Perched on a tall stool at Bar Shrimp on New York Street, I scan a menu of oceanic delights: Lindisfarne oysters, devilled eggs with brown crab and trout roe, hand-dived razor clams, and scallop tartare with elderflower dressing. This glass-fronted spot feels more like a hushed, stylish New York haunt than anything boisterous London could offer. Inside, it's draped floor-to-ceiling in red, evoking the Twin Peaks red room, with oversized monogrammed ice cubes, nine types of mezcal, and a slew of amaros. The menu boasts cuttlefish sandwiches and buffalo fried cod with blue cheese dressing.
Bar Shrimp is a love letter to 1980s kids like me, who grew up on films like After Hours and Wall Street, where James Spader sipped Japanese whiskey highballs with nefarious intent. The bar is the brainchild of three friends: chef Joseph Otway, sommelier Daniel Craig Martin, and general manager Richard Cossins, who met at Dan Barber's Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, New York. But don't expect them to brag about that pedigree, or about their own farm, Cinderwood Market Garden in Cheshire, which supplies both Bar Shrimp and its acclaimed sibling, Higher Ground. These guys are far too cool for name-dropping.
What you get instead is meaningful, highly adept cooking in one of the best seats in Manchester—if not the entire north. Whether you're sipping mezcal or diving into a plate of razor clams, Bar Shrimp delivers an experience that's both nostalgic and refreshingly original.