Manchester’s most anticipated new restaurant of 2024 has landed in LEVEN Manchester’s heritage building on the corner of Chorlton Street and Canal Street…
MAYA, the new three-storey bar and restaurant from the team behind Isabel Mayfair, is now open. Situated at the bustling intersection of Chorlton Street and Canal Street, the 20th century warehouse building which MAYA calls home holds a storied past in Manchester’s nightlife history books and today houses the LEVEN lifestyle hotel.
MAYA is a refreshingly dynamic all-day dining experience, taking guests from noon until the small hours across all three of its levels, each one telling its own story. Guests to MAYA may first encounter the brasserie space, which is set at ground level and welcomes sweeping daylight and the familiar cobbles of Canal Street. It presents a modern-European style menu of brasserie classics in a bright, lightly toned and open space.
The main dining room, set below ground level, is a distinct departure from the brasserie above. A sumptuously hued, alluring interior is the setting for a drinking and dining experience centred around an ingredient-led, hyper-seasonal and regularly changing menu. The culinary experience throughout is crafted by Mancunian head chef Gabe Lea, who cut his teeth at Michelin-starred establishments like Le Manoir and The French at The Midland Hotel.
Image credit: Thirsty Photography: Miles Worsfold
MAYA takes the three remaining floors in the LEVEN hotel’s landmark building, and will be partnering with the hotel to launch an in-room Brasserie dining concept in the near future, further enhancing LEVEN’s food and drink offering, which currently centres on the Lobby Bar serving great coffee, creative and classic cocktails and tempting snacks.
The MAYA brand is the creation of Scottie Bhattarai who, alongside MAYA, is the CEO of Isabel Mayfair and its sister brands. Previously, Bhattarai led restaurant brands in the Soho House stable, as well as Petersham Nurseries to Michelin starred recognition. Joshua Senior, CEO & Co-Founder, LEVEN commented: ”Myself and the LEVEN team are delighted to be joined by MAYA in our iconic, heritage building here in Manchester’s Village neighbourhood. The opening offers our guests and locals alike a brand new dining experience – whether that be a canal-side lunch for two, or an all-night-long celebration with friends – MAYA’s unique spaces mean guests can enjoy things on their terms, a perfect fit with our ethos here at LEVEN. Our forthcoming in-room dining collaboration will further elevate the food and drink offering at LEVEN and we’re excited to share more details on that soon.”
Image credit: MAYA
Scottie Bhattarai said: “The term ‘iconic’ is often overused, but the location of MAYA can truly claim the label. We aim to write a fresh new chapter for the city’s vibrant and wonderful hospitality scene. “The team’s ongoing work over the past 18 months is to be applauded; the care and craft that has gone into ensuring every part of what makes MAYA unique is something that I am incredibly proud of.”
Interiors have been designed to celebrate and complement the industrial stature of the original building. Luxurious, bespoke-designed furniture and finishes, handcrafted by artisans in Portugal, are juxtaposed alongside disco-era inspired neon installations to add surprise. Taking centre stage in the main dining room is an oval fluted destination bar topped with exquisite Calacatta Oro marble and crowned by a golden gantry to take advantage of the tall ceiling heights in this space. Further below the main dining room is a secluded and hidden lounge bar.
The overarching concept, which leads the restaurant and bar’s approach, is what MAYA calls “dinner plus”; where the dining experience seamlessly evolves into exclusive late-night entertainment, with a roster of DJs all week providing the soundtrack to elegantly hedonistic nights.
Main image credit: MAYA
