the souls of Mancunians and tourists for generations, but it is important that it also fills their bellies.
“Mary-Ellen delivers clever, crowd-pleasing and ethical food which will match the ambitions of the gallery and undoubtedly attract a new audience to one of the city’s most delightful dining spaces.”
The café will be open from 10am to 5pm daily, and late night Thursdays until 9pm.
