Impossible is a £3 million bar, restaurant and theatre spread across three floors. Inside, you will be whisked away to another world that is one part speakeasy, one part fantasy laboratory and one part chic dining space. Highlights include a hidden gin palace on the mezzanine floor that’s accessed via a retro telephone booth; a machine spouting champagne bubbles and cryogenically frozen, edible cocktails. Impossible’s unusual layout also means that there are various private corners and booths to enjoy a whimsical cocktail or three after dining.
The restaurant at Impossible serves creative comfort food rich in around-the-world flavours. Menus can change, but sharing plates and starters might include handmade crispy duck spring rolls with plum sauce; paprika-spiced halloumi and harissa with rose petal yoghurt, and tempura battered prawns in soy and ginger sauce.
Mains might include truffle oil-infused macaroni cheese; a half chicken salt-baked with rosemary and lemon, and pea soup with poached haddock. The burger selection includes an indulgent buttermilk chicken burger tossed in maple syrup and a vegi-friendly Glamorgan burger with purple sweet potato fries. Fillet and rib-eye steaks are menu staples.
Impossible’s imaginative dessert range might feature delights such as chocolate pave with peanut butter powder and salted caramel ice cream; iced cherry parfait with popping candy, and white chocolate and bourbon cheesecake in basil syrup.
You can also enjoy a range of gourmet tacos to nibble on as either a starter or bar snack, including pulled pork and pineapple with lime salsa.
There are also an impressive 63 gin brands to sample, plus indulgent cocktails like Chocolate Chilli Cheesecake and Carnival Caipirinha. Sharing drinks include Bertha Bream’s Impossible Steam Machine, otherwise known as a teapot of bourbon iced lemon tea.
You can find Impossible on Peter Street’s bar enclave. The Bridgewater Hall, Albert Hall and Manchester Opera House are all close by, making this a stylish spot for dining before heading to one of those venues. Deansgate train station and Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop are both around a ten minute walk away.