How Cottonopolis took Manchester by storm

The concept of Cottonopolis

The idea of Cottonopolis is to combine Japanese cuisine with Manchester’s culture – the former city of cotton. This unique combination all happens within a beautiful Grade II listed building, a relic of the Northern Quarter’s past life. As the name implies, the theme touches upon Manchester’s industrial past and its future as a growing metropolis.

Cottonopolis features an open kitchen so everyone can see the brilliant ways in which their food is cooked. The kitchen staff focus on serving small plates, so you can share with others and decide for yourself how much you want to eat. Serving small plates rather than starters, mains and desserts is a popular trend currently and shows a change in eating out is in process. Erst, another restaurant we have shone our spotlight on recently, also follows this trend.

Combined with the food are jazzy cocktails, European and local independent beers, and fun events that will get everyone in the mood to dance. A lot of the beer comes from Czechia – a country renowned for high-quality beers. The design of Cottonopolis is at once nostalgic and futuristic. By this we mean that the tone and look certainly takes a nod from Manchester’s cotton industry past, however there is an atmosphere in the building which feels very forward-thinking. It is perhaps futuristic too in the sense that it is how the future was thought to look like about 60 or 70 years ago, except with robots and flying cars! The tables are dotted around in a very unique way, however this does work as there is a lot of space to be used. Now, let’s talk about the food!

The food

There are Sashimi plates, with tuna, sea bass, salmon and scallops the great options here. Then there is the Nigiri – sushi that includes rice moulded into rectangles with a piece of Sashimi on top. The same options as the Sashimi are here, but combined with other ingredients such as the Scottish scallops with Togarashi. Asparagus, roasted red pepper and Teriyaki is the vegetarian alternative. Maki, meanwhile, is a type of sushi that rolls up the rice with vegetables and/or fish into a ball and then kept together by a sheet of seaweed. One unbelievable option here is the prawn and avocado, dragon roll with caviar. Wow, in a word. We also recommend getting the Sushi and Sashimi Platter, so you can try a varied selection of these delicious options.

Next are the Omakase specials. This phrase essentially means, ‘I’ll leave it up to you’, allowing for the restaurant to pick its own seasonal specials. The duck breast with cherry and plum ponzu is most definitely special. On the menu too are Bao Buns (filled with veg, fish or meat), Agemono (which are gorgeous, deep-fried dishes) and Yaki, meaning baked, fried or roasted food. In fact, that is why many Japanese foods end in ‘-yaki’. Chicken Yakatori is a splendid option to have at Cottonopolis, too by the way. In addition, there are the Tenshin dishes. Tenshin, the Japanese word for the Chinese city, Tianjin, normally consists of a bowl of rice with various toppings. An example being the vegetarian option of napa cabbage shiitake gyoza. All these different types of dishes are definitely worth trying.

Out of the sweet options, we recommend either the fabulous Yuzu cheesecake with Togarashi or the Sicilian sorbet. Alongside the main menu, there is also a Balearic brunch menu, a £25 per person set menu and a plant-based menu (it has all the vegetarian options in one place).

The drinks

Cottonopolis has a very large list of drinks available. From its amazing cocktail list, there is the Yoko 75 which is worth a try. This includes Suntory Toki Whiskey, Akashi Tai Yuzushu, Avallen Calvados and sparkling wine. All the cocktails follow a similar path as they are all fancy and different. From Asashi to Fantasma and Kirin Ichiban, they have a high-quality list of beers available on top of the beers from Czechia mentioned before. The rest of the drinks menu includes a large list of Japanese whiskeys, such as Nikka and Hibiki Harmony, Japanese inspired gins and lots and lots of wine and tea!

Cottonopolis is a place worth discovering, the menu is there to be explored. Keep a look out for the special events. For example, its recently held an event celebrating Hanami with Suntory Japanese Spirits. Also, if you really enjoyed your time at this establishment, you could buy a Cottonopolis T-shirt!