Refuge Manchester 10 years: events, menu and party info 2026

Key Points

• To celebrate their tenth anniversary, the Oxford Road restaurant and bar, Refuge at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, have planned an entire month of food, music, art and activities from September 2026.
• As part of the celebrations, Refuge will introduce a unique ‘Refuge 10’ menu which will include lamb shawarma and beetroot borani, along with a four-drink Back to 2016 cocktail menu featuring drinks from the very first year the bar opened.
• The venue will launch a revival of their People’s Lunch as well as extend their current I Am The Fly exhibition by Matthew Rich, showcasing the music scene in Manchester during the early 1980s, with new works and a zine.
• Come As You Were weekend events will take place throughout the month of September and will climax in the outdoor-indoor party, with Prosumer playing inside and Ghosts of Garage taking over the courtyard space on Saturday 26 September.
• The tickets for the final night will cost £2 each and all the money raised will be going to the Eat Well MCR campaign to provide food assistance for people who are food insecure in Greater Manchester.

Manchester (Manchester Mirror) September 09, 2026 – Refuge is celebrating its 10th anniversary this September with a month-long programme of food, music, art and events looking back at the Manchester venue’s first decade. The Oxford Road restaurant and bar opened at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in 2016, with its Refuge10 celebrations bringing back dishes, drinks and events from its history throughout the month.

What is happening during Refuge’s 10th anniversary month?

As reported by Manchester’s Finest, the venue is staging a series of activities under the Refuge10 banner designed to revisit key moments from its first 10 years. A special Refuge 10 menu will feature returning dishes including lamb shawarma and beetroot borani, while the bar will revisit its opening year with a four-drink Back to 2016 cocktail menu.

The venue is also bringing back its People’s Lunch for a limited time, alongside an expanded edition of I Am The Fly, the free exhibition by Manchester artist and screen-printer Matthew Rich exploring the city’s early 1980s music and club scene. New Refuge10 work will be added to the exhibition, while a commemorative zine will bring together artwork, a timeline of the venue’s history and stories from its connections to Manchester’s music and creative communities.

Weekend events will take place throughout September under the Come As You Were banner, before the celebrations culminate on Saturday 26 September with a venue-wide indoor and outdoor anniversary party. Inside the main Refuge bar, Prosumer will headline the evening alongside DJs Jim Bane, Laura Jackson and Simba Selecta. Outside in the courtyard, Rich Reason will curate a Ghosts of Garage takeover featuring Crazy Cousinz and Wilfey D, while the Winter Garden will host performances from Refuge’s resident queens and performers.

Tickets will cost £2, with all proceeds donated to Eat Well MCR to help provide meals for people experiencing food insecurity across Greater Manchester. Event listings on Skiddle describe the 26 September party as “Come As You Were: 10 Years of Refuge”, running from 2pm until 1am and billed as “a celebration of 10 years of Refuge – the music, the people, the parties and the moments that made us”.

Who is performing at the Refuge 10th anniversary finale?

According to Manchester’s Finest, the indoor programme at the main bar will be headlined by Prosumer, with support from DJs Jim Bane, Laura Jackson and Simba Selecta. In the courtyard, Rich Reason will curate a Ghosts of Garage takeover featuring Crazy Cousinz and Wilfey D. The Winter Garden will host performances from Refuge’s resident queens and performers, continuing the venue’s long-standing support for local LGBTQ+ talent.

Event data from Surreal and other listings also show regular DJ sets at The Refuge through September, including Thursdays @ The Refuge on 10 September and Saturdays @ The Refuge on 12 September, indicating a busy September calendar around the anniversary.

What food and drink is being served for Refuge10?

Manchester’s Finest reports that the anniversary menu is built around dishes and drinks that have defined the venue since 2016. The special Refuge 10 menu will feature returning dishes including lamb shawarma and beetroot borani, reflecting the restaurant’s Middle Eastern-influenced core.

At the bar, a four-drink Back to 2016 cocktail menu will revisit drinks from the venue’s opening year, offering a curated snapshot of its early cocktail programme. The limited-time return of People’s Lunch adds a community-focused element to the food offer, echoing the venue’s previous initiatives around accessible dining.

How is art and local culture featured in the anniversary?

As reported by Manchester’s Finest, the anniversary places significant emphasis on local art and cultural history through the expanded I Am The Fly exhibition by Matthew Rich. The free exhibition explores Manchester’s early 1980s music and club scene and will be enlarged for Refuge10 with new work.

A commemorative zine will bring together artwork, a timeline of the venue’s history and stories from its connections to Manchester’s music and creative communities. This approach ties the anniversary to wider narratives about Manchester’s cultural identity, linking the venue’s story to the city’s post-punk and club heritage.

When and where is the main anniversary party?

The main anniversary event is scheduled for Saturday 26 September 2026 at The Refuge, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, on Oxford Road in Manchester. Listings describe it as “Come As You Were: 10 Years of Refuge”, running from 2pm until 1am and taking over the venue’s indoor bar, courtyard and Winter Garden.

Tickets are priced at £2, with all proceeds donated to Eat Well MCR to support meals for people facing food insecurity across Greater Manchester. The low-cost entry and charitable element position the finale as both a public celebration and a community-focused fundraiser.

Background of the development

Refuge opened in 2016 as part of the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel on Oxford Road, quickly establishing itself as a restaurant, bar and events space with a strong focus on food, cocktails and local culture. Over the decade, it has hosted regular club nights, LGBTQ+ parties such as Come As You Are, and cultural projects including art exhibitions and community lunches.

The Come As You Are party, in particular, has become a fixture of Manchester Pride week, with the event marking its own 10th anniversary outing in August 2026 before the broader September venue anniversary. The Refuge10 programme builds on this history by combining retrospective food and drink with expanded cultural programming and a large-scale finale that uses the entire venue.

Prediction: how this development can affect Manchester’s hospitality and cultural audience

The Refuge10 anniversary is likely to reinforce the venue’s position as a cultural hub for Manchester’s hospitality, music and LGBTQ+ audiences. By combining a low-cost, charity-linked finale with a month of programming that revisits popular dishes, drinks and exhibitions, the venue is positioned to attract both long-time patrons and new visitors interested in its history.

For local audiences, the emphasis on community initiatives such as People’s Lunch and the Eat Well MCR fundraiser may strengthen perceptions of the venue as socially engaged, potentially increasing loyalty among residents who value cultural spaces with a civic dimension. For the wider hospitality sector, the model of a month-long, multi-element anniversary – blending food, drink, art and music – could serve as a reference point for other venues planning milestone celebrations in a competitive market.