Kahlúa Coffee House Examined

IF you find yourself regularly roaming the streets of the Northern Quarter, you may have noticed a change on the cobbled corner of High Street and Edge Street. You know, across the road from where you’ll see half of Manchester queuing for a burger.

The dog-eared fading green of Market Restaurant has been superseded by the brazen scarlet of new ‘pop-up’ Kahlúa Coffee House.

Apparently all the rage in London, this promotional ‘pop-up’ venture by coffee-liquor brand Kahlúa has been orchestrated in partnership with Manchester’s own cocktail consultants The Liquorists, NQ favourite Teacup and The Coffee Circle, whoever they are.

Open only until April 28, Kahlúa Coffee House offers coffee-infused cocktails, Mexican ‘non-street’ food, film screenings and the odd cocktail master-class thrown in to the fray.

Kahlua: The downstairs menu with only 3 cocktails

The ‘Peckish’ menu has shied away from the type of food that’s become synonymous with Mexico, not a burrito, taco or Señor El Paso in sight. Granted there was chilli, but also pigeon. Now I’ve had pigeon before, but in a terrine, and that doesn’t really count because a terrine is a pate and you can put just about anything in a pate because it’s a pate.

Anyway, the pigeon pitta pockets (£8.50 with one side) were a delight with pomegranate, water cress, red onion and a side of limey couscous. As were the delectable duck tacitos (£3.50). Not tacos, tacitos.

Kahlua: Sweet Potato Fries, Three Chilli Grilled Chicken, Duck Tacitos, Kahlúa BBQ Wings, Pigeon Pockets, Slaw, Couscous.

Kahlua: Lovely Muggsly OR Muggly Jubbly OR Mugsy Malone

The drinks side however, was slightly lacking. Certainly not in the quality, the cocktails were expertly finished, but in the quantity. With three of us dining and only three cocktails available on the downstairs menu, our choices were settled. This perhaps illustrates the limits of offering only cocktails containing Kahlúa coffee-liquor. It’s a bit like filling a full tin of Quality Street with only the coffee chocolates; a few would love it but most would feel pretty mugged off. However, The White Russian (£4.50), favourite of Jeff Bridges’ ‘The Dude’, was delicious, if over slightly too quickly.

Kahlua: FREE cocktail interactive masterclass with The Liquorists

Venturing to the ‘Salon de Kahlúa’ upstairs though, we stumbled upon a fully booked cocktail master-class. The cocktails up there multiplied threefold with a different and more expansive selection, all containing Kahlúa. Naturally.

Flirting with elitism, entry up there is by invitation/reservation only and features a bespoke cocktail menu designed by The Liquorists including the house signature Kahlúa Espresso Martini (£4.50) and the Afogato (£6.50) – a deconstructed White Russian served in a glass teacup and saucer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream soaked in hot Kahlúa and Absolut Vanilia.

Handed a free ‘Kahlúa-type-Mojito’ (£6.50) by the Liquorist and very hospitable master of ceremonies, Jamie Jones (“he’s in love with rock’n’roll whoa”… Clash reference… Janie Jones… no?) we forgot all about the lack of cocktail choice downstairs and settled in to an upstairs haven of exclusive cocktail smugness. You don’t get that feeling at Bar Burrito. 

Jamie Jones, 'Fill her up Jacko'

Kahlua Coffe House

104 High Street, Northern Quarter, M4 1HQ

Tel: 0161 833 0035