MUSU

Billing itself as a 'multi-sensory dining experience', Bridge Street’s elegant new Japanese restaurant, MUSU, has arrived in Manchester on a wave of hype. It certainly looks the part, greeting guests with a softly lit bar made from Dekton stone, brass and onyx, its fascia layered in gleaming brass.

The dining area is equally as inviting, all clean lines and mood lighting, with bespoke furniture and custom wall designs. An open kitchen provides a focal point for diners to watch the chefs in action, with a six-seat Omakase counter presided over by head sushi chef, Andre Aguiar, who was trained by Japanese sushi master, Yugo Kato.

MUSU’s modern menus offer a variety of options, from a seven or 11-course Kaiseki menu of seasonal dishes to a Sentaku menu allowing diners to build their own tasting menu. The Subayai menu provides a faster and more affordable option at lunch, while a late-night Izakaya menu continues into the early hours at weekends.

Chef patron Michael Shaw, whose career has taken him from Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons to Richard Neat’s eponymous restaurant in Cannes, has spent the last 18 months honing his passion for Japanese cuisine, and high-quality ingredients are allowed to shine in his immaculately presented dishes.

Our beautifully marbled A5 Japanese Wagyu beef came with light potato espuma enriched by a heady black truffle dashi, while a stunning selection of sashimi included meaty akami bluefin tuna, hamachi yellowtail and Japanese salt-cured salmon.

Otoro nigiri sushi sees the hand-pressed sushi rice topped with meltingly fatty tuna and adorned with nutty, buttery N25 Schrenckii caviar – a luxurious addition which also topped our delicate, tender, miso-glazed black cod.

Drinks-wise, there are cocktails, premium Japanese sake and whiskies from around the globe as well as wine flights and a large selection available by the glass. An in-house sommelier is on hand to guide guests through suggested pairings.

The confident, friendly service adds to the overall experience, though it’s one that doesn’t come cheap; hardly surprising given the premium ingredients. The 11-course tasting menu will set you back an eye-watering £150 excluding drinks, while the set lunch offers a more wallet-friendly four courses for £35. But for a special treat, when the budget permits, MUSU is sure to impress.

MUSU finds itself on Bridge Street, with such culinary neighbours as Dishoom and Crazy Pedros. Here, however, the offering is a lot more high-end. Taking its name from the word for 'infinite possibilities', the restaurant offers a modern interpretation of Japanese cuisine in three different formats. The first, sentaku, allows diners to choose from each section of the menu and order a la carte. The kaiseki menu, meanwhile, is a set selection comprised of seven or eleven-course options to showcase various seasonal dishes. Finally, the omakase hands all of the choice to the chef. At the six-seat counter, omakase diners will be treated to an evening of sushi and theatre courtesy of the head sushi chef Andre Aguiar, who trained under master Yugo Kato. 

The multi-million-pound interiors set the scene, with bespoke Italian furniture, video walls displaying ambient backgrounds and various Japanese furnishings. The bar is made from Dekton stone, brass and onyx, while the open kitchen is designed to look like a luxury residential one, adding a chic, exclusive feel. The mood lighting, meanwhile, makes MUSU the perfect restaurant for an extra special dinner or romantic date. For larger parties, the private dining room can accommodate up to 14 guests and there are late-night theatre experiences on the weekends too. 

At the helm is chef patron Michael Shaw, who has previously worked at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Richard Neat's restaurant in Cannes and more recently the critically acclaimed White Hart Inn at Lydgate. To open MUSU, Shaw spent 18 months studying Japanese cuisine to better understand the flavours and skills involved. MUSU comes from Vincent Braine and Marius Kamara, whose other projects include Suede, The Milton Club and Dive Bar & Grill. Danny Fox, previously director of Living Ventures, works alongside Braine and Kamara as operations director.