Malmaison Manchester to launch new restaurant, bar and cocktail lounge

A new restaurant, bar and cocktail lounge is to be introduced to the Malmaison in Manchester, with a view to rolling out the concept at new hotels overseas.

The 163-seat Smoak restaurant will be an upmarket steakhouse and will feature a Josper grill. Following the success of counter dining at the newly launched Bistro du Vin in Clerkenwell, Smoak will provide seating for 22 at the bar and eight at the grill.

Robert Cook, chief executive of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, said that the name Smoak was an amalgamation of the words smoke and oak, which is a nod to the grill and the predominate use of oak in the design of the restaurant.

"The look of Smoak will be very New England and light with exposed oak beams, oak flooring and sideboards, lots of steel and light grey paint," he explained.

Also new will be an upmarket cocktail lounge, called Ember Lounge, which will silver-serve premium wines and drinks.

"We hope to introduce the concept into the Edinburgh Malmaison in the winter, but predominately it will be offered as a restaurant brand to be put into the hotels which we are looking to open in Europe," said Cook.

Smoak will open in the Malmaison in Manchester in early August, in time for the new football season.

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By Janet Harmer

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