Located in the Spinningfields district of Manchester City Centre, Artisan Kitchen & Bar is a much-loved dining and drinking establishment providing casual dining in a prime location.
Situated on the first floor of The Avenue North, the venue serves up a fantastic selection of drinks and dishes and has been operating successfully since its debut in 2013.
Keen to ensure that Artisan Kitchen & Bar can continue to provide Manchester’s social scene with the best service possible, restaurant and bar specialists, Living Ventures Group has recently extended the Artisan offering with a new ground floor bar. The new bar is located directly below the existing restaurant and serves up a tempting array of drinks in a stylish setting.
Design work began on the new Artisan bar in December 2014, with construction work following in February 2015. Michelle Derbyshire was the interior designer on the project – returning to the venue after originally designing the restaurant back in 2013.
Commenting on the project, Michelle said:
“When working on the new bar I didn’t want to duplicate the design work that I had previously provided for Artisan Kitchen & Bar. I was keen to give this new bar a different look, whilst remaining with a similar feel.
“Artisan Kitchen & Bar takes its inspiration from an artist’s loft with different areas, from a kitchen and dining area to a drafting and drawing studio. For the bar I wanted to take the design concept to reflect a classic art school look. The bar includes tall, dark cabinetry with still life displays, which is thematically similar to the restaurant, but has a more polished look.”
Since the new bar opened the feedback has been extremely encouraging.
Michelle said:
“The feedback has been really good and that’s because it isn’t just a copy of what has come before. I wanted to keep the design fresh; to be constantly evolving and to respond to the space. Ultimately I wanted to give people another experience, otherwise why wouldn’t they just go to the bar upstairs?”
Michelle added:
“The bar has brought in new clients who were completely unaware that there was a restaurant and bar upstairs. That is something which has been really surprising and is of course good for business. It is a small space, but it has a good presence and a good feel to it.”
The new ground floor space has an outdoor seating area that serves the Artisan menu prepared in the upstairs kitchen. However as the evening draws in, the venue switches to serving drinks, becoming a true destination bar for the city.
Working on the new Artisan bar has been important for designer Michelle and it is something which the designer has truly valued being a part of.
Michelle said:
“Having worked on Artisan Kitchen & Bar previously it was great to continue the development of the venue with this new space.
“I enjoy working with Living Ventures Group as they are very broad minded with design – it was exciting for me to be able to just run with the design on this venue.”
For more information about Artisan Kitchen and Bar, please visit: www.artisan.uk.com.
