110. Trof, Thomas Street

This was a new one for us and for the sake of our wallets this is probably for the best - Trof could well be the most expensive bar in town. A pint of Blue Moon (OK, so it's an American wheat beer) was £5.50 and Moorhouse's Pendle Witches Brew was £4.50 a bottle. Such was the shock when the barman quoted £9 for two I had to retire to the bathroom to compose myself. Unfortunately this wasn't that straightforward as the gents are two floors and several corridors away from the main bar. We snapped the offending beer for posterity, with a lovely backdrop of half-finished uncollected drinks, scattered newspapers and a bottle of tomato sauce.

Moorhouses Pendle Witches Brew, only £4.50 at Trof. (c) Pubs of Manchester.

Saturday, mid-afternoon and Trof was heaving, including the first floor bar, so the ridiculous prices don't seem to deter the poncey NQ crowd. Trof has a couple of sister bars in town, one in Fallowfield and the Deaf Institute (sky-high prices also confirmed) on Grosvenor Street just outside our boundary.

Website: http://www.trof.co.uk/nq/index.php.

109. TV21, Thomas Street

TV21 is an odd TV and film themed bar opposite Bluu which lacks the pretentiousness of some Northern Quarter establishments. Although no draught ale was on offer, one bottled option was spotted in the form of Newcastle Brown. I'd forgotten how quaffable this stuff is on a summer's day, from the bottle rather than decanted into a half pint pot which is the traditional way (although beer boffins frown on supping from the bottle). The central bar, spaceships, aliens and artwork gives this place some character and the basement bar fills up at the weekend. TV21 was in the news last year when BBC bosses allegedly plied customers with free drinks for a documentary on so-called binge drinking [1].

TV21, Thomas Street. (c) citylife.

Website: http://www.tv21manchester.com/.

1. www.thesun.co.uk.

Random pub pic

By Humphrey Spender.

(c) Humphrey Spender at eventbrite.

108. Bluu, Thomas Street

Bluu, Thomas Street. (c) Manchesterhistory.

Bluu is probably the centre of the Northern Quarter in terms of location - on the corner of Thomas Street and High Street - and popularity, being rammed at all times, despite its blandness. It's a little chain with Bluus in the third city and two in the capital, and with its large main bar, terrace out front, brasserie to the rear and an atmospheric basement it caters for most tastes apart from the ale fan. Only bottled ale was available so chilled Cumberland it was.

Bluu, Thomas Street (c) manchesterbars.

The building which houses Bluu is an important part of Manchester's heritage, previously being a bank at the old Smithfield Wholesale Fish Market which is to the rear, although only the shell remains, apartments within. The market was built in 1872 and lasted a hundred years until all the Smithfield markets were closed and moved over to Openshaw.

Smithfield Wholesale Fish Market, High Street. (c) Manchesterhistory.

Website: www.bluu.co.uk. Images used with kind permission from the Smithfield Market section of the Manchester History website.

107. Cord, Dorsey Street

Cord was one of the Northern Quarter's better bars a decade when it opened, tucked away off Tib Street, but now feels a bit dull alongside the dozens of other places that have appeared. A recent renovation, which involved flipping the bar and old booths from one side to the other, have only succeeded in making the place feel plusher as the characteristic cord-covered furniture has been replaced with plastic and imitation leather.

Cord, new interior. (c) cord.

Cord, old interior (c) manchesterad.

Cord still gets gets packed at the weekend with DJs playing but with no ale on, except a couple of bottled offerings, including the wonderful Worthington's White Shield, there's not that much to offer the beer lover. However, it caters well for the cocktails and lager crowd and at least it's open all day unlike some of its neighbours. The basement is also worth a look with fantastic old yellow and brown tiling.

Cord, basement. (c) cord.

Website: http://cordbar.com.

North Pole Bar, Hardman Boulevard, Spinningfields

North Pole Bar, Spinningfield, 2008. (c) manchester-clubbing.

