Manchester ‘multi-kitchen restaurant’ Exhibition reveals its traders

Set to open next month, the 6,000 sq ft Museum Street site will by home to Basque fire cookery specialist Baratxuri, Scandi restaurant Osma and Brazilian fusion chef Caroline Martins. 

Promising a 'levelling up' of the traditional food hall concept, Exhibition will have space for 200 covers by day and 400 at night and will comprise three kitchens, two bars and an exhibition spaces for local artists.

Exhibition is being launched the team at Grade A Alternative, a family-owned property business that previously opened Haunt, a coffee shop and aperitivo bar on nearby Peter Street.

Baratxuri - which operates a restaurant in Ramsbottom, Kent, as well as a kitchen at Manchester's Escape to Freight Island will offer large portions of Basque style meat and fish alongside smaller plates including boquerones, Jamon Iberico de Bellota. 

Martins - who has appeared on Great British Menu will be launching Sao Paulo Bistro, which is billed as a more relaxed spin on her popular fine-dining residency in Ancoats. Still focused on Brazilian-British fusion cuisine thej menu will include hand-dived scallops with creamy cassava sauce and Sao Paulo steak sandwich made with Lancashire ribeye and Garstang blue sauce. 

Finally, the team behind Prestwich-based restaurant Osma will launch a kitchen that offers open sandwiches, salads and soups by day and small plates in the evening. 

“We’ve been working on this project for the past 18 months. Previously opening Haunt has afforded us the opportunity to understand where the market is post-covid, and as you’d expect, the concept has transformed monumentally over time," says operations manager Sam Wheatley, previously of the Pivovar Group and Andrew Pern’s Star Inn Group. 

"As I’m not from Manchester, I’ve been able to gain valuable insights into the city and its preferences. This has also meant I’ve been able to meet some great operators, suppliers and perhaps most importantly, some of the best hospitality staff Manchester has to offer. This is a hugely exciting and ambitious project. Innovation is evident throughout, in terms of concept, design and of course F&B delivery. We can’t wait to show the space off next month.”