Food & Drink: Sakana; Runway Visitor Park; Caffe Caruso

A NEW pan-Asian restaurant called Sakana is opening in Manchester on October 23.

Around £1m has been spent converting the former Chicago Rock Cafe in Peter Street.

Stewart Yip, of Middleton food wholesalers Chi Yip and owner of restaurants Red Chilli and Ocean Treasure in Manchester, is behind the venture along with his sons Simon, Andy and Ricky and cousin Tim Yip.

A Japanese restaurant is situated on the ground floor with sushi bar, robata grill and two teppanyaki areas. There is a pan-Asian restaurant on the first floor as well as a bar that will have rare and vintage wines, including a 1996 vintage Petrus priced at £3,600. The venue will have capacity for 450 people. Manchester-based Paparazzi PR is handling the launch.

Director Mark Hayward said: “We already have a great relationship with the team behind Sakana, through our ongoing work with Ocean Treasure at 235 so I am delighted that we are supporting them with this new venture. Sakana is going to be one of Manchester’s biggest restaurants, and without doubt will become one of the city’s glamorous hotspots. It has a genuine international feel hard to find in the UK.”

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AROUND £600,000 has been invested in Manchester Airport’s Runway Visitor Park over the past year, including a new restaurant which opened last month.

Upgrades have been made to the main car park as well as the hangar itself which houses Concorde, the security and event equipment.

The new restaurant, Concorde Restaurant & Coffee House, opened for business on September 19 following a £300,000 seven-week refurbishment.

Runway Visitor Park manager, Robert Pattison said: “It’s important for us to continue to offer excellent facilities on site so our customers can enjoy every moment of their visit to the park. With ever-increasing visitor numbers, we want to ensure every customer has the best experience possible and will continue to invest in the park.  We’re really excited about the new restaurant opening; they have a brand new menu with a great selection of full meals, snacks and takeaway options and a completely new look.

Doug Tetley, managing director for Delaware North which runs the cafe, said: “It has been a great honour for Delaware to have been involved in the creation of The Concorde Restaurant & Coffee House, which will be a fantastic addition to one of Manchester’s major tourist attractions. The work we have done has seen the restaurant completely remodelled and our improvements ensure we are able to deliver customers a new level of service.”

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CAFFE Caruso in Warrington is moving into new premises after securing funding support from NatWest.
 
The Italian restaurant is moving next to Contact Warrington in Horsemarket Street, because it current premises in Time Square will be affected by the Bridge Street regeneration plans.
 
Caffe Caruso has been open for more than 20 years and employs seven people. Its owners Mirko Shuti and Alfio DiChiara expect revenues to grow by 30% after the move.

Mr Shuti said: “The new premises will generate more business as the new location is more central and within walking distance from key places in the town. The new restaurant is also much bigger than the one we are currently in, and will create a nice environment for our customers.”