Slightly removed from the main area of bars situated around the Thomas Street area, this bar is well worth searching out. Looking a bit like a café from outside, don't let this fool you as they have a good selection of beers and two real ales on our last visit. We only tried the Propsect Ale of Standish, which was on good form and served at the spot on temperature. At £3 a pint it was in keeping with similar pubs in the area, even possibly a tad cheaper than most. They also have dimpled pint pots, which takes you back and is a nice touch. These are sadly missing from just about every pub in Manchester these days, probably on the spurious grounds of health and safety no doubt! The staff and landlord/manager were courteous and couldn't help us enough, even nipping down to swap the barrel over when we told him we'd prefer not to drink the Flowers strong ale! May charge for entry on the weekend but great for midweek sup and considerably better than some other supposedly more illustrious bars in the area.
Website: www.aplacecalledcommon.co.uk.
It's an interesting place where you wouldn't really expect to find real ale. Not a fan of dimple pots, though.
ReplyDeleteThe real ale was served way way too cold when I went in. Otherwise ok, but a bit pointless when Smithfield, Fringe, Kettle etc are fairly nearby.
ReplyDeleteTemperatures were OK last time we were in Paul, albeit with a new barrel on. Will be in again on Saturday and shall report back.
ReplyDeleteWas in on Sunday 12th September, they had a dark-ish mild on (4%, full-bodied, sorry can't remember what it was) which was a decent pint served at about the right temperature; one of the lads asked me for my opinion on it which in fairness they normally do. Can't complain really, pricey but a decent compromise between a proper pub and somewhere you can take the better half for a bite to eat.
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