A unique meal for every customer who walks through the door is the promise of a health conscious, Hawaiian-inspired new Manchester restaurant.
Wahu, opening this month in Spinningfields, hopes that its motto of ‘made fresh made fast’ will help make it a one stop shop for busy nutrition and food lovers of Manchester.
Young entrepreneur Jamie Barr lived and worked in the city when he came up with the fresh idea to bring the collaboration of flavour, nutrition and convenience to Spinningfields.
Wahu, situated on The Avenue, aims to provide its customers with a variety of round the clock dishes to eat in or take away.
With a breakfast menu offering personalised protein pancakes, Bircher muesli and egg white and spinach omelettes, healthy but varied menus are clearly the name of the game.
Wahu’s ethos to offer dishes that are unique to their customers is what Jamie is hoping will distinguish his 98-seated capacity eatery from the 23 other dinning venues located around The Avenue.
He told MM: “I’m bringing something very new where no one in Manchester or the UK is really doing. For lunch there’s a ‘create your own menu’ option where people will get to choose a base. You can choose between a salad base, a wrap base, a pasta base or a rice base.
“You can then choose your own protein. That’s what makes us different because the meat is cooked hot straight off the grill. We do chicken, beef, lamb, Halloumi and salmon.”
‘NOT LIKE RABBIT FOOD’: Jamie was keen to explain that healthy didn’t mean boring
Jamie explained why it was important that he offered an on the go taste experience that was unique to Manchester.
“When I found my first company I found a gap in the market I was trying to eat healthy but I was very busy I was always on the go, networking and socialising and there just seemed to be nowhere where I could get quick healthy food on the go,” he said.
“When I mean healthy, I don’t mean necessarily like rabbit food, I mean good nutritious hearty food. There was only ever sandwiches, burgers, and pizzas that were available on the go.
“I started looking into the market that offered fresh good food on the go and found that in the UK it wasn’t a market that had particularly been tapped into whereas in the US and Australia it was a lot more developed.”
Although Wahu boasts a range of health conscious dishes, Jamie insists that the 1,300 square foot site that will stand in the place of the former Eat is not solely a health store.
He said: “We’re not setting out to be a health store we’re trying to promote a healthy lifestyle, the whole idea of a healthy lifestyle is that everything is in moderation.
The builders are in full swing and Wahu will be arriving in @Spinningfields this June! #FarmersFieldToSpinningfields pic.twitter.com/8sdT7NwaYQ
— Wahu (@WahuFood) May 12, 2014
“We’re offering a balanced diet with protein, the right carbs and vegetables.”
The restaurant’s unusual name, Wahu, was inspired by the Hawaiian island O’ahu, which is pronounced ‘Wahu’. It roughly translates as ‘the gathering place’.
“It’s almost like an island where everyone in Hawaii goes to on the weekend,” Jamie said.
“They grill fresh meat there, they all meet to drink so it’s like a big gathering of people eating fresh food and drinking so I thought it was a really nice connotation and what we’re trying to build as a brand.”
Open from 7 am until 11pm, Wahu’s VIP launch will be held on Wednesday June 18 and will officially open its doors on the June 19.
