Inside the stunning new tequila bar and restaurant where 'Mexico City's soul meets Manchester's heart’

From George Clooney's tequila to nods of Pablo Escabar’s mansion, there's a lot to admire

A stunning new tequila bar and restaurant aims to bring the Mexican city of Tulum to Manchester with premium margaritas and wagyu tacos.

Taking over the former Sunset bar by Australasia, Ocasa features lush bed booths, cosy interiors and a beautiful statement wall paying homage to the walled city of Tulum with rocky elements and subtle lighting. It also features elements and artwork inspired by Pablo Escabar’s Casa Malca too.

But one of the first things that is likely to hit you when you walk into the Spinningfields venue is the smell. In fact, bosses at Ocasa have gone as far as to curate their very own scent for the bar. Whilst the exact blend is a secret, it features hints of neroli, chilli, orange blossom and sandalwood.

With a dazzling 80-seat outdoor terrace - with retractable roof and heating panels for the colder months - the little sun trap aims to shine a light on tequila and Mezcal, alongside some of what makes Mexico so special.

“The inspiration behind Ocasa really is that Tulum-inspired vibe that we love,” food and drink entrepreneur Christian Coates, who is behind the venue with his Orka Koncepts company, says.

“It’s about modern Mexican dining and drinking culture where there’s this eclectic mix of flavours, concoctions and colours. Our tag line is basically ‘Mexico city soul meets Manchester heart’.”

Designed by BAPPT, the venue’s interiors feature rich terracotta hues and jade green accents, alongside soft and warm lighting, quirky table fronts, and shutterboard window frame walls. It shares its team with the newly-reopened Australasia but has a completely new concept and identity of its own.

Its bespoke margarita menu, which has been created in partnership with premium brands Don Julio and George Clooney’s own Casamigos, features classics as well as unique twists, including an amazing-sounding Smokey Vimto, made up of Casamigos Mezcal, Violette liqueur, raspberry liqueur, black cherry puree, grenadine and citrus.

“You could say George Clooney is essentially opening a bar in Manchester, couldn’t you?,” jokes Christian of the partnership with Casamigos. “We want to shine a light on the importance of tequila and mezcal.

“Gin’s had its day and vodka came in strong but so many people are enjoying tequila with so many renowned producers right now. It’s a hot proposition at the moment, and it just tastes great.

“We’ve got a lot of twists on things, like we have a chilli coconut margarita and a frozen Piña Colada, so there’s a lot of crowd-pleasers but also some very unique things that we’re doing.”

And it's tequila that also takes inspiration from its Ocasa name too - which is an amalgamation of the Mexican words for ocahui, or oca, for the heart of the agave and casa for house.

On the food side of things, head chef Lucie Sainerova, formerly of London’s Novikov International, has things covered with a delightful range of small plates and dishes, like robata-grilled yakitori-style taco skewers, featuring the likes of ancho gochujang chicken or sticky guajillo salmon.

There’s also chargrilled padron peppers, birria beef croquetas and short-rib nachos on the sharing plates selection, whilst the parrilla grill offers rib eye steak, honey and lime marinated chicken, and a sizzling beef montada which is served with tortilla, guacamole and pico de galla.

The restaurant also boasts a bespoke salsa menu to boot too, featuring flavours like truffle honey, Mezcal birria and creamy peanut. Food on the menu is priced between £6 to £38.

“We’re elevating that street food concept into a real fine dining concept,” Christian adds. “Lucie is serious about food and really into what she has created. The quality and level of what we’re doing here is unparalleled.

“Our menu additions are going to evolve weekly and we really hope it will just help add to this new vibe to Spinningfields. We’re fully booked for the next month, so the reaction has been brilliant so far.”

As for what Ocasa has in store as it becomes embedded into the vibe of Spinningfields, Christian says things will evolve just as much as its menu.

“I think with Sunset we got a bit lost and redundant and so, for us, this is the opportunity to really do something really cool and different,” he explains.

“It’s in an amazing location, it gets the sun all day, and our new kitchen team and head chef are behind some amazing food with some next-level flavours.

“We want to continue to elevate and deliver something that is more on trend in terms of accessibility with something that is open for everyone. Elevate it and novacost style, we wanted something a little bit more on trend in terms of accessibility that’s open for everyone.

“We’re going to be hosting bottomless brunches and have live music and DJs here. There’s a lot of new energy here, we’re expecting big things. Who doesn’t love a margarita in one hand and a taco in the other?”

On Friday (April 18), Ocasa will be celebrating its grand opening by giving away 1,000 free margaritas. From 3pm to 6pm, the first guests to arrive will be invited to enjoy a complimentary, expertly crafted frozen margarita, made with Casamigos tequila.

Ocasa is on No.1 The Avenue, Manchester, M3 3AP. Walk-ins welcome, bookings can be made here.