New Japanese restaurant and multi-sensory experience MUSU to open in Manchester

The former Randal & Aubin site on Bridge Street is undergoing a multi-million-pound makeover and will reopen as Japanese restaurant MUSU in October.

MUSU promises guests a totally immersive multi-sensory fine dining experience promising to raise the bar for fine dining and entertainment in Manchester.

Behind this ‘new breed of restaurant’ are Vincent Braine and Marius Kamara, two of Manchester’s most experienced hospitality specialists with over 15 years’ experience in the city’s bar, restaurant and nightclub scenes, whose venues include Suede, The Milton Club and Dive Bar & Grill.

Operations Director is restaurant consultant Danny Fox, a founding partner of Living Ventures who then went on to run the 30-site business of IRC plc, under the Piccolino and Restaurant Bar & Grill brands.

Heading up the high-tech open kitchen will be Chef Patron Michael Shaw, whose illustrious career has taken him from being a pastry apprentice at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons to pastry chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Aubergine, and the Pied a Terre’s Richard Neat’s eponymous restaurant in Cannes. He was also part of the team which secured a Michelin star for Gilpin Lodge before taking a role at The White Hart in his hometown of Saddleworth.

Shaw has since spent the last 18 months immersed in the precision, skill and flavours of Japanese cuisine, designing dishes for MUSU’s exquisite tasting menu concept designed to deliver a multi-sensory dining experience using only the very finest ingredients sourced from Japan and the UK. This includes certified, sustainable, traceable and wild Bluefin tuna as well as A5 grade wagyu beef from the top Japanese suppliers.

Divided into three sections, Sentaku will be more of an a la carte experience allowing guests to choose their own personal dishes, while Kaiseki is a set seven or eleven course seasonal tasting menu option. Finally, Omakase means entrusting the chef to create the perfect menu, a theatrical and educational sushi experience, currently the only true one of its kind outside London. This will be served to guests at the six-seat Omakase counter, presided over by Head Sushi Chef, Andre Aguiar, himself trained by renowned Japanese Sushi Master Yugo Kato.

Beverage Director Sean McGuirk has designed MUSU’s creative cocktail collection and the drinks offering will include premium Japanese sake and whiskies from around the globe.In-house sommelier, Ivan Milchev, will be on hand to guide guests through the extensive list of fine wines in the cellar.

The Japanese word MUSU translates as ‘infinite possibilities,’ which encapsulates every aspect of this extraordinary venue, from its menus to its interiors. Complementing the food and drink, the entire space follows the clean lines and precision associated with Japanese design. MUSU’s multi-million-pound interiors include bespoke Italian furniture, subtle, soft mood lighting and bespoke Geisha wall designs.

The softly back-lit bar is constructed from Dekton stone, brass and onyx; its fascia is layered in brass, detailed into a banana leaf pattern. MUSU’s exceptional design also incorporates the ability to transition into a late-night experience at weekends, replicating the Japanese after-dinner tradition of ‘Nijiki’.

The venue has a full theatre production setup, while the booth tables can transform into cocktail-style tables, creating an environment focused on late night entertainment, rather than formal dining. This ‘dual identity’ also means that MUSU will offer the most flexible, dramatic and technologically superior events space to be found anywhere in the city.

MUSU’s private dining room accommodates up to 14 guests and can be completely separated from the main dining room by a glazed telescopic wall which can be frosted at the touch of a button to deliver total privacy. Inside is one of MUSU’s three incredible video walls the fluid structures of which allow for perfect visuals, presentations and ambient backgrounds.

Following on from Kitten at Deansgate Square, MUSU will be the latest Japanese-influenced fine dining restaurant to open in Manchester. Chotto Matte is due to occupy the spectacular 20,000sq ft rooftop at Gary Neville’s St Michael’s development in Summer 2024.

MUSU will open at 64 Bridge Street, Manchester M3 3BN on 6th October.