Gusto on Lloyd Street reinvents itself as GiGi, a grill room with a piano bar

One of Manchester's long-running Italian sites has had a full rethink. The former Gusto on Lloyd Street, in the 1878 former City Library off Deansgate, has reopened as GiGi Gusto Griglia Grill Room and cocktail bar, the Manchester Evening News reports.

What's changed

• Look: chandeliers, booths and a central Bar Eleganza with a baby grand piano and a DJ booth, inspired by Italy's golden age
• Food: a classic Italian grill menu from Manchester chef Sam Astley-Dean, with pizza, pasta and grill dishes such as a monkfish, prawn and steak platter
• Night: live music is a key part of the offer, pitched as a proper night out rather than just dinner

It was created by Jamie Barber, founder of Cherry Equity Partners, who says he wanted to build a restaurant he'd want to go to himself. One side effect: a large 2015 mural by Manchester artist Michael J Browne no longer fits the new interior, and its owner is offering to donate it to a public home, the MEN reports.

For your venue: this is a familiar move. You keep the site and the name people know, and you change the reason to stay: music, a bar and a later night. If your dining room empties after 9.30pm, ask whether the room could earn a second sitting from drinks. Watch how GiGi's late trade does over the first few months.