001. Waldorf, Gore Street

Waldorf, Gore Street, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.

The Waldorf is a back street public house just off Piccadilly next to the Malmaison, close to the train station and popular with football fans of both City and United and some away fans arriving by train. Shows live football and sporting events when on and usually has a reasonable selection of real ales including the superb Marble Manchester Bitter (as recommended by the pub's locals) - this can change to their Pint, Ginger or Lagonda, depending on what the brewery brings round. Other standard well-kept ales are Deuchars IPA and Timothy Taylor's Landlord. The usual keg suspects (Boddies, John Smiths), lagers and Guinness are also in evidence.

Waldorf, Gore Street, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.

Generally a friendly place and good for a slightly quieter drink compared to some of the surrounding pubs. Food is reasonably priced and served in good portions. The present landlord has been here for many years and indeed The Waldorf is a proper family business with both his brother and his son also regularly found behind the bar. Generally, a good all round city centre pub, and a much better bet for a decent pint than the Brunswick opposite and the plush Abode (seen below to the right) and Malmaison hotel bars.

Waldorf, Gore Street, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.

The Waldorf has an upstairs bar for functions and gigs and the whole place had a refurb in 2009, meaning it's reasonably smart whilst maintaining a bit of back-in-the-day character - boards and stone floor - like it probably had in the '70s. It has a central bar offering service on three sides and a side door entrance onto Roby Street which is handy for smokers. Although the pub stands alone next to a vacant plot now, next to it was the Blue Note Club which is in the middle here in 1963, a bank on the right with the Waldorf dwarfed to the left.

Site of the Blue Note Club, Gore Street. (c) soulbot.

The Waldorf was originally called the Woseley Hotel under Louis Walhauser, so named in 1883 to commemorate the visit of General Lord Woseley to Manchester to fund the building of the Woseley Masonic Lodge.  By 1891 Francis Turner was registered as beerhouse keeper at the Woseley, and by 1901 Sarah Ann Clulow was recorded there.  Her daughter, Kate, who had previously worked as barmaid at the Queens Hotel on Portland Street, then took over.  The Woseley changed hands a few times after than until John Clough took over in 1929 and renamed it the Walforf Hotel, which may have been in honour of the Waldorf Chop House which had stood on Thomas Street prior to this.