Sam's Chop House, Back Pool Fold, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.
Situated just off Cross Street, next to and below the Thai Chaophraya Bar & Restaurant, Sam's Chop House first opened in 1872, and is a welcoming pub with a renowned restaurant too. Because of the restaurant the bar is not that big, and thus can get very crowded, but has one main seating area with big screen TV. Whilst rightly not trying to appeal to sports watchers, it had attracted a large rugby crowd to watch England when I visited. And because of the restaurant many in there are simply waiting to be fed.
A fairly good range of drinks on offer, including a couple of guest beers, it is a good place to pop in for a drink. Quotes from Samuel Pepys adorn almost every wall, in a venue straight out of Dickens. Being down some steps from ground level, it has a darkened but cosy feel to the place. With a tiled interior, artwork/caricatures a-plenty on the walls and rod-iron wine racks, it is different from the norm. Just a shame you have to go through the restaurant to get to the toilets! Sam's Chop House is part of the Victorian Chop House Company (Fine Foods, Wine Beers & Company), with a sister pub in Leeds and a Tom's Chop House on Cross Street.
Sam's Chop House, Back Pool Fold, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.
