Manchester

Old Abbey Inn
61 Pencroft Way
Cafe bar

If you're fortunate enough to work on the Manchester Science Park (Just behind Oxford Road and close to the Hulme district) then you can spoil yourself rotten every day with the 'mini-kro' that's opened up. 'Old Abbey Inn' is part of the succesful Kro group - so expect a plethora of comfort foods and it's a decent hangout when the sun comes out, or if you're celebrating something...like finishing a report, or you've completed a bridge made out of staplers.

Salutation
12 Higher Chatham Street
Quiet and Old bar

For the thousands of students that live near nearby, in the countless yellow-bricked student halls that litter higher chatham street and beyond, this probably looks like one of those scary Mancunian boozers where you exit with body parts missing. Despite it's coronation street-esque frontage this is actually a rather friendly pub, with decent prices and relatively little chance of any local difficulties. There's a good choice of beers, comfy seats, and a pool table in a room at the rear. With the semi-trendy Czech bar just over the road you could be forgiven for overlook 'The Sally', but having been there a handful of times I can highly recommend it. On my last visit I was sandwiched between two locals at the urinals, one of whom was moaning about the theft of some Jaffa Cakes from his car whilst the other verbally comforted him in a way that suggested it was a great loss, akin to losing a family members...good stuff.