Restaurant working towards re-opening Roof Garden area after blaze

Trendy Manchester restaurant The Ivy Spinningfields hopes to re-open its Roof Garden area towards the end of February following a fierce blaze which broke out there on early Friday evening, January 4.

The owners said all other areas of the restaurant are unaffected and will operate as normal.

The alarm was raised shortly before 5pm when flames were seen in the Roof Garden. It is believed the blaze could have been started by a patio heater on an outdoor terrace.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service managed to extinguish the fire by 6.20pm, and remained at the three-storey restaurant carrying out damping down operations.

Roads around the Hardman Square site were closed during the emergency.

The Fire Service said no-one was injured in the incident.

A spokesperson for restaurant, which only opened last November, said: “The fire was limited to part of the roof and the building was evacuated in a calm and timely manner.”

The owners started work to repair the top floor damage on Friday night, and they said all other areas of the building were unaffected.

In an update, they have confirmed that the damage was restricted to the roof space. A statement said: “The fire was contained in one section of The Roof Garden thanks to the excellent work of the Greater Manchester Fire Services who have informed us that the building is now totally safe to occupy.

“Whilst work starts to refurb and repair any damage done to The Roof Garden, the ground floor Ivy Brasserie and Ivy Asia on the second floor are completely unaffected by the fire and will continue to operate as usual.”

It added: “All reservations will be honoured, we are planning to re-open The Roof Garden on the top floor towards the end of February and will, of course, notify everyone as soon as the date is ‘solid’.”

The Ivy Spinningfields said it is also planning a ‘super party’ on April 12, to thank Manchester for the warm welcome it has received since opening on November 27.