Holy Crab - Arndale Market - Manchester, UK

When the two fantastic woman, (Lou Henderson and Hannah Heddleston) who run Holy Crab asked us to design and build their first brick and mortar gaff I had to say yes! Located in the Arndale Market, amongst a maze of cell phone accessory stores, a fishmonger and many other food traders we wanted Holy Crab to stand out.

What we created is Manchester's smallest restaurant; a table for two. Located next to the food court with plenty of long tables and benches we wanted to create an intimate space for two lucky diners to enjoy their oysters and crab balls. The whole set-up has to fold away at closing time so everything is hinged making shutting down for the night a cinch.

Constructed primarily of solid European Beech, all the surfaces have been finished using hand tools only, no sandpaper. This gives the wood a slightly textured finish, leaving a few small tool marks here and there, which tell the story of how it was made.