Not quite Manchester's shortest-lived bar (that honour goes to Urban Oasis which was open for just a week) but North Pole Bar was open only 8 weeks during the winters of 2008 and 2009. It was erected by events company, Ear to the Ground, next to the Spinningfields ice rink in 2009 having been at Urbis in 2008. Inside the tent structure was a bar serving cocktails, mulled vine (sweetened with Manchester's very own Vim[p]to) and pizzas, not sure about beer but the photo below suggests some pumps.

North Pole Bar, Spinningfield, 2008. (c) manchester-clubbing.

The oddest part was this sign pointing the way to Krakow - 976 miles. North Pole Bar may well become a regular feature every winter like the German Markets, and would be a welcome addition to the city centre... providing they serve up some Manchester ale as well.

North Pole Bar, Spinningfield, 2008. (c) manchester-clubbing.

Photos from the Manchester Clubbing blog and more at Manchester Confidential.

Via Vita Café Bar & Restaurant, Albert Square

Via Vita was a chain built up by the same team that brought transient establishments like J W Johnson's Bar & Restaurant, the Living Room (same venue as JWJ's), Life Café and Prohibition to Manchester [1]. It was situated in the unit now occupied by Shirley's sandwich shop in the same block as Slug & Lettuce on Albert Square, across the way from Gerard's Brasserie (dull foodie place that didn't even have their Stella tap working when we went in, hence its non-inclusion). These ugly ground floor locations enjoy the finest view in Manchester (that of the Town Hall) but despite this, by all accounts Via Vita was similar to the bars here today: a bit crap.

Shirley's, former location of Via Vita, Albert Square. (c) yelp.co.uk.

1. www.livingventures.com.

Aqua / Cheerleaders / Ned Kelly's, Albion Street

Aqua, Albion Street. (c) flexioffices.

Formerly bars called Cheerleaders and Ned Kelly's, Aqua is an extension to Deansgate Locks with a clientèle to match - cheesy house, chart and indie music pounding out to the townie chav crowd. It looks like a reasonable little place as you come into town on the tram, tucked next to Saloni's salon, around the corner from the Britons Protection and off the main drag of the Locks, but myriad reviews tell another story of grotty, overpriced blandness. Was only open on the weekends and in the evening, and now looks well and truly closed down.  Shame, as its good sized lower ground floor / basement with patio to the rear over the canal could make a decent venue to improve on the dreadful Locks.

Random pub pic

(c) lovecreative.

Cotton House, Ducie Street

Cotton House, Ducie Street. (c) thecottonhouse.

This big bar-restaurant-club was tucked away adjacent to Piccadilly Station beneath the Place Apartment Hotel in an old converted cotton warehouse. With high ceilings, retained columns and exposed brick it was a stylish enough place that attracted various B-list celebs such as Girls Aloud, Ray Winstone and Djibril Cisse to its booths and curtained-off drinking and dining areas. It got some rave reviews after it opened in around 2004, despite being a lager and bottles only bar, but closed in 2007 due to rent arrears [1]. Surely its less-than-fashionable location for the type of crowd it tried to attract (not exactly the Jolly Angler set) played a part in its failure too.

Old website: www.thecottonhouse.net.

1. http://menmedia.co.uk.

Bedlam / Jar Bar / Breeze, Peter Street

Bedlam, Peter Street. (c) myvillage.

This place has been called all sorts over the years with no-one making a success of it amidst the dregs of Peter Street. Amongst others it's been Jar Bar, Breeze and most recently Bedlam. As Bedlam it was a dull bar-by-day and a late night wine bar-cum-club in the evening. It's now a full on nightclub, Electric Boogaloo.

Jar Bar / Breeze, Peter Street. (c) carling / yahoo.

Electric Boogaloo, Peter Street. (c) Adam B. at flickr.

Senger / Green's, Chester Street

Senger, Chester Street, closed. (c) googlemaps.

This place opened only three years ago as Green's, but it was soon forced to rename itself Senger (anag.) due to a bar in Didsbury having the same name. Despite its open and modern (and soulless) interior, Senger served real ale as well as loads of foreign lagers on tap and in bottle - not surprising when you learn it was opened by the same folk who are behind the great little bar Fringe in New Cross.

Senger, Chester Street, 2007. (c) MEN.

Unfortunately, it closed in 2009, perhaps not being able to attract the custom of students and being just a bit too far off the beaten track to attract revellers and pub crawlers in the allegedly-so-called "Southern Quarter" (please). It's now a cheap and cheerful food outlet, Rice Flame Bar & Grill, which also has an outlet at Piccadilly Gardens.

Green's, Chester Street, 2007. (c) manchesterconfidential.

Bath Inn, Stanley Street

Former Bath Inn, Stanley Street, 1820s. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

Two hundred years ago, few yards along from where the Mark Addy is today, stood the Bath Inn, "well calculated to be one of the first inns in the county [1]." This was a four-storey pub overlooking the river which had "a number of suitable rooms and apartments", a tap room, coffee room and stables. It was described as being "near the new stone bridge" - referring to the New Bailey Bridge which opened in 1785 - "on the Great Road leading from Manchester to Liverpool and Lancaster [1]." The pub was named after an ancient spring which was turned into a cold spa but despite this, James Maguire who opened the Bath Inn after moving from the Woolpack on Deansgate, the pub suffered from poor location (next to New Bailey Prison and riverside industry), and closed a year after it opened, in 1793 . The pub did find further use as a lying-in hospital and deaf-and-dumb school before being partly swallowed up by an iron foundry by the 1840s [1].

1. Salford Pubs - Part One: The Old Town including Chapel Street, Greengate and the Adelphi, Neil Richardson (2003).

106. Label, Deansgate

Label, Deansgate. (c) beerintheevening.

Sandwiched between the exclusive Living Room, restaurant La Tasca and the hovels that are Riley's and the Moon Under Water, this is a reasonable, trendy bar which surprisingly had a real ale on. It was only Bombardier but it slipped down well and only £2.50 a pint. Living Room is a class above Label but I'd imagine this place is less pretentious and easier to get into on the weekend. Formerly Bar Med.

Bar Med, Deansgate. (c) beerintheevening.

105. Chaophraya, Chapel Walks

Chaophraya, Chapel Walks. (c) restautantsofmanchester.

Chaophraya Thai Bar & Restaurant has a nice little separate bar that is usually populated by business types or after-work drinkers who want a quieter alternative to the likes of Sam's Chop House (which is actually below Chaophraya) or Grinch (another one we'll have to do as it turns out). The usual bottled beers are on offer, but it was time to favour the grape over the grain with some classic reds on offer. This is a plush place so one to take the missus or family to rather than call in with the lads.

Website: www.chaophraya.co.uk/manchester.

104. All Bar One - King Street

All Bar One, King Street. (c) sparkstoflames.

A national chain bar at the swish, top end of King Street that attracts the suits, but it's not as bad as it sounds. On first glance it's a wine, cocktails and lager joint, but fair play to them, they had a handpump on selling the rather dull Doom Bar ale. I plumped for a bottle of Worthington's White Shield - great to see another unexpected bar stocking it - which was served ice cold, unfortunately, though the Brooklyn Lager was tempting. The wine list looked reasonable (plonk is rated good, great or best) though it took the barmaid an age to find the white we'd ordered ("I'm new, sorry"). All Bar One is pretty soulless but is better than chains like Slug & Lettuce and Hogshead, and this one is pleasant enough if you can get a table outside on the King Street thoroughfare.

Website: www.allbarone.co.uk/allbaronemanchester.

All Bar One, King Street. (c) Adam B. at flickr.

House 9, Century Street

House 9, Century Street, 2009. (c) yelp.

House 9 only opened in 2009 in the multi-floored old lock keepers house adjacent to Deansgate Locks, but lasted just less than a calendar year [1]. It claimed to be a class above Deansgate Locks, which isn't difficult, and by all accounts attracted a trendy, exclusive crowd with suitably eye-watering prices at its several bars. Entry to the bar-club was free at times, other times it was a few quid, and despite minimal promotion it seemed to to attract decent numbers. But, it wasn't for us then, and it isn't for Manchester now. It obvious why it failed - look at how close it is to Death Row.

House 9 terrace, Century Street, 2009. (c) manchesterconfidential.

1. www.manchesterad.com/Area51andHouse9BothCloseDown.

Bridge Inn / Albert Hotel, New Bailey Street

"Looking towards the Bridge Inn on New Bailey Street from the riverside path (now the site of the Mark Addy pub) in the 1820s." (c) Neil Richardson [1].

The Bridge Inn was the first licensed house on New Bailey Street, on the Salford side of the bridge that links to Bridge Street, Manchester. Opening in 1807, it was sold to Benjamin Joule (father of J. P. Joule) in 1830 who also had a brewery on New Bailey Street. The drawing above shows its three stories, the upper two of which included a club room, nursery, tea room, malt room, plus five bedrooms. When plans were afoot to improve the bridge, widening on the Salford side necessitated a chunk of the Bridge Inn's front being lost. Joule decided to knock the pub down and build a new hotel on the site once Albert Bridge was built. His new hotel opened in 1854 as the Albert Hotel & Bridge Inn and by 1890 Groves & Whitnall had acquired it. At some point after 1913 Boddington's Brewery took it over until it was destroyed in the Blitz in WWII, with Thomas Swindlehurst its last licensee [1].

1. Salford Pubs. Part One: The Old Town, including Chapel Street, Greengate and the Adelphi, Neil Richardson (2003).

Corporation Hotel / Edinburgh Castle, Chapel Street

This hotel-cum-beerhouse was technically just outside our official boundary just over the Irwell in Salford, but since it was next door to where the Cathedral Arches premises is, we'll include it (in fact, anything on the river - like the Mark Addy and Pen & Wig - we'd best count). When the Palatine Bridge, which carries Chapel Street into Manchester, was opened in 1864, a James Warren Ingham built the Corporation Hotel on that little triangle of land between road and river. The Corporation was advertised as 100 yards from Victoria (and was almost part of Exchange Station, obviously), selling choice wines and "free and easy" every evening [1].

Former location of Edinburgh Castle. (c) googlemaps.

Unfortunately Ingham was never granted a full licence for the Corporation Hotel and it closed in 1866. Two years later the building was being run as a distribution depot and a beerhouse, the Edinburgh Ale Vaults, by McEwan's brewery of Edinburgh. When William Pollett took over from Jon Ross, he renamed it the Edinburgh Castle. In 1893, Joseph Holt's Brewery bought the beerhouse, but having fended off an attempt to shut it in 1907 under Henry Fenna, it was deemed structurally unsuitable by magistrates and it finally closed in 1918 with Elizabeth Robinson the licensee. This was despite the Edinburgh Castle's miniature spa garden overlooking the river, which was where the paved area outside Bijou, the old Cathedral Arches, is now [1].

1. Salford Pubs. Part One: The Old Town, including Chapel Street, Greengate and the Adelphi, Neil Richardson (2003).

Tavern a laugh

Interesting article here in Chimp Magazine on the demise (or not) of Manchester's pubs, at the Manchester Food & Drink Festival. Pleasingly it finishes with one pub that has defied all odds and is flourishing despite these uncertain times, The Angel. Some stand-out points:

* John Quilter, former proprietor of Marmalade bistro in Beech Road, Chorlton, puts its malaise partly down to the decision to take pub ownership away from the breweries and into the hands of Pub-Cos; in his case, Punch Taverns ("the sub-prime daddy of the licensed trade").

* Significantly, Punch Taverns are on their arse, and shares were down from £13 to 31p when CEO Giles Thornley fell on his sword in March 2010.

* Some pubs deserve to close because the world has changed and they haven't (hello, Lord Nelson. Is that Athenaeum I hear calling?).

* Oliver Robinson, of Stockport's fine Robinson's Brewery, prides himself on the number of pubs they've kept open.

* The smoking ban has had zero effect on their bottom line.

All material (c) Chimp Publications Ltd.

Guest Pub - Wellington, Birmingham

Wellington, Bennetts Hill, Birmingham. (c) pumpclipmusuem.

The Wellington is now the only pub we head for before (and after if time permits) Birmingham and Villa away matches. It's not the easiest to find if you don't know the awful pedestrianised centre of the third city, but make sure you do (B2 5SN). It's just up from a small and reasonable Wetherspoons, The Briar Rose, but unless you arrive in Birmingham at daft o'clock there's no need to risk Spoons ale as the Wellington opens at 10am. The grand terrace townhouse exterior is a pleasant enough, but the interior is nothing to write home about, apart from the bar...

Wellington bar. (c) maeib's Beerblog.

As you survey the bar, a glance to your right reveals the day's offerings on a giant electronic screen with ales rated according to colour: from A, the light ales, to E, the porters and stouts. Prices are city centre standard but they are well worth it as the ale is well sourced, well kept and turns over so quickly you rarely, if ever, come across a duff pint. A nice feature is that their website displays the days' offerings, so that technically-savvy beer boffins, hop heads, scoopers and piss pots can plan their visit with almost military precision.

Wellington electric screen. (c) www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk.

Regular ales include Purity Mad Goose, Wye Valley HPA, and Black Country ales like Pig on the Wall and BFG. There are another dozen ale handpumps for rotating guests and three ciders on handpull. The Wellington also keeps an incredible number of ales in stock as listed on their website. Thankfully it's not gone the way of some of Manchester's finer real ale pubs and focussed too much on food - in fact it doesn't do hot food at all but encourages you to bring your own in. The Wellington is a hugely popular place on weekend evenings (witness the odd moaner on Beer In the Evening), but if you have any nous you'll be heading here at 10am on a Saturday or Sunday to work your way through their fine ale in the relative quiet.

Wellington beer board. (c) www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk.

Website: www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk.

Guest Pub - Volunteer, Sale

Volunteer, Cross Street, Sale. (c) garstonian at flickr.

As the summer lull comes to an end we're introducing a guest pub feature for those outside the Pubs of Manchester boundary that we like to frequent. First up is Sale's finest-looking (and finest) boozer, the Volunteer, a great old Holt's house on Cross Street, the A56, a few minutes walk from Sale tram stop.  It's not always been a Holt's house - seen here as a Whitbread's house probably in the 1980s, and here in 1982 as an unknown brand of boozer (Chef's Brewer?).  The pub's name commemorates the enlistment of troops for the Napoleonic War which took place at nearby Sale Moor and an area near Hope Road in 1804. In charge of these troops was Captain John Moore who, unfortunately, later went on to be involved in the Peterloo Massacre where he commanded a troop of murderous yeomanry! [1].

The pub's impressive architecture suggests mid-Victorian period construction, and it's believed the Volunteer was built around about the same time as neighbouring pub, the Bulls Head, but after the Waggon & Horses [2].  This drawing from the Trafford archives is labelled 1898 but is surely from older times?  Here's a wonderful photo of the Volunteer from 1905 (Trafford Council tried to charge me £30 for the use of this photo - erm, as a Trafford Council Tax payer my response starts with fuck 'sod' and ends with 'off').  Inside are high ceilings and the layout of the old once-multi-roomed pub is evident. Nowadays it's been opened out with a pool table and darts area to the right (not to mention the numerous trophies on display), a long bar to the front and a large and part-raised seating area to the left. A function room upstairs and a small (formerly large until NIMBY neighbours had it curtailed) beer yard to the rear adds further capacity to this big old boozer.

Like all good pubs though, what makes it good is the beer and the people that drink it. Holt's Bitter, Dark Mild and a guest are on along with the usual Crystal, Diamond, cider, stout and Smooth Holt's offerings. The full range of Holt's bottled ales are also on offer. As for the regulars, a more loyal and hard-drinking bunch of characters you'll not find. It's the sort of pub that attracts the same crowd every night and has impromptu sing songs, but they remain welcoming to less regular drinkers and even have been known to put up with visiting student types on quiz night. The pub has formidable, all-conquering pool and darts teams and the friendly landlord even puts on Christmas dinner for those loyal regulars without a better offer on the 25th! As with all Holt's pubs, the Vol does more than its fair share for charity, and one year we'll definitely do the Vol-to-Blackpool bike ride, honest.

Volunteer, Cross Street, Sale. (c) Adam B. at flickr.

The Vol's immediate neighbours are the unavailable members-only Garvey's Irish Club and the sadly derelict Waggon & Horses. But, there are a couple of others worth a look just a few hundred yards away, up and down Cross Street. The Bridge is a decent and recently refurbished Lees house at Dane Road tram stop, and the CAMRA-highlighted Bulls Head on the corner of School Road is now rather food-focussed but keeps a few real ales and is doing well. A further stagger into the pedestrianised Sale centre and you've got the madhouse that is Ryan's Bar, a youngsters' bar called Amp, the poor and ale-free Bank and crap Slug & Lettuce chain. Don't despair though as there is an excellent little Robinson's house, the Railway, near the police station and the Kings Ransom opposite Sale tram station, which has plenty of real ales on but can be a bit of a meat market at weekends. Just over the way is another CAMRA-recommended place, the J.P. Joule, a reasonable Wetherspoons. To conclude, central Sale is a mixed bag and could do with a few more decent pubs and trendy bars to complement its decent restaurants, like neighbouring Chorlton, Didsbury and Altrincham. The Volunteer, though, is a cracking local's local.

EDIT:  Pleased to report the opening of the Steamhouse opposite the tram stop in the old nightclub venue.  Reports of a free house with an over-25s policy, serving a couple of real ales and a great selection of continental lagers will be confirmed shortly.

We're happy to host guest pubs for anyone else willing to write about their favourite boozer, just get in touch.

1. www.personal.u-net.com.

2. www.salecommunityweb.co.uk.

Pips / Thursdays / Nice & Easy, Fennel Street

Pips, Fennel Street. (c) Pips Facebook.

"9 Beautiful Bars, 11 Crowded Dance Floors. Pips (It's Behind The Cathedral)!"  So went the old advert for this famous old club that used to adorn the city centre and be played on local radio and television.

Pips, Fennel Street. (c) Pips Facebook.

Pips was a hangout for many faces in the Manchester music scene of the late 1970s - the likes of Ian Curtis, Barney Sumner, Peter Hook, Morrissey, Johnny Marr and Peter Saville. 

Pips today - Nicky Clarke's, Fennel Street. (c) Pips Facebook.

Nowadays a hairdressers marks the spot where Pips stood and the original entrance may well still be in existence, hidden below street level.

Pips old entrance, 2006. (c) Pips Facebook.

The cool kids would be downstairs in the Cave listening to Bowie, Roxy Music, Lou Reed and the like, and Thursdays was punk night.  The delightful sounding Fosters Tube Lager from Wilsons Brewery was available to lucky punters.

Thursdays, Fennel Street, 1983. (c) Pips Facebook.

Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music was once refused entry to Pips after a gig at Belle Vue as he was wearing jeans! Saturday nights would often see coach parties coming to Pips from all over the north west and locals often kicked off with visiting Scousers [1].

Pips, Fennel Street. (c) Pips Facebook.

Many bands played at Pips, usually in the Bowie/Roxy room and Joy Division played their first ever gig at here, though they were actually advertised as Warsaw [2].  Pips was also known as Nice & Easy at some point.

Nice & Easy at Pips, Fennel Street. (c) Memories of Pubs from Manchester & Salford Facebook [3].

Pips closed at the beginning of the 1980s, but later reopened as Konspiracy hardcore nightclub.  This lasted into the '90s before being closed by police - another casualty of the Manchester door wars with regular taxing of takings by Cheetham Hill and Salford gangs.

Nice & Easy at Pips, Fennel Street. (c) Manchester District Music Archive.

1. chameleontel at skyscrapercity.

2. www.joydiv.org/places.htm.
3. www.facebook.com/groups/260111990702604.