New Joy Division inspired bar Disorder comes to Manchester

New bar Disorder, inspired by the iconic Manchester band Joy Division, is set to open in the Northern Quarter tomorrow.

Taking over the old Walrus/Man With A Fish site on High Street, Disorder pays homage to Manchester’s music heritage and in particular one of its greats, Ian Curtis.

Curtis was the frontman of the Salfordian formed post-punk rock band Joy Division. He suffered from epilepsy and depression, and would sometimes have seizures while performing on stage. 

The band were known for their biggest chart hit, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, which still gets dance floors pumping to this day. Curtis tragically died by suicide in May 1980 after struggling with a failing marriage and with his mental health, but he has left his musical mark and his legacy lives on.

Manchester’s Finest Group

Disorder — named after a song from the band’s Unknown Pleasures album — is an Asian street food bar with a Northern industrial look, and a pub kind of feel to it. Simple and sophisticated, it has a glossy green subway tiled bar, oxblood Chesterfield sofas and wooden tables with benches.

There’s a reverence for the seminal band but the references are more understated than you might expect. Owners James Stewart and Sam Koropisz are a couple of Stockport lads who grew up listening to Joy Division via their parents’ record collections, and James’ mum used to work for Tony Wilson in the 70s. 

The menu will have a touch of British influence alongside the largely Japanese and Korean inspired dishes as exec chef Bryan Barber is classically trained in French cuisine, but says he was hugely influenced by his time spent in Japan’s ‘piss alley’ or ‘drunkards alley’, where there are around 40 Izakaya bars on one street.

These bars are laid-back drinking dens with incredible snackable food. 

Manchester’s Finest Group

Disorder’s food will include Japanese-inspired shokupan sandos, gyozas and meat and veg skewers  — think Japanese sandos on the country’s famous milk loaf shokupan stuffed with black pudding.

The team are currently putting the finishing touches to the two-floor venue which opens tomorrow, Friday February 17th. Eventually, the downstairs area will be a music venue but that part of the bar is not quite ready to welcome the public yet.

You can follow Disorder on their Instagram page to find out more.