So MrsMC’s promotion means I’ll be spending a load more time in Manchester, staying in hotels and clicking my heels while she grafts away. What pleasures can people recommend between Piccadilly and the University? The Sandbar looks interesting and are there favourites amongst Chinatown’s restaurants? Any pubs still do live Irish music?
I shall counterbalance all this furious fun by joining the university library for a little afternoon respite.

Manchester is stuffed full of decent boozers. Not a single solitary one of them is between Piccadilly and the University. Head over to the Northern Quarter my friend. And there are more live music places than you can shake a stick at. The Deaf Institute, Gorilla

Don’t forget the social highlight of the week

don’t listen to him, the Sandbar is a great pub. But in general the Northern Quarter has loads of good bars, caffs and shops.

Happy Seasons on Faulkner St is my favourite Chinese place – looks ropey, is amazing, queues out the door on Saturday lunchtime.

Northern Quarter is great for lunchtime curries too – Marhaba (best naan), Al Faisal (best daal) and Jadgar (best Sunday Nihari) are all great.

Sandbar is a nice spot for a quiet pint when the students are away – which is now, and it’s quite nice. Few other gems hidden away.

Sand Bar is actually pretty good. But the full on Student bars around it are awful!. And the northern quarter 3 curries and rice was always our friday lunchtime tradition. Yadgar with its formica tables and the grumpiest service known to man is ace!

IMHO the best boozer in town is The Marble

Well once you’ve tried all the cafes and restaurