Restaurant Opening: The Refinery

Manchester seems awash with new venues opening – and December saw a rush of sites open to catch us celebrating Christmas and new year.

One of the most interesting for me, was The Refinery. Part of the XYZ Building in Spinningfields, the venue is another import from London – from Drake & Morgan.

So, let’s start at the beginning. What do we know about Drake & Morgan? The name is related to history (Francis Drake and Captain Henry Morgan). They have a number of venues – primarily London, but The Refinery is a brand that made it’s way much further north, with two in the capital, one in Edinburgh and now one in Manchester.

Part of me, despite my southern roots (they’re just simply down to where I was born, I’m northern bred) resents another London brand coming into the city. Especially as there seem to be so many of them moving in. My heart and my preference will always be for Manchester indies. 

But we have what we have. And at the opening, I have to admit, I was bloody impressed. 

 

 

And yes dammit, that rankled.

Both inside and outside, it’s clean, light airy, with hints of industrial concrete, metal and lighting. All mixed with textures patterns. And I loved that. It’s something that’s tried by many, but it doesn’t always work, it can look untidy, or corporate, or just like everywhere else. It somehow manages to take the bits that are on trend, and in every new venue, and make them look individual. Though how long the stuff on the shelves is going to stay there and not be, er, procured on a drunken Saturday night, I can’t say.

 

 

The drinks – even the batch made and poured cocktails were very good (this was a busy launch night after all). The fizz poured was good quality (nobody raided Aldi’s Prosecco last minute) and if the canapes are any indication of what the food is going to be like… Dammit, the food is going to be really good too. 

 

 

Even the nibbles on the table included my favourite Nocellara olives. And Haribo. It’s like they knew which buttons to press.

 

 

As always, I’m going to hang on to make a proper judgement until I’ve been in for a visit and drunk and dined properly. But you know what, this feels like it’s what a lot of places in Manchester are trying to be. I’m a little worried it’s only going to appeal to one set of people, and I sincerely hope not. But time will tell. 

I’ll look forward to a revisit.