3 min read
Hawksmoor Manchester celebrates a roundy birthday this year, turning 10 on March 5th. And hasn’t it been quite the decade? 10 years since Hawksmoor opened their very first place outside of London, hopeful of building a home in a handsome former Victorian courthouse in Deansgate, and now celebrating somewhere that locals and regulars have made a true part of Manchester’s food family.
After a decade welcoming familiar faces gathering for Sunday lunch, or hosting countless special occasions, the Hawksmoor Manchester team celebrates the many, many happy returns that have made up this milestone birthday — an amazing achievement in a very special city with some very memorable stories. Anyone remember the time they accidentally gave away a £4.5k bottle of wine?! Yep, back in 2019, one of the team grabbed the wrong bottle in a hurry and one lucky couple were treated to a 2001 Chateau le Pin Pomerol. A year later, that member of the team was promoted to Assistant General Manager.
“There’s no greater praise for Hawksmoor in Manchester than to say that Mancunians treat it as theirs,” says Will Beckett, co-founder of Hawksmoor. “Hawksmoors in London? So what? Open up in New York or Chicago … look what our restaurant did! Aside from trying to create a world-class steak restaurant, our biggest goal was to open something authentically Manchester. Mancunians should treat it as theirs – it is exactly that, and may it continue for many more decades to come.”
What do you do to mark a big birthday? Throw a proper month-long party. It begins with the return of the city’s favourite dishes for all of March.
Best-beloved forever and back in the bar is the finger-licking Chicken poutine barm, a Northern lovechild of Canadian-inspired poutine and classic Mancunian chip butty, packed with herb-fed chicken, fried egg, triple cooked chips, Westcombe Cheddar curds, and loads of gravy.
The Beefsteak pudding is back too, a take on a Northern chippy stalwart, with light and fluffy suet pastry, stuffed full of short rib and root vegetables, slow-braised in red wine and Somerset cider brandy. This beauty is served with beef dripping chips, homemade mushy peas, and more delicious gravy.
Also locally-loved and reappearing on the menu is the Manchester egg, a pickled egg with a layer of Cumbrian black pudding, and smoked apple ketchup, and an all-time favourite pudding, a tribute to every corner shop’s poshest choc, a certain gold foil-wrapped ‘90s hazelnut-studded number, the Ambassador’s Reception.
Hawksmoor Manchester have raised more than £20,000 for Wood Street Mission (who help children and families living on a low income) in donations through sales of one of their most popular cocktails, the Shakey Pete, over the last 10 years, but they’re bringing back another drink too to toast the birthday that goes down a storm in this town, the Grapefruit Picador.
Featuring everyone’s favourites, all at once, these and other specially selected local heroes are added to Hawksmoor Manchester menus from Monday 3rd March to 31st March.
