New in Food: Ham & Friends, Suri & more

Get some new springtime scran down your neck from the likes of Ham and Friends in Leeds, Hudson House, Our Kitchen and SKAUS in Liverpool, or Suri and Brewski in Manchester

Feature by Jess Hardiman | 06 Mar 2017

If you're anything like us, you'll sometimes feel overwhelmed by the number of new restaurant and bar openings in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. To help you conquer this feeling – and hopefully give you some new ideas for Sunday brunch – we're going to be rounding up the best new openings across the region every month, from craft beer bars to coffee places, to street food pop-ups and fancy restaurants. Opening a new food and drink venue in Leeds, Liverpool or Manchester? Let us know – send the details to jess@theskinny.co.uk.

Grand Arcade newcomers in Leeds

Following a water-testing Christmas pop-up shop called All the Trimmings, Friends of Ham’s new wine bar/deli/restaurant Ham & Friends inches closer to its spring opening. As well as the spread of tasty small plates and ethically produced wines that its parent bar has become locally famous for, you can also expect a walk-in cheese room, charcuterie counter and various wine, beer and food tastings across the two-floor Grand Arcade space. Opening date TBC, Grand Arcade

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And while there's no confimed launch date for their fellow Grand Arcade dwellers, The Domino Club, it looks like things are coming along nicely for the new cocktail bar, which is the latest venture from the folk behind Call Lane favourite, Rolands, and barman Niall McGloin. Expect gorgeous parquet flooring, live jazz, funk, soul and blues, classic cocktails and exclusive whiskies. Opens soon, Grand Arcade

Swanky seafood and Scandi flavours in Liverpool

High-end seafood restaurant Hudson House has now opened up in the old Heathcotes site on Beetham Plaza, padding out their speciality in lobster, oyster and seasonal seafood dishes with steaks and veggie options. As well as a restaurant space and mezzanine, it also has a garden and terrace with its own separate menu. Open now, Beetham Plaza

SKAUS is a new pop-up restaurant concept peddling Nordic-inspired dishes, where flavours and cooking techniques from across the North Sea are crafted using locally-sourced British produce, emphasisng the outstanding produce on offer this country – specifically within the region. They'll be launching with a do in the Kol Box event space at Hus, where guests will receive a full set menu of SKAUS dishes, a cocktail on arrival and Nordic tunes for £36. 6 Apr, Hus (Tithebarn Street)

[Chocolate tart with honeycomb at Wreckfish]

Hoping to open his first city-centre restaurant (joining sister bistros in Hoole, Heswall and Didsbury), chef Gary Usher recently hosted a five-day pop up to test-drive the potential Ropewalks venue, with all money from the pay-as-you-want experience going towards the forthcoming permanent restaurant. We went to check it out, and after chowing down on a menu of cauliflower soup, sea bass ceviche, flamed sea bream, spice-rolled venison and chocolate torte with honeycomb, we can confirm that Liverpool's set to be one lucky lady. As with previous ventures, Usher will be launching a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the new joint, Wreckfish; head to wreckfish.co to see how you can get involved. Slater and Seel Street

[Xiringuito, photo: Luke Hayes]

Meanwhile, moveable restaurant concept Xiringuito (pronounced 'chi-rin-gito') has announced it'll be extending its stay in Liverpool, meaning you've now got until May to enjoy innovative modern British cuisine from underneath a unique evolving structure, designed by award-winning architect Asif Khan. Until May, Cain's Brewery

Bold Street will soon be getting a new independent vegetarian and vegan restaurant, as Our Kitchen moves in. Details are slim on the ground at this stage, but they're promising great coffee, fresh juices and a stunning setting, and they'll be dog friendly – which is always nice. Opens soon, Bold Street

Middle Eastern small plates and sherry in Manchester

The slightly sorrowful former Quill site on King Street is finally being given a fresh lease of life with Suri, a new restaurant inspired by the food of the Mediterranean and Middle East – named after the Persian word for ‘red rose’. Embracing the continental ethos of shareable small plates that we’ve grown to love, the menu promises ingredients from local suppliers, served in a relaxed and informal style that the building’s previous tenants should perhaps have gone for… Opens early March, King Street

Gift and camera shop (and, briefly, a cafe of sorts), Stevenson Square's Incognito is no more – or, at least, it's packed up and moved over to Affleck's Palace, to make way for a new bar. With a working title of Flok, the place will be reborn as a joint venture between Incognito owner Martin Hennin and Justin Parkinson of Folk and Wine and Wallop in Didsbury and, here's the good bit: they'll specialise in sherries and Madeira. Could ne'er be a sweeter sentence to The Skinny's ears. They'll also pair those with bar snacks like jamon, charcuterie and cheese, along with live music and DJs. Opening date TBC, Stevenson Square

[The Botanist]

New World Trading Company open up their latest outlet of The Botanist, this time taking to Manchester's suburbs in Didsbury in the former Wetherspoon's pub on School Lane. Expect more of that evidently successful combo of botanical cocktails and food inspired by deli, rotisserie and BBQ, as seen at other sites across the UK. Opens 4 Apr, School Lane

We wrote recently of the UK's new obsession with poutine, Canada's national dish that sees fries come loaded with cheese curds and gravy for the very ultimate in comfort food. Now Chorlton's going one step further with its own poutine, pizza and craft beer joint, Brewski, which has taken over the former Jam Inn site. Open now, Wilbraham Road

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