A Visit to Wahu, Spinningfields: Bright, fresh & godly

Much of the foodie offers going on at the moment involved gargantuan amounts of food, whether at supper clubs or at pop up events where the object is to try as much of the delights on offer as humanly and sometimes inhumanly possible. Not so at Wahu, which we called into last week, where the food is so damn healthy it’s almost godly. It’s sort of like a posh Subway, no bread and stodge but instead an array of fast, healthy options to mix and match. A bit like the interior design….

I was a big fan of the monochrome, encaustic style floor tiles even though there was a whole lot of them everywhere, with no zoning or demarcation to create more visual interest. These type of tiles are so highly patterned they can be slightly overpowering, so a more contemporary way of fitting them is to set alongside plain tiles, concrete or timber.  My guess is we’re going to see a lot more patterned tiles in residential properties over the next few years as people stay put and get adventurous with their interior design. The brightly coloured chairs, both painted and upholstered, are fab, great colours adding enough zing to act as a contrast to the floor. Where in food terms less is more at Wahu, the opposite is the case with the design, great blocks of materials like the flooring, the not-concrete and not-timber wall panels, the huge tubular lighting system and the not-really-ivy draped high above all create a visual assault which is vibrant and exciting but for me a touch contrived. The space is long, high and slender, which is always hard to work with and for a quick in & out experience it feels clean and fresh, exactly as the food does. The outside space is perfect for a speedy snack whilst watching the Spinningfields crowds dash by.

I enjoyed my chicken teriyaki salad (v tender tasty chicken) and though it was overall a little dry, I felt extremely virtuous on (almost) finishing it, which I guess is the whole point. Manchester’s needed a healthy option daytime eating venue for a while and I hope it does well. Our gang agreed that we’d have liked to see more superfood optional extras, something more exciting than grated carrot & cucumber, but overall not bad at all. Thumbs up but go easy with the block buying on the interiors front for the next venue 😉