Aviva Social

Aviva Studios is hitting its stride. Now in its third year, this shapeshifting venue is firmly established as the UK’s go-to space for shows and exhibitions that go beyond the norm. It’s a venue that changes and adapts according to the artist, whether that’s My Bloody Valentine, Marina Abramović or David Hockney.

Accordingly, the food and drink side needs to be a cut above. And the dining options matched with current exhibition, Button Up! by Chinese dissident and acclaimed conceptual artist Ai Weiwei, are precisely that.

The menu has been designed with chefs from Hong Kong and honours the themes of the show without being too on the nose about it. A delicate balance, considering some of the topics raised, but deftly handled.

It means a menu of East Asian-inspired dishes, mainly focusing on shareable small plates, such as steamed dim sum, salads and crispier, hotter options, with a near 50-50 vegan/meat split.

The immediate highlight, and a must for all dining persuasions, is the congee. This savoury rice has real depth, dotted with mushrooms and chilli oil, with a scatter of chopped chives. Maximum umami.

It comes with a golden brown fried dough stick, which does lead to a moment of confusion – dip or rip? Answer: do both. Rip some off and scoop up the congee for a mouthful that sweeps between crunchy and silky.

There are two variations on crispy chilli dishes, chicken and tofu. And in another win for the plant-based massive, the tofu is the standout. High-quality and cheerfully bouncy bean curd blocks, coated in a garlic chili glaze, with spring onion and texture-boosting sesame seeds. It lies light on the stomach, aided by a long-lasting thwack of flavour.

It all happens on the ground floor social space, in an area styled into a traditional tearoom – a nod to China’s storied tea culture and Ai Weiwei’s previous exhibitions, such as the brewtastic Teahouse, 2009.

After nibbling on one of the (highly recommended) madeleines, older visitors may get a Proustian recall of another noughties tea-led institution in Manchester: The Cornerhouse on Oxford Road. A cinema, cafe, bar and visual arts centre, this was a mecca for all right-thinking culture vultures, writers and musicians, before being wrapped up and shunted down the road into the good-but-not-the-same HOME on Tony Wilson Place in 2015.

Aviva’s Social space has a lot in common with the Cornerhouse of old. A relaxed, ideas-led space  where creatives from across all disciplines can meet for keenly considered food and drink, hot or cold, without feeling rushed or harried.

The idea to loosely tie in food concepts with show concepts is a rich seam to mine, and one rarely attempted elsewhere in the city, not to this standard. However, one does wonder how it might apply to other acts, such as psychedelic thrash band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard who performed here recently. Might skip those entrées.