Schofield's Bar ★ 4.7
Joe and Daniel Schofield's Art Deco cocktail bar on the corner of Sunlight House, Manchester. Top 50 Cocktail Bars list since opening. Walk-ins welcome.
Signature drink: Old fashioned
Food: Bar snacks
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Manchester for grown-ups.
Where to drink
Speak in Code ★ 4.5
Brick-lined Manchester speakeasy on Jackson's Row off Albert Square. Hip-hop soundtrack, vegan-friendly cocktails, sustainable in-house ingredients.
Signature drink: Vegan signature cocktails
Food: Small plates
Port Street Beer House ★ 4.6
Northern Quarter craft beer pub in Manchester since 2011. Eighteen keg, seven cask lines, hundreds of bottles, RateBeer's top Manchester bar most years.
Signature drink: Rotating taps
Food: Bar snacks
The Temple ★ 4.4
Tiny converted public toilet on Great Bridgewater Street in Manchester, now one of the city's most loved dive bars. Steps lead down to a one-room basement.
Signature drink: Pint of Boddingtons
Food: None
The Washhouse ★ 4.4
Speakeasy hidden behind a laundrette front on Shudehill in Manchester. You pick up a phone, ask the operator for a slot, and a door opens to a bar inside.
Signature drink: Bespoke cocktail flight
Food: Burgers and bar plates
Cane and Grain ★ 4.3
Thomas Street, Manchester, three-floor bar: rum and tiki at the top, cocktails on the middle, ribs and craft beer on the ground floor below.
Signature drink: Rum Old Fashioned
Food: Smoked ribs
Lono Cove ★ 4.5
Award-winning Polynesian tiki bar in the Northern Quarter on Thomas Street, opened 2021 on the old Apotheca site by Edgey Bars. Two floors of tropical decor, treasure-chest cocktails for groups, late hours through to 3am on weekends.
Signature drink: Treasure-chest tiki cocktail
Food: Sharing snacks
Mr Thomas's Chop House ★ 4.4
1867 Victorian Manchester chop house and pub on Cross Street. Cask ales, steak and kidney pudding, original tilework and the city's oldest dining room.
Signature drink: Cask ale
Food: British pub classics
Twenty Twenty Two ★ 4.2
Manchester basement bar on Dale Street with ping-pong tables, cocktails and pizza by the slice. Late-night Northern Quarter standby for the post-dinner shift.
Signature drink: House cocktail flight
Food: Pizza by the slice
Common ★ 4.2
Edge Street stalwart in Manchester's Northern Quarter since 2009. Pub plates, craft beer, a chalkboard of guest taps that changes weekly. Locals' bar.
Signature drink: Pomona Island guest tap
Food: Sandwiches and snacks
Cottonopolis ★ 4.3
Northern Quarter cocktail bar in Manchester on Newton Street. Japanese-leaning drinks list, pan-Asian small plates, late-night kitchen until midnight.
Signature drink: Japanese highball
Food: Pan-Asian small plates
Black Jack Taproom ★ 4.2
Brewery taproom on Gould Street in Manchester's Green Quarter. Black Jack's own range plus rotating guests, dog-friendly, opens at 16:00 weekdays.
Signature drink: Black Jack stout
Food: None