What: A flash new Greek restaurant in Manchester’s St. John development. Costing around £7m, Fenix is from the same stable as upmarket Chinese restaurant concept Tattu. Just to the west of Spinningfields near Soho House, Mollie’s and Factory International, the restaurant is one of the biggest in the city at around 8,500sq ft which equates to around 150 in the restaurant and a further 50 in the bar.
Who: The group - which was recently rebranded to Permanently Unique - is operated by brothers Adam and Drew Jones. The pair launched their first Tattu restaurant in Manchester in 2015 and now operate a further four sites under the brand in Leeds, Birmingham, Edinburgh and London. The kitchen at Fenix is being led by executive head chef Ippokratis Anagnostelis, who has worked in fine dining establishments in Athens and Mykonos including the Michelin-starred Hytrain, and his long-time right hand man Zisis Giannouras.
The food: Menus are billed as Greek Mediterranean. The kitchen team largely sticks to the script but there are a few Asian and Latin American influences. Some of the more obvious Greek dishes on the menu are given a modernist twist. For example, tzatziki features cucumber gel, moussaka is topped with a graviera cheese espuma and wagyu stifado comes with a cumin and potato emulsion. Split into sections including Garden, Meze, From The Open Fire, and Pasta & Rice the menu is expansive. Smaller plates include king crab truffle salad; fried calamari; and caramelised aubergine with tahini miso while large options include stuffed robata sea bass, glazed half chicken; and leg of lamb slow-roasted in clay. The price point is in-line with Tattu at around £70 a head.
To drink: Those looking to go big won’t be short of options at Fenix. Larger format bottles abound - including a magnum of Dom Pérignon (no vintage specified) priced at an eye-watering £1,500. In general wines are sourced from Europe, especially Greece and Italy. Fenix leans especially heavily on the latter when it comes to its more premium reds listing numerous Super Tuscans including Sassicaia, Solaia and Tignanello. There is also a huge collection of spirits including some very high-end Tequila, Cognac and whisky options and Metaxa Aen 3, a rare variety of the Greek spirit that is available at Fenix in multiples of 10ml. Divided into Earth, Air, Water and Fire, the cocktail list includes Heracles’ Eight Trial (Signal Hill whisky, vermouth rosso, watermelon oleo and lemon); and The Odyssey (Otto’s Athens vermouth, Kings Hill gin, thyme, Syrah and London Essence soda).
The vibe: Designed by Fabled Studio, the interior uses sound and lighting effects to mimic the setting sun and rising moon across the Greek islands (a similar idea was employed at the group’s London Tattu). Guests enter through a bar that is designed to evoke the Phoenix’s nest with design details including charred rockface, a hanging barley ceiling and a bar that resembles a burning cauldron. The first floor represents the Fenix’s ascendance and is much lighter in tone. Design details include full-height windows, hanging plants, banquette seating sculpted into rendered, curved alcoves and chandeliers hanging from feathered, bronze domes.
And another thing: The brothers came up with the idea for Fenix during the pandemic when their restaurants were closed, hence the themes of rebirth and renewal.
Two brothers that are making their mark
Fenix follows Adam and Drew Jones’ London debut and demonstrates - once again - the brother’s understanding of today’s premium restaurant market. The pair are targeting a young, aspirational customer that is out for a good time with a laser-like focus, creating fun, stimulating environments. Greek food was a savvy choice for their second piece of restaurant IP. The cuisine is familiar to most while not being overexposed and has yet to be given the high-end treatment outside London (which has Milos, Bacchanalia and the newly opened Gaia).
While spending £7m on a 200-cover restaurant in a new development is always going to be risky, the duo - who are originally from Blackburn - know this part of Manchester well (the original Tattu site is just about visible from Fenix). Located very close to Spinningfields, the St. John development does look likely to become a new focal point for the city thanks to the presence of Soho House and cultural venue Factory International.
The brother's independently-owned restaurant group Permanently Unique recently toasted an ‘exceptionally strong’ trading year with revenue up by 76%. In the year ended 25 December 2022, the group, which previously traded under the name of its Chinese-inspired restaurant brand, saw revenue rise to £26.8m from £14.6m the year before. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew by 23% to £4.7m (2021: £3.8m), while total profit after tax was £1.6m. The strong performance followed the opening of Tattu London last year, which the group said had performed ‘very well’.
