The city centre venue opens this week with a 300-strong Champagne list, a wall of 100 bottles and strict no-flutes policy
(L-R) Nikolai, Cameron, Wayne and Julian from Manchester’s new Champagne Boutique and Bar, Portfolio (Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Cameron Foster didn’t grow up a fan of Champagne. In fact it wasn’t until much later on that he discovered it’s appeal. “I’m from Wigan, I should be selling pies or rugby balls,” he smiles, showing us around his new venue.
Portfolio, is a first for Manchester. A Champagne boutique and bar bringing together more than 250 exceptional Champagnes, rare grower bottles and vintage prestige cuvees. Together with top chef Julian Pizer, formerly of Manchester restaurants Another Hand and Edinburgh Castle, and a team of wine specialists, they’ve taken over a former restaurant space on Bridge Street in Manchester icty centre with the aim of changing people’s perceptions around the drink.
“What we really want to show is that we’re approachable, accessible and trying to remove the snobbery from Champagne. For five years now I’ve had an business that imports small, artisan growers and that started from a passion really – Champagne was the first wine I tried that I actually liked.
Portfolio is located on Bridge Street in Manchester city centre (Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
“My now wife and I went to France and fell in love with Champagne as a place – the people, the culture the history. And now with this, we’ve really immersed ourselves in the region and brought that to Manchester.
“We also wanted to showcase the similarity between the two cities – the food, the sport, the football, the wine, even the weather – it rains more in Champagne than it does in Manchester.”
The space itself features a striking Champagne wall of 100 bottles, all available for browsing and takeaway, and a wall adorned with photos from the team’s many trips to Champagne, plus a pair of secateurs used by Cameron during the grape harvest, and chalk from the cellars of the Champagne houses.
The space itself features a striking Champagne wall of 100 bottles, all available for browsing and takeaway(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Home to one of the largest and most diverse Champagne collections in the UK, the venue sells bottles from over 70 producers, with a focus on the region’s best independent growers, exclusive imports and specially selected big houses. The menu features a number of of options with bottles starting from £50 and many others are priced under £100, while the most expensive is around the £600 mark.
Over at the bar, there’s a choice of 10 Champagnes available by the glass, with top class grower Champagne starting from £12.50. As well as well known names, guests will be able to enjoy rare and highly sought after cuvées, including Jacques Selosse, Ulysse Collin, Jérôme Prévost, Cédric Bouchard, Larmandier Bernier and Egly Ouriet.
There will also be vintage prestige cuvées from Cristal, Philipponnat, Pommery, Jacquesson, Pierre Peters and Bollinger, some dating back to the 1990s.
Wall are adorned with photos from the team’s many trips to Champagne, plus a pair of secateurs used by Cameron during the grape harvest(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
“We want it to be relaxed here, shoulders down, no dress code, just come in and hang out with us. People might see it as stuffy but actually it’s £12 for a glass of some of the best grower Champagne in the region and you can take home a bottle for £50. We did a big blind tasting with the team of 15 big houses, we didn’t want to be swayed by brand but taste – and then selected three of the big houses that people know, alongside prestige wines.
“I’ve had friends come in for the launch, just pals from football who’ve never tried Champagne in their life, and gone ‘bloody hell that’s brilliant and it’s cheaper than a cocktail’.”
Guiding customers will be Wayne Baxendale as Food and Beverage Director, bringing with him over 30 years of global wine experience from Michelin-starred restaurants to worldwide cruise ships and international hospitality operations, and Nikolai Kuklenko as General Manager, who previously held a role as Head Sommelier at Mana in Ancoats.
The space also features an open chef’s pass and sommelier station and bar, which will give guests a front row view of the action(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Champagne will be served in exclusive Lehmann glassware imported from Reims, with over 10 different glass styles and a strict no flutes policy. There’s also a new innovation that Cameron is particularly proud of.
“One of the worst things when you go out and you’ve got an ice bucket and it’s dripping all over the table, and your wine gets too cold or too hot, so these electronic ice coolers are imported directly from Denmark.”
The space also features an open chef’s pass and sommelier station and bar, which will give guests a front row view of the action, whilst a working Champagne cellar will act as a private dining room, created for rare tastings, winemaker dinners and private dining.
Inside Portfolio on Bridge Street in Manchester(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
With 25 years plus experience cooking around the world in top Michelin restaurants and most recently leading the kitchens in some of Manchester’s most famous restaurants, Julian Pizer is set to match the calibre of drink within the kitchen.
A bar food offering will launch in this month, offering the best Welsh charcuterie, British cheeses and accoutrements. Come February, the restaurant will serve up a relaxed tasting menu style offerings ranging from a few bites over a great bottle to a full dining experience in a stunning open dining room with a knockout Champagne list to accompany it.
“The offering that we’re doing now with the cheese and charcuterie is all based on my time at 3 Hands Deli,” notes Julian.
A bar food offering will launch in this month, offering the best Welsh charcuterie, British cheeses and accoutrements(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
“I teamed up with Danny from Holy Grain and Jonathan from Crafty Cheeseman and found the best charcuterie from a farm down in Wales, and our entire selection is based on our favourites from that range such as salami, bresaola, hams and coppa, and all the cheese is British, predominantly from around the North West. When the kitchen is set up we’ll make our own charcuterie too.
“I don’t want to emulate anything linked to what we built at Another Hand because that was a collaboration, and this is all based around being able to enjoy amazing Champagnes and wines. It’s all super relaxed, like the best bits of a tasting menu – it will range from having a bottle of wine and a couple of snacks, to an 18-course feast alongside a few bottles.
“Overall with the food and drink, we wanted to take away the stuffiness. You hear Champagne and you think it’s going to be all suits and white tablecloths, but it’s just a group of us that love Champagne and good food and being able to serve it in a friendly way.”
Portfolio will open on 9 December at 67 Bridge Street, Manchester, with the full restaurant experience launching in February 2026.