Manchester

Lounge 31
31 Withy Grove
Printworks
Lounge 31 is a new late night bar within the Printworks featuring seven days of entertainment, and opening hours till 7am on weekends. The venue opened in October 2007, and has been pretty busy thanks to it's swanky interior and late night opening - a godsend in Manchester which, despite it's '24hour Party People' tag, tends to close down after 2am! Lounge 31 has a mixed music policy, concerntrating on the softer side of urban and R&B, but as a self described 'style bar' - with luminaries such as The Living Room, Sugar Lounge and of course Cloud 23 as it's rivals - the venue was going to have to pull out all the stops to succeed. Inside you'll find a stunning venue that's certainly up there with the best of them in Manchester, in fact a large proportion of their staff have been 'borrowed' from these venues so you may recognise some faces. Private booths are available for hire, each with their own LCD TV, and a VIP area that's seperate from the rest of the bar by curtains.
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Label
78 Deansgate
Deansgate
Label was the cooler younger brother of the Living Room - in fact it's situated right next door (the two are actually owned by different people, but appear somewhat similar). Whereas the Living Room caters for those who prefer a sophisticated drink, Label is much more in your face with a dance floor and the necessary DJs to go with it. Designed in a sensitive fashion it's an uber chic hangout that's aimed at the 'up for it' crowd: pumpin house music, groovy disco - it all goes on down here. Label's location at the base of Deansgate, close to Prohibition, The Cocoa Rooms and Club V, has set this area alight. It's the trendy place to come out and party, and a few more steps in either direction will take you to the Circle Club (lovely), Panacea (good, but troublesome) and a whole load of traditional pubs.
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Bluu
Smithfield Market
Northern Quarter
As one of the first bars in the second phase of the Northern Quarter revival, Bluu is one of the busiest venues on the block with big-ass queues outside on a Friday and Saturday. Inside the venue consists of two floors - the welcoming upstairs bar, with plenty of seating and bar space, and the lower floor which is a bit more intimate - some might say sleazy. Although many argue that Bluu's popularity is waning, the selective door policy keeps this place a well behaved haven and you can't beat the restaurant during quieter times. Actually owned by the same people as Fat Cat's Cafe Bar on Deansgate Locks, Bluu still remains highly individual and is a great place to hangout - although it's mighty tempting to head over to the excellent Socio Rehab or Odd Bar (across the road)
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Relish
Great Northern Warehouse
Peter Street
Relish is located in the Great Northern Warehouse, on that site that was formerly Persia. The bar comprises a 120 cover restaurant, 350 capacity bar and a VIP mezzanine for the bling bling. Over £3million has been spent on this place, but only 10p of that was spent on the website. We jest, this is a nice enough place to hang out and it gets a bit hip and trendy on Friday and Saturday nights, with some well selected local DJs. Two years ago I wouldn't have walked down Peter Street if you had paid me, but with the recently opened Manchester 235, the new Radisson and the nearby Beetham Tower (Skybar, Podium bar et al) this is turning into a decent area of town.
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The Northern
Tib Street
Northern Quarter
A new grastropub for Manchester's Northern Quarter, with a focus on food rather than drink. Formerly The King, a pub that was a far cry from what The Northern stands for, the venue has undergone a complete refit.
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Bedlam
33 Peter Street
Peter Street
Bedlam takes over one of our favourite spaces on Peter Street and gives it a much needed revamp. Halfway between Teasers and M2, the glass fronted bar is now playing host to some of the best local house talent (albeit house of a funkier nature) and it's succeeding where past incumbents couldn't.
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TriBeCa and BED
50 Sackville Street
Gay Village
Situated on the edge of the Gay Village, Tribeca is a New York themed cocktail bar that has proven to be a huge hit with both gay and straight revellers. Named after an area of Manhattan (Tribeca stands for TRIangle Below Canal) the bar is decorated in leather and wood, with a double vaulted ceiling in the main bar area. At the back is a raised seating area that can be hired out for private parties and above the main entranceway is the Purple Lounge, which is a 25 capacity area that can be reserved as well. The drinks prices can be a little on the expensive side, but you can grab a good-sized cocktail pitcher for £12. BED is located downstairs, and unsurprisingly it has very few seats and lots of comfy beds to lounge around on. Despite a positive launch it hasn't captured the imagination of the Manchester public despite being a decent enough 150 capacity bar. The décor is well executed and its well worth a visit, although if it's busy it can be annoying waiting for a bed to become clear - or just jump on a bed with some strangers!
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Baa Bar Deansgate Locks
Deansgate Locks
Deansgate
Baa Bar has been around since the conception of Deansgate Locks (a strip of bars and clubs built into railway arches and sat alongside a canal) and its still one of the busiest venues on that block despite the size. Combining cheap drinks and shooters will always mean a messy affair, but after a recent refit they're removed the giant mirror balls and side mirrors so ultimately reducing the chances of vomiting. Their speciality is definitely shooters, of which there are far too many varieties to mention. They're lethal but a lot of fun and ultra cheap. On weekends the bar can get far too busy, resulting in long waits at the bar and very little room to move. Good thing that there are more bars and clubs nearby as you can wander down the Locks and grab a drink somewhere else.
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The Metropolitan
2 Lapwing Lane
Didsbury
The classic MET, like the MET of police fame, 20 years ago, full of corruption and criminals and cocaine, when it was the Midlands, but then something changed, the MET got invested in, got cash to spend, new management, and the place changed. Now you are more likely to be bumped into by a Porsche Cayenne (god I hate those monstrosities) rather than bumped off by a gangster. No bad thing, but just as deadly, but for there credit the met pub does have a traffic controller. Now the home of the wealthy non Manchester types of Didsbury and the surrounding villages the MET is the shining beacon of contemporized Clapham style drinking, accountants and lawyers talk about shares whilst the complete lack of music allows them to wallow in their overly loud conversations of rugger scores and house prices, both happily increasing (see blog Manchester…..london) Drinks prices like the height of the clientele steadily rising ever year on the year end (so very Didsbury) and now towering above the reality of the rest of the world, with Guinness at 3.40 you do wonder who pays these prices. The answer is the nova riche and under, in there thousands…. The more they increase the prices so I am told the more people want to drink there. But they do have champagne at £5.50 a glass so they have some sensibilities to their own kind. Their own kind as well are particularly healthy, with the smoking area (not the non smoking area) now taking up 75% of the available drinking place, not ideal if you are a smoker, or have friends who do, as you suddenly realize why they might be bringing this law in after all as you enter the smoke clogged smog of the place the hardcore people hang out. Everywhere else the bar staff don’t have to tell the smoking few about such restrictions, which is a good job as they are understaffed as it is, as every new confirmed converted none smoker, in that way only the drunken posh can get away with, tell you ‘if you don’t mind that the smoking area is over there, not over here’ with a glaring eye and a healthy lack of coolness, back in the days of the midlands people would have killed for less. Age wise the MET is similar to is police type, around mid 30’s and doing well for it, and like the police not too many blacks and Asians (more the pity, but I stand out and look good so no worries there) but unlike the police there are a fair number of women here too. Mainly the ¾ length coat and scarf wearing fitness of the office variety, but slightly more stuck up and according to several men in there mainly gold diggers, which I found very hard to believe, one lad from Liverpool joked the girls were like the plants in there, kinda fake and with no talking points. Three conversations later, when the only questions had been ‘so what do you do then’ and amazingly ‘what do you drive’ I had to agree with him. With so many Porsches outside I can now see why. We went on St Burns night and thanks to Ross I learned that Tam O Shanter was actually a poem about being wasted and a lie to his Mrs. at the time. Very apt for the MET I feel. (3.5)
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Baa Bar
27 Sackville Street
Gay Village
A larger gayer version of the Baa Bar on Deansgate Locks, which in itself was quite a gay place to hang out a the best of times! Just like the original location, there are mirrored walls (which really confuse you), but there is also an amazing 70s style dance room in the basement. Clearly designed by someone who has never drank in their lives, the lighting and mirrors in this room are somewhat disturbing to the stomach. Nether-the-less, this place offers something different from all the other village locations, and can be an intimate place to spend time during the week. The drinks are also well priced.
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