Aiden Byrne to open a new restaurant in a historic Salford pub

Manchester based property developer Salboy has secured top chef Aiden Byrne to open a new restaurant at its Local Blackfriars development in Salford.

Aiden, who owns the Church Green pub in Lymm, won a Michelin Star when he was just 22 and ran the kitchen at Manchester House when it opened in 2013.

The new venture will use all three floors of the restored Grade II listed Black Friar pub on the corner of Blackfriars Road and Trinity Way, and also incorporate a new single level glazed building to the side.

The vision is to create a traditional pub interior with wood panelling and open fires in the original building, with casual dining and an open kitchen in the linked modern building which faces onto the development’s courtyard gardens.

On the first floor will be an intimate fine dining restaurant of around 20-25 covers served by a kitchen on the third floor, with the potential for a chef’s table.

“We always envisioned a new and exciting use for this historic pub and getting Aiden on board demonstrates our commitment to delivering the very best – whether its new homes or a new restaurant,” said Salboy founder and director Simon Ismail.

“This is an area packed with character with much loved venues like The Eagle Inn and Blueprint Studios and the reborn Black Friar will add to the mix for the growing number of people living here.”

Salboy’s partner construction firm Domis, led by Lee McCarren, will undertake the fit-out. The £2m restaurant is being funded by Salboy and Domis with a significant personal investment from Byrne and his wife Sarah who will run the operation as a team.

 “I am so excited by this,” said Aiden.

“Simon and Lee are just gorgeous blokes who really wanted this to happen and for it to be the very best. They have been great to deal with. I was introduced to them and was gobsmacked by the quality of work at Blackfriars and their passion for the area.

“It will bring a whole new experience to this part of the city with the ground floor providing the hustle and bustle of casual dining and the pub providing the ‘local’ for Blackfriars.”

Planning is due to be submitted early next month, with an opening slated for late summer. 

Local Blackfriars provides 380 apartments and penthouses and a new street of town houses with a host of resident amenities around a central landscaped courtyard.

Salboy has also recently submitted an application to build 115 more homes on nearby Queen Street.