Habas restaurant, which opened in the old wine cellars of the magnificent former Manchester Club building in June 2021, earned a listing in the prestigious Michelin Guide within five months.
To embrace the new autumn/winter season, Head Chef Craig Rutherford has introduced a new menu of large mains dishes and sharing platters to complement the restaurant’s signature mezze plates. It’s a change of presentation that “really allows us to boast about the flavours we’re doing and show off the quality of dishes that we can work to,” he says.
This well-balanced menu caters for all dietary requirements, which is something Rutherford feels passionately about. “When I started in kitchens, vegetarian and vegan dishes were a second thought, they weren’t a concern they were more of an inconvenience. There’s been a big and welcome shift in the industry now.
“It’s a challenge for a chef. Can we make a vegan dish just as good, just as tasty and with as much going on as a meat dish? I think we can, I think we have; I find it interesting, and a welcome challenge.”
Two of the new vegan dishes Rutherford is really happy with include chargrilled aubergine, salted and cooked in the Josper until really smoky, charred and caramelised, and served with white beans, chilli, mint and crispy chickpeas (vg) (£16). There’s also crispy fried sweetcorn falafel served with a pea and mint salad, hummus and bulgar wheat (vg) (£16).
A couple of his own favourite meaty main include the dry age beef featherblade – curried beef shoulder served with harissa roasted squash, onion and almond picada (£20), and the chicken tagine – a classic winter warming dish featuring chicken and vegetable tagine with preserved lemon and olive dressing (£18).
Other signature dishes include tiger prawns with red pepper and sumnac, served with labneh and mini pittas (£19), and chicken shwarma kebab served with homemade pitta and pickled red cabbage (£18).
New side dishes include spiced aubergine tagine served with lemon yogurt and toasted lavosh bread (v) (£7); glazed baby carrots (vg) (£5); roasted squash – brown butter and harissa roasted squash served with toasted pine nuts (v) (£7), and minted peas with feta (v) (£4.50).
Rutherford has also introduced two new sharing platters – the mixed grill including chargrilled beef fillet; merguez sausage; Barnsley chops; harissa chicken skewer; braised rice and roasted vegetables (£45), and the vegetable platter (v) featuring harissa roasted squash; chargrilled aubergine; sweetcorn falafel; batata harra; braised rice; roasted sweet peppers and zhug dressing (£30).
Some new seasonal desserts complete the menu. Choose from warm winter berry babka and homemade biscoff cream (£6.50), crispy fried doughnuts with orange and cardamom custard (v) (£7), and spiced apple and caramel ‘baked Alaska’ (vg) (£6.50).
“The new menu is a different interpretation of what we do,” says Rutherford. It’s a hybrid menu of both small and large plates; it’s exciting for us. It’s been a lot of hard work to get to this point, developing the menu and the flavours, and organising ourselves operationally.
“It’s a totally different style of service, but still with that feel that we have throughout the business – very comfortable, not pressured, not rushed, not pretentious in any way – a premium experience but at a really relaxed and approachable level.
“I’m really happy with what we’ve achieved; available alongside our set £15 lunch menu there’s something for everyone.”
As well as a menu refresh, Habas will also be unveiling some interior updates with a series of soft velvet booths lining the front of the central kitchen and providing a first-hand view of Rutherford and the team at work. Rich trailing foliage now lines the entrance to the lower ground floor restaurant and runs throughout the venue.
Further lounge seating in the snug will allow guests to settle into the longer nights and be looked after by Habas’s expert team of bartenders.
Habas occupies the old wine cellars of the magnificent former Manchester Club building, at 43a Brown Street, Manchester. The modern Middle Eastern restaurant and bar offers 200 covers, catering for intimate tables of two through to large parties of up to 120. Christmas bookings are open now.
For further information or to make a reservation please visit habas.co.uk
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