Artisan Kitchen and Bar Spinningfields

Artisan Kitchen and Bar* is somewhere I have had the pleasure of dining before so I was delighted to be invited back recently to try their brand new menu. Artisan has a pleasingly contemporary aesthetic, it is housed in a huge warehouse style space with exposed brickwork and caged lighting as well as displays of art by various featured artists. Fun and quirky touches such as the lounge area outside the bathroom and the photo-booth make this a really cool place to head out for dinner or just for a few cocktails in the sweeping bar area, where live music is often performed. 

Artisan  is situated in the achingly cool Spinningfields area of Manchester, where a new bar or restaurant seems to open just about every week at the moment. It is one of my favourite places to go out, so I was eager to get there. The ambience of the restaurant immediately transports you to a world away from home, with the vast semi-industrial style space reminding me of restaurants in downtown Manhattan.

 The Artisan menu is centred around fire and you see the flames of the wood-fired pizza ovens twinkling merrily as you walk past the vast open kitchens. The Pizzas and breads cooked within the roaring fires are just divine and thus we chose a crisp garlic flatbread as the perfect way to begin our meal. I can sense all my readers thinking at this point that I have a severe addiction to garlic bread, and yes it is getting that way! We ordered Il Sacchetto Pinot Noir which was fruity and rich, the ideal accompaniment to our food. The new menu has several impressive small plates on offer as well as large plates, paella, steaks... the choice is endless!

The garlic bread was soon devoured and it was light, crisp and flavoursome. For the main I was in a burger mood, I am sure you all know what I am talking about when I say that some days, only a burger will do. This was one such day for me so I ordered a Salt and Pepper chicken burger, which was excellent with tender chicken breast cooked to perfection in a tasty crumb, with a brioche bun, cheese and onion rings. This was served with homemade crinkle cut chips, can we all take a moment to please appreciate how darn awesome the crinkle cut chips at Artisan are? Wow. If you haven't been yet make sure you order some when you do go! Also special mention to the burger sauce this was served with, which was sweet, smoky and tangy.

 Upon the recommendation of our friendly and helpful server Philippa, we also ordered the Fattoush salad as a side which was so fresh and tasty with a delightful crunch from the deep fried tortilla it was topped with. So healthy yet delicious at the same time.

 Another side of baked sweet potato with crème fraiche was equally good. I love sweet potato at the best of times and the addition of a slightly minty crème fraiche made this a taste sensation.

Whilst I was in a decidedly burger mood, my dining companion was in a pizza mood so he chose the intriguing sounding New York Deli pizza, with pastrami, bacon, smoked applewood,

French’s American mustard & olives. This was a cool and original concept and I have never before come across a pizza which combines New York Deli style toppings. The result was a triumphantly original and tasty pizza with the signature Artisan delectable wood-fired base. 

It was of course soon time for dessert and even though we were groaning after the amount of amazing food we had already devoured, we could not resist ending our meal with something sweet. We went in for the kill with an order of homemade doughnuts with salted caramel dipping sauce which were so decadent. Still warm, soft and sugary with dough that ripped apart like little clouds of heaven! You can tell I liked this dessert,and frankly the salted caramel dipping sauce was the last word in indulgence. 

We also shared a chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream. Once I see chocolate fondant on a dessert menu I just have to order it and this was one of the best I have tried with rivers of warm chocolate sauce within.

Artisan is an exceptional restaurant where everything runs like clockwork, the staff are knowledgeable and friendly whilst the food and drinks are excellent. Coupled with the chic interior design aesthetic of the space,  there are so many reasons why I love dining there. Having food at Artisan just feels like an experience rather than simply a meal, which to me is what a great evening out should be all about. We lingered over coffee before finally saying goodbye and setting off into the night feeling the contentment and happiness which follows such a perfect evening.

Artisan Kitchen and Bar 

Avenue North,
18-22 Bridge St,
Manchester
M3 3BZ

0161 832 4181

What do you all think, would you like to enjoy a meal in this stylish environment of Artisan? What menu item would you like to try from everything on this post?

As always I can't wait to hear your thoughts and thank you so much for reading this post!

Until next time,

Camille

xo 

*Disclaimer 

I was kindly invited to experience the new menu at Artisan, the meal was complimentary for review purposes. All opinions expressed herein are my own and honest.