Got yourself a hankerin’ for some beer, bourbon and ribs, pardner? Well although the specialities at Cane & Grain suggest a Western cowboy saloon, the reality is something more urban and edgy. This new place on Thomas Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter is housed on the site of the popular skate shop and party hangout Cast, and current tenant Ross Mackenzie – owner of Black Dog Ballroom, Dog Bowl and The Liar’s Club – has made sure the good times keep rolling while looking to New York venues such as PDT and Little Branch for sophisticated touches.
Split over three levels, Cane & Grain starts with a rib restaurant area on the ground floor. The décor here is artfully distressed, displaying the scars of its skate shop legacy on the floor and a battered paint job on the bar. Up a flight of stairs and things get more refined, with a high-end cocktail lounge of leather banquettes, copper-topped bar and vintage glassware. Make it to the top and you’ll find a kitsch delight in the Liar’s Lounge Tiki bar. It’s the spiritual successor to The Liar’s Club, and with the latter’s cocktail whizz Lyndon Higginson moving to become Cane & Grain’s creative director, the drinks should be bang on the money across all three floors.
