We finally called in here after hearing several glowing reports of the Soup Kitchen's real ale and bottled selection. Located in what appears to have been an old clothing warehouse and then gym, this canteen-style café bar is tucked away down Spear Street, just off Stevenson Square opposite Noho, and has recently added a couple of hand-pulls to its soup & sandwiches, chilli & curry type menu.
Only one real ale was on during our visit but Maxim's Delilah from Tyneside served in glass tankards was a decent pale ale, if a little cloudy, coming in at about £3 a pint. Real ale, continental draught lagers and a fine offering of bottled ales, such as Dunham Massey IPA, is the sort of selection that other, poorer and less successful city centre bars should take note of (the Soup Kitchen was established by the Bay Horse team but are now independent).
Soup Kitchen, Spear Street. (c) Pubs of Manchester.
The narrow strip of outdoor seating here gives drinkers a view of the still shabby-looking Stevenson Square, an area of the Northern Quarter which is crying out to be pedestrianised and turned into a proper European-style square full of bars and cafés. The Soup Kitchen was pretty quiet - it was a Sunday evening - but some of the clientèle fitted with earlier reports of "city centre Guardian types with oversized prams" (he observed while looking up from the Guardian as mother tends to son in oversized pram).
Soup Kitchen, Spear Street. (c) quda.
The decor is quirky with art hung on the walls and from the ceiling, and in a typical Northern Quarter style there is an in-house fanzine shop called Good Grief!. The 'SK' cellar bar is open on Fridays and Saturdays until 3am and the place closes at 7pm Sunday to Wednesday, so pick the right time to pay a visit to this fine little bar.
Website: soup-kitchen.co.uk.
Twitter: @SoupKitchen_Mcr.
