The Alchemist New York Street

Much like its sister venue over in Spinningfields, a meal at The Alchemist New York Street is  an exhilarating experience. What to expect from the food and drink? Ans: The unexpected. 

As for the staff and venue, they’re as good as it gets. The waiting staff are friendly, stylish and happy to give informed advice, while the venue is a superb-looking space, all high ceilings and huge windows that show off rainy Manchester while you’re smug and warm inside. 

First, the drinks. As the menu says, they don’t just make drinks – they make theatre. The cocktails are full of coloured vapour and flashes of fire, brightly coloured and always dramatic. If you’re a pint of mild kinda guy, best to move on. 

Diving into the new items on the menu, the Hard Peach Iced Tea is an astonishing concoction, all billowing smoke and shimmering silver and orange. It’s a combination of naked malt blended whisky, peach, and agave syrup, plus some homemade golden tea. A showstopper that tastes as good as it looks. 

Want something a little less showy? The Hit And Rum is a more sophisticated option, darker in looks and taste, incorporating Appleton signature rum, Grand Marnier, Wray & Nephew and Magnum tonic wine, plus various fruits. It even comes in a futuristic-style dimpled glass. Pint of mild guy, come back. 

Then there’s the perhaps-confusingly titled ‘cosmic oyster’, which isn’t an ugly sea grub at all – rather, it’s a dazzling, near-neon shot made with gin and citrus fruit flavours, in a cyber-silver shell, with some added passionfruit pearls, because why the hell not.  

The food is as innovative as the drinks. Ever fancied a doughnut made with jalapeno and parmesan, with a side pot of smashed pretzel and bacon-flecked cheese fondue? No, because your puny brain couldn’t imagine such wonders. Thankfully, the boffins at Alchemist HQ did. 

Then there are sticky beef nachos, which switch out the wrap and replace with light, crunchy rice crackers, strewn with pulled beef, pickled red onion, cheese sauce and fresh herbs. Initially, it seems like a crazy idea, and it sort of is, but it’s also nigh-on impossible to stop going back for more. 

There’s another pulled beef dish, this time caramelised and piled onto a thick slice of toasted brioche, covered with parmesan cheese, with a dash of chilli oil and some chopped chives. It’s the most space-age butty you’ll have all year. 

Another new option is the steamed vegetable dim sum, which stuffs crispy shredded leek, black rice and chili sauce into some pleasingly green dumpling pastry. 

It’s one of the more gentle options, as are the loaded truffle tater tots – piping hot, crispy little potato packets, elevated by a drizzle of truffle oil and garlic mayo, and a handful of shaved parmesan. 

But the standout dish from these new items has to be the Korean superfood salad. It’s a bright, hearty, big old bowl of everything good for you, without compromising on flavour. Each mouthful is a new combination of taste and texture, made up of charred gochujang sweet potato, black and brown rice, barley, smacked cucumber, greens, edamame and torched nori. 

Room for dessert? The yuzu cheesecake is a grand take on the traditional cheesecake, throwing in some buttered ginger biscuits, yuzu cream cheese, lemon curd and burnt white chocolates. 

Even if you don’t have much of a sweet tooth, it’s worth taking a closer look at the ‘liquid dessert’ section. The Screwball is a bright blue, bubblegum treat, while The Irish is a thick, creamy whiskey-based coffee creation, served hot, with just-so amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg and Bailey’s foam. 

The Alchemist is one of Manchester’s most inventive places to eat and drink and this new menu is a delight for the senses, from start to finish. Sure, most things come with a twist, but, in the main, they enhance, rather than distract.