In the last year alone, Spinningfields dining scene has welcomed a string of new arrivals, including Sexy Fish’s first restaurant outside London and Greek restaurant Fenix from the team behind Tattu.
But adding another restaurant into the mix can't hurt, or at least that’s what the team at Habbibi believe. Opening in the XYZ building on Hardman Boulevard, and just a stone’s throw away from The Oast House, staff at restaurant are confident that what they have to offer is unlike the competition - and brings a focus back onto old-school hospitable service.
It’s a bold claim, for sure, but it’s one they say they are insistent on delivering. Led by serial restaurateur Zack Isaak, who's also had a hand in the likes of SakkuSamba, iKaro and Estabulo Rodizio, the Middle Eastern restaurant aims to transport people to Dubai - or, more specifically, the home of a friendly neighbour in Dubai.
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“When we say house wine, that doesn’t mean it’s because it’s the cheapest,” Habbibi’s general manager Simon Khan tells the Manchester Evening News. “It means it’s the wine I would be more than happy to recommend to you if you were at my house.”
That’s the theme that runs through the bloodline of Habbibi, he explains. He wants it to be a place where people can relax, enjoy a good meal and feel like they are being looked after. And it’s something he believes has been missing from some of Manchester’s newest establishments.
“When you look at the culture within the Far East, if you were to knock on someone’s door during dinner time, you would be asked to come inside and join them for food,” Simon explains. “That’s our intention here. It’s coming back to that old-school style of owning a restaurant.
“It’s all about the welcoming experience and we are essentially opening our house up to our guests. We want all senses to be heightened - from the food, to the music, to the atmosphere and the entertainment. There’s a lot of thought that’s gone into not just getting bums on seats, but opening people’s imaginations - we want people to see and feel the whole experience we have to offer.”
Habbibi has proved itself a popular concept since the opening of its original restaurant in Leeds at the start of the year. But it's the new Manchester restaurant that will serve as the brand’s flagship.
Not only is it three times the size of its Leeds counterpart, with a seating capacity of around 200 including the outdoor terrace area, but it has a completely new menu from head chef Djafar Yousfi, who has worked for the likes of San Carlo and Ribeye.
Drawing on his expertise in cooking French and Italian dishes, as well as his experience of Algeria and the Middle East, it’s fusion-style cuisine at its best. “The menu is based around a lot of the food I like and was brought up around,” chef Djafar explains.
“It’s classic French sauces and Italian-style cooking, but there will also be a massive influence from the Middle East. My dad is Algerian, so I was brought up on tagines and couscous and foods full of flavour and spices.”
With that in mind, it is not much of a surprise that the lamb tagine (£18) is one of the menu's real highlights. Flavoursome and delicate, with a kick to it, the tagine features slow-cooked lamb shoulder, Moroccan spices, apricots and sultanas, with an equally pleasing cous cous on the side. The menu also includes other large plates, like tofu curry and lobster ravioli, and a range of meats - cooked to perfection on a Josper grill - like Australian Wagyu fillet and Irish sirloin.
The idea is that it’s a Middle Eastern version of tapas - guests are encouraged to share plates with each other. “The food is fresh, zingy and healthy,” Djafar says. “It’s full of spices - but that doesn’t mean it’s particularly hot, it’s just full of flavours. Everything on the menu is made from scratch, all of the sauces and the ingredients have their own process of getting onto someone’s plate.”
For large plates, you’re looking at between £16 to £19 each, with the steaks, promising only the finest quality of meats, fetching between £38 to £90. It’s not necessarily cheap, but the team say they're sure that the flavours, the quality and the dedication are worth the price cap.
“It’s about the best produce possible, the best service and it’s also about including guests in the whole experience,” manager Simon explains. “We’re talking about serving the best cuts. When people leave, I don’t think they’ll be talking about the bill, they’ll be talking about the whole experience and that it was worth their time.”
Throughout the weeks, there will be DJs, performers, dancers and shisha will also be available - with the aim of making Habbibi an all-in-one destination.
The most important thing for us is that level of detail where the guest feels welcomed,” Simon adds. “There are places where people don’t feel they fit in. We want people to dress up and treat it like an occasion when they visit, but we don’t want people to think if they don’t look a certain way or haven’t spent a certain amount on an outfit that they will be treated any differently.
“Everyone’s a VIP - everybody is important. People come to a restaurant to forget about everything else that is going on in the world so they deserve to be treated with that respect and attention to detail.
“I have worked at some very high-end places in London and I would hate to think that Manchester could be home to some of the pretentious places that London has started to produce. It doesn’t work for restaurants when they’re supposed to be hospitable.”
With Habbibi’s opening on June 10 approaching fast, discussion turns to the wider hospitality scene. Without name-checking anyone specifically, general manager Simon insists that there are places in Manchester that have forgotten what it means to be hospitable.
“I can’t remember the last time I can say I have felt I have been in a new bar or restaurant that wants me there,” he says. “I shouldn’t have to be looking around for servers and waiting for a drink. It’s not that I’m after intrusive service, but you want someone who is interacting with you.”
He adds: “We talk about all these great restaurants we’ve got, but do people tend to feel fulfilled there? I personally believe that’s something that’s lacking. Are you going to a restaurant to be seen there or are you going there for good service?
“When people come to a place like Habbibi, we don’t want them to leave feeling unfulfilled and having to go to McDonald’s afterwards. If they do, then I feel we have failed.”
And that, Simon believes, is what will separate Habbibi from the rest. “We need to hit the ground running because that’s what brings people back,” he says as he insists that service remains key to the restaurant’s success.
“As much as people might want to see the Sistine Chapel, if people’s experience there isn’t what it needs to be then they won’t return. We want people to feel they are welcomed and invited in from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave.”
Habbibi is at XYZ Building, 2 Hardman BLVD, Manchester, M3 3AQ. To book a table, click here.
