Sat between On Bar and Oscars Bar on Canal Street, founder and owner of Cluk, Hanyaun Zhang, tells us Manchester’s newest fried chicken restaurant is located “in the heart of Manchester”. Despite its unassuming exterior, which is unlikely to entice many wandering diners, Cluk offers a new and promising option for the Manchester food scene.
The high ceilings and exposed brickwork inside create a typical backdrop for a Gay Village location. Combined with loudspeakers and lights embedded in the walls, it easy to see how this could fit in as a venue for this iconic night life.
Founded and owned by trio Shiqi Liang, Xiaofei Teng, and University of Manchester graduate Hanyuan Zhang, the restaurant was inspired by Hanyuan’s love for fried chicken. Cluk is built in one of their favourite places in the city, an opinion shared by many, which for them truly defines the Manchester experience.
Baked into this up and coming spot is a love of Manchester’s student experience and the desire to unite Western comfort food and Korean cuisine. Offering up star dishes including honey mustard Korean fried chicken and some truly special ramen, Cluk is certainly an intriguing new spot.
We began with the restaurant’s key offering which the menu was built around: fried chicken. We first sampled the golden cheese powder wings which are a recurring guest on Cluk’s Instagram page and one of their specialty menu options. Despite this, they were slightly disappointing as whilst the chicken itself was delectably crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, the cheese dusting tasted more like an onion powder than cheese. The honey mustard Korean fried chicken, on the other hand, was a delight. The sauce was appropriately sweet and zingy for a honey mustard and complimented the savouriness of the chicken well.
The second dish we tried was the salt and pepper tofu which, despite being slightly over fried and therefore a little on the dry side, consisted of a generous portion for £9 which could easily serve two. It was well-spiced and the accompanying soft onion and pokey chillies enhanced the powerful flavour of the tofu. We would recommend ordering a sauce to accompany this or dipping the pieces in ramen broth to make this dish really sing.
The roasted duck bao bun was also a mixed option. Despite being a recommended dish on the menu, the buns were missing the promised spring onion, cucumber and hoisin sauce. There was also a great variation in the amount of duck in the two buns we received. Regardless, the texture of the bao was light and fluffy and the duck we did get was crispy and juicy, making this an option we still enjoyed.
The vegetable ramen, however, was an excellent main course. With an unctuous broth comprised of a delicate notes from the aromatics and deep umami stock, complimented by perfectly soft vegetables, this was certainly a high point. There was a plentiful amount of noodles for the price and, whilst the tofu which the menu offered was absent, it was undoubtedly a tasty dish.
The cocktails were also a joy. The Canal Street spritz added passionfruit to a traditional Aperol spritz which was an unexpected but welcome addition and went down well with the food. The Cluk Sour, despite missing the brown sugar promised on the menu, was still an interesting twist on the traditional whisky sour and worth trying for anyone who particularly enjoys this classic cocktail.
We were also able to sample one of the cocktail pitchers which will soon be added to the menu for £18-£19. The pitcher served around four glasses but did not scrimp on the alcohol content as is sometimes the case.
Whilst The Mancunion‘s visit was not perfect, we certainly believe this location is worth a try and boasts some excellent discounts. There is a 10% discount for students with a valid Student ID or Unidays all day every day, as well as daily discounts during the week on menu options like the Korean fried chicken on Wednesdays and ramen on Thursdays.
Only a 15 minute walk from campus, we would definitely recommend a visit for any wandering students.
Cluk is open until 9pm Sunday through Thursday and 11pm on Friday and Saturdays. They also offer takeaways on Deliveroo and Uber Eats as well as from their location on Canal Street until 4am on Friday and Saturday nights.
Their menu can be accessed here.
