Walrus, Manchester

Walrus is trying to be cool. Happily, this has worked. It is a sea of colour, material, and glass. The glass is the first thing you encounter as you try to enter the bar/Japanese canteen. A glass door in a curved glass corridor makes for quite a disorienting entrance, but once you navigate this you are presented with a ludicrous orange and purple striped floor, quirky tables and chairs, and globe shaped light shades. All leading to a fantastically stocked bar, where we were greeted with a smiling, cheerful barman.

Whilst browsing the drinks menu, the barman reassured us that we weren't limited to the menu, and they would happily construct a drink for us, a good sign that these folks know what they are doing. I ordered a Mojito, which didn't appear on the menu, and the barman set off for Rum, ice, lime and mint. Anna ordered a Love Deluxe, the menu doesn't tell you the ingredients, just the flavours. The Love Deluxe was touted as chocolate, mint and hazelnut.

My Mojito was created without any drama, and was a solid example of the cuban cocktail bar staple. The barman told me it was only his second weekend, and he was still learning the menu. As he looked around for the ingredients, he quickly reassured me that he knew what he was doing, and the next drink proved this. The Love Deluxe involved much more attention than the Mojito. White chocolate syrup, white spirits, and Frangelico were shaken and sieved into a funky shaped glass, and a simple linear design was stenciled over the creamy drink with sprinkles of chocolate and hazelnut. It looked fantastic, and more importantly it tasted fantastic. Creamy, but not at all sickly, with a sweet vein of chocolate and a savoury kick from the hazelnut. As good as my Mojito was, the Love Deluxe was better.

Walrus is a stunningly designed space, colourful and vibrant but in no way ugly and intrusive, the service was friendly and attentive, and the final product was accomplished and most importantly tasty. Highly recommended for an afternoon cocktail, and I am certainly interested in trying their Japanese cuisine.

I visited Walrus around 4pm on 16/10/10, Walrus, High St, Northern Quarter, Manchester.