A TASTE OF DUBAI HOME COMFORTS

THE LATEST SPINNINGFIELDS' DINING DESTINATION, HABBIBI, PLANS TO OFFER HOME-STYLE MIDDLEEASTERN HOSPITALITY, WRITES ADAM MAIDMENT

- ADAM MAIDMENT

IN the last year alone, Spinningfields dining scene has welcomed a string of new arrivals, including Sexy Fish’s first restaurant outside London and Greek restaurant Fenix from the team behind Tattu. But adding another restaurant into the mix can’t hurt, or at least that’s what the team at Habbibi believe.

Opening in the XYZ building on Hardman Boulevard, and just a stone’s throw away from The Oast House, staff at restaurant are confident that what they have to offer is unlike the competition - and brings a focus back onto old-school hospitable service.

It’s a bold claim, for sure, but it’s one they say they are insistent on delivering.

Led by serial restaurateur Zack Isaak, who’s also had a hand in the likes of SakkuSamba, iKaro and Estabulo Rodizio, the Middle Eastern restaurant aims to transport people to Dubai - or, more specifically, the home of a friendly neighbour in Dubai.

“When we say house wine, that doesn’t mean it’s because it’s the cheapest,” Habbibi’s general manager Simon Khan tells the Manchester Evening News.

“It means it’s the wine I would be more than happy to recommend to you if you were at my house.”

That’s the theme that runs through the bloodline of Habbibi, he explains.

He wants it to be a place where people can relax, enjoy a good meal and feel like they are being looked after. And it’s something he believes has been missing from some of Manchester’s newest establishments.

“When you look at the culture within the Far East, if you were to knock on someone’s door during dinner time, you would be asked to come inside and join them for food,” Simon explains. “That’s our intention here. It’s coming back to that old-school style of owning a restaurant.