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Manchester

Northern Quarter Manchester 10 of the best pubs

July 5, 2020

Northern Quarter 10 best pubs

The Northern Quarter in Manchester has been compared to Shoreditch in London. It is an area on the Northern area of the City Centre and is ever expanding. The Northern Quarter is a trendy neighborhood, with vibrant street art, bohemian bars and independent record shops. It’s home to buzzy restaurants and some of the city’s liveliest music venues, which host up-and-coming indie bands and established acts. Cultural attractions include the artists’ studios at Manchester Craft and Design Centre, and rotating exhibits at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art.  Mr Fitz and myself love an afternoon in Manchester, as we are mature and have free time during the week we tend to visit in the afternoon or early evening. We love Pubs with atmosphere and a great vibe and especially those with quirkiness and history.

Here are my top 10 pubs in Manchester’s Northern Quarter:

 

  • The Marble Arch – this bar is on the very edge of the area on Rochdale Road, one of the main roads leading into the north side of the City. The pub is over 130 years old. The impressive frontage is not in fact Marble but Shap granite. Inside there is an array of mosaic tiles. It is a real ale stronghold and was voted City Life Pub of the year in 2018. It once brewed its own Marble beer on the premises but this has now been moved off site. It is not a cheap option and beware of it’s famous sloping floor. As you enter and walk in the direction of the bar or toilets it makes you swerve a little and feel as if your previous drink was stronger than you thought

The Marble Arch Manchester

  • The Micro Bar  This is a true hidden gem, inside the food hall of the Arndale shopping centre. It is tiny with a small seating area, other seats are shared with customers from the various food stalls. I know I’m not selling this am I? But the owner and bar man is a great bloke – there are around 6-7 beers on draught, with a rotating guest beer. There is also a great selection of craft beers from around the world. Another great selling point is that there are usually quirky characters sat around the bar for conversation, it’s easy to get involved and subjects discussed are wide ranging. A proper thinkers bar.
Micro Bar Manchester Northern Quarter

Micro Bar – own photo

Micro Bar Manchester Northern Quarter

own photo

  • Abel Heywood This is a pub and boutique Hotel. It is named after a Victorian Mayor and reformist of the city. It has a vintage look – 19th-century boozer (faux, nicotine-stained Anaglypta ceiling, Victoriana, leather booths, expanses of dark wood), although it was only recently created from an old shop in December 2014.

Abel Heywood Manchester Northern Quarter

  • Pen and Pencil – The official description of this venue is
An added touch of New York glamour has arrived in Manchester with the The Pen & Pencil bar and eatery on the corner of Hilton and Tariff Street.
Taking its name and inspiration from the infamous mid-20th Century bar on East 45th Street in New York, which was popular with newspaper journalists and ad men – the original ‘Mad Men’, The Pen & Pencil offers the perfect place for the NQ’s creative locals to chill, think, meet and enjoy great food and drink.

It has a rustic loft feel about it but it’s best feature is the music – we have been in early on a Friday evening – around 5pm and there is  a DJ who plays retro disco music of the 80’s . I’m sure this set could change at times, but it has a great vibe that really sets you up for the night and even the whole weekend.

Pen and Pencil Manchester

10 best bars Manchester Northern Quarter

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  • Seven Brothers As its name suggests this is a bar from the Brewing Company seven brothers run and owned by yes you guessed it 7 brothers! The Seven Bro7hers Brewery is a brewery born in Manchester through seven brothers’ love of craft beer, and their Dad’s commitment to home brewing. Since launching in 2014, the brewery have experienced fantastic growth with their product now stocked nationally, as well as being a firm favourite in their home city of Manchester. They have several locations but the one in Bloom Street Ancoats is in the Northern Quarter area. It is a no frills venue and interior but serves great beer, staff are friendly and knowledgeable and the music is great.
Seven Brothers Ancoats Manchester

Interior Seven Brothers

Seven Brothers Beer

Seven Brothers Beer own photo

  • Crown and Kettle is a grade II listed historic building and is one of the great comeback stories. In 1989 the Grade II listed hostelry on the corner of Oldham Road and Great Ancoats Street was abandoned after an arson attack, its stunning interior seemingly doomed never to be seen by the public again. It remained boarded up for 16 years until it was restored and reopened in 2005. The Crown & Kettle dates back to the 19th Century although there are records of other pubs on the site as far back as 1734. The interior is surprisingly ornate, especially the ceiling and it is speculated that the building was intended to be a law court. The former Daily Express printing building was 2 doors away. This intricate and beautiful listed building has kept all its original features and has opened as a traditional real ale pub serving great drink and good food. A real gem.
Ceiling Crown and Kettle

Ceiling Crown and Kettle own photo

  • The Castle – Located on Oldham Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, The Castle Hotel is a prestigious, lively and popular bar with a long history dating all the way back to 1776. This pub is a bit like Jekyll and Hyde.  During the day time it is a quiet pub with an older clientele. When you walk in it looks a very tiny bar, however it’s a bit like a tardis as it extends backwards into several more rooms. It’s really dark and atmospheric. At night though it comes alive as a top Manchester music venue. This rare combination of heritage, location and ethos sees The Castle boast a packed calendar of live music, spoken word, comedy, theatre, film screenings, exhibitions and much more on almost every night of the week.
Castle Hotel Manchester

10 best pubs Manchester Northern Quarter

Interior The Castle Manchester

Interior The Castle Manchester – own photo

  • Edinburgh Castle This is only a few strides away from Seven Brothers. The 200-year-old public house on the corner of Blossom Street and Henry Street has long stood empty but has been saved and restored. It was reopened very recently in 2019 and outside it would not look amiss on the set of a Peaky Blinders episode. Inside it has the same look. It is very dark and can become very crowded.  There is also a dining room and restaurant. It has a fantastic selection of whiskeys. I love an Old Fashioned cocktail – in here I enjoyed a Bonfire Old Fashioned – full of smokey richness – the best Old Fashioned I have ever had. It is really well worth a visit. Prices are expensive so probably only pop in for one.
Derelict Edinburgh Castle

The Edinburgh Castle before its refurbishment

The refurbished Edinburgh Castle a new addition to Northern Quarter Manchester

The refurbished Edinburgh Castle (own photo)

Interior Edinburgh Castle pub Manchester

Atmospheric Interior Edinburgh Castle pub Manchester – own photo

Bonfire Old Fashioned

Bonfire Old Fashioned – own photo

  • Lower Turks Head – this is sited on Shudehill close to Manchester Arndale, and Victoria Station. This is another restored old pub. It gets very busy and does have screen to show Sport and football. It has some fabulous architectural feature inside, lots of dark wood and plush furnishings. Service is good and friendly. There was an old book shop next door and this has been knocked through and a wine bar created called Scuttlers – the name of teenage Manchester gangs from the past.  There is a great selection of beers and wines from the 2 venues.
Imterior Lower Turks Head Manchester

Interior Lower Turks Head (own photo)

Bar Lower Turks Head Manchester

The Bar of the Lower Turks Head (own photo)

  • The Corner Boy No review is complete without an Irish Bar. This one is on the corner of Oldham Street and Hilton Street not far from The Castle. It is a relaxed friendly bar serving, beer, whisky, cocktails, coffee, Guinness and casual eats. It has an old drying rack hanging from the ceiling reminiscent of my grandma’s home. It has good music and a friendly welcome. The Guinness is well served. I love the closed off room I call The Snug.
The Corner Boy Northern Quarter

The Corner Boy Northern Quarter – own photo

Clothes Rack Corner Boy Manchester

Clothes Rack Corner Boy Manchester – own photo

Well that’s it then. A round up of 10 best pubs in Manchester Northern Quarter. If you enjoyed reading this please take a look at some of my other reviews of Manchester venues including, Hawksmoor Restaurant and The Ivy

Thanks for dropping by today I really appreciate it.

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Filed Under: facts about Manchester, Manchester, Manchester Bars and Restaurant reviews, Manchester landmarks, Manchester Restaurant/Bar reviews, Things to do in Manchester Tagged With: Lower Turks Head, Manchester, Manchester Northern Quarter, Manchester pubs, Northern Quarter, Places to visit Manchester, Seven Brothers Brewey, The Pen and Pencil

Hawksmoor Manchester Restaurant Review

February 5, 2019

 

Hawksmoor Manchester Restaurant Review

Hawksmoor Manchester

Hawksmoor Manchester was the choice of Mr Fitz and myself for our annual Christmas meal. I will explain more about what I mean by this in the next section. If it’s your first visit here I review all restaurants by the same set of parameters – you can read what they are in an earlier post.

 

Reason for Visit

What I mean by this is that we have been married for 33 years and have most things that we need. Therefore Christmas gifts to each other are not really needed. As er are both foodies for the past couple of Christmases we have chosen to treat ourselves to either a meal at a restaurant of each others choice or one restaurant and a few cocktails too!

Interior Hawksmoor Manchester

Interior Hawksmoor Manchester

This Christmas we chose Hawksmoor Manchester. The exterior is inviting and from it’s own website the description is: Located in a late Victorian courthouse on Deansgate, next door to Spinningfields, our aim is to serve the best steaks in Manchester. The interior is true to the building and features lots of reclaimed materials from the era, including parquet flooring from a (different) courthouse, panelling from Birmingham’s Sandwell College and (well-cleaned) glazed bricks from a public lavatory in Liverpool.

First Impression

As I mentioned earlier we think Hawksmoor Manchester looks inviting from outside. When you enter it is like walking into a vintage office. There is a reception desk in a dark lobby. This is not a criticism – being a fan of all things vintage I immediately liked the vibe of Hawksmoor Manchester. The welcome was warm and friendly. The inside of the restaurant itself was again classic elegance with dark wood and reclaimed materials.

Time of Visit

We had a reservation for 3pm on the Friday between Christmas and New Year. We rarely dine out in Manchester in the evening after 7pm.

 

Pin for later

Time To Get Served/Attention

Following the warm welcome at Hawksmoor we were then shown to our table in the restaurant. There appears to be 2 dining areas, we were seated in the rear area, the first area was closer to the bar if I remember correctly. Once seated the service was swift and again very friendly.

Food

We had anticipated choosing from the A La Carte menu but there was an Express menu which seemed to have choices that we wanted.

Coincidentally we both chose the same 2 courses Potted beef with Yorkshires, which were so delicious – the ultimate in comfort food. The Yorkshires were big and light.

For our main we ordered 35 Day dry-aged rump & chips. Mr Fitz added a peppercorn sauce.

Potted beef with Yorkshires and onion gravy

Potted beef with Yorkshires and onion gravy

 

Steak and Chips

Steak and Chips

A simple classic. Our order is for well done steak – neither of us follow the trend for pink meat. Johns was perfect but mine still had some pinkness in the middle. I didn’t raise this with our server I decided to put my big girl pants on and enjoy. They weren’t the tenderest steaks ever but they were nowhere near the worst. 2 of our worst steaks were from 2 other big name steakhouses in Manchester. These were consumed before this blog was started. There is no draft beer or cider available so Mr Fitz had 2 bottles of Cotswold Cider Co. No Brainer . I had 2 glasses of house red – the 1st was a French red which wasn’t t0 my taste, the second glass was a Chilean red and was really drinkable.

 

We both really enjoyed our food.

Service

Service was swift and slick. No concerns at all.

Evaluation

A really good dining experience. Despite the timing of our reservation the restaurant was busy with a great vibe and ambience. We are happy to recommend Hawksmoor Manchester to anyone living in or visiting Manchester.

Would I Visit Again

Yes – most definitely!  Hawksmoor could become one of our favourite restaurants in this great city.

After leaving here we visited Tast Catala on Kings Street for a couple of drinks. As it was our Christmas party we did try a variety of drinks – not something we do as a habit.

I enjoyed a Pera i Mora Tastinni from the cocktail menu which was delicious followed by the restaurants equivalent of a sherry, it appeared popular with other visitors so I tried one too! Mr Fitz had El Gaitero Cider.

Pera i Mora Tastinni JJ Whitley Vodka, Crème de Cassis, Pear, Cava, Lemon, Berry & Pear Nitro Pearls

Pera i Mora Tastinni JJ Whitley Vodka, Crème de Cassis, Pear, Cava, Lemon, Berry & Pear Nitro Pearls

 

Thanks for popping by and reading if you like this you may wish to read my review of Northcote Manor on my sister blog Early Retirement Rocks

I love to hear your comments and restaurant recommendations email me or comment.  I’d also love you to come back again

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Filed Under: Manchester Bars and Restaurant reviews, Things to do in Manchester Tagged With: Hawksmoor, Manchester, restaurant review. steak, tast catala

A Blue Moo’s Views – 3 Things I’ve learned about Manchester City week ending 15th November 2015

November 16, 2015

  1. I really miss the Premeiership and Manchester City during International Breaks
  2. The wonderful. silky skills of Sergio Aguerro may be on display in the next game at The Etihad versus Liverpool

Sergio Aguero holds up a Manchester City shirt with his old No 16 on the back as he signs them for fans

  1. It doesn’t only rain in Manchester – the City players involved in the Argentina versus Brazil game in Buenos Aires had their game cancelled minutes before kick off due to torrential rain

Image result for argentina vs brazil postponed due to rain

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Filed Under: football Tagged With: Football, International Football, Manchester, Manchester City FC, Rain

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I’m Elaine a Neonatal Nurse who retired from the NHS at age 55. I’m loving the 3rd age of my life – Retirement is the best job I ever had. Being married for 35 years I am lucky to have someone to share life with.

I’m a foodie who enjoys travel, football and my home.

I love to share over 50’s lifestyle tips including age appropriate beauty reviews, coping with the trials and tribulations of the Menopause, weight gain around the middle, fashion, travel and food including recipes and restaurant reviews.

I want to challenge the myth that life ends at retirement.

Feel free to get in touch earlyretirementrocks@gmail.com

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