Onda, the Manchester pasta pop-up that has become a viral sensation, has revealed that it’ll be opening its first proper restaurant.
The new spot will be at Circle Square, on Oxford Road, joining the likes of Hello Oriental, Federal, North Taproom and Mr Su.
They completed their last service at The New Cross bar on 24 March, and will now be gearing up to their opening in May.
“We originally found a site for our new restaurant at the end of 2023 but quickly and painfully found out this would cost way too much for us to move into, the site was an empty shell and would need extraction, kitchen fitting, all from scratch,” they said in a post to Instagram.
“There was no way to make that work.
“Then a couple of months ago, we found the perfect site for us which took until now to confirm was ours. The only catch was that we need to move into it much quicker than planned and that’s why we are having to close our popup now to get ready.”
Founded by Michelin-trained chef Sam Astley Dean, who’s also part of the team at Gooey, Onda first shacked up at Exhibition before making the move to The New Cross last year.
All was going well, until a post of their ‘tiramisu drawer’ went viral.
“We’ve got a tiramisu drawer so we can scoop to order when it’s busy in service,” they said in the accompanying caption. “People seem pretty keen on having one in their bedside table, we’re looking into it.”
It was liked nearly 700,000 times, shared by Florence Pugh, and has since seen them amass 191,000 followers, as well as bookings which extended into months.
Read more:
The new restaurants and bars opening in Manchester in March 2024
The Manchester movers on the annual hospitality ‘power list’
London chophouse Blacklock is coming to Manchester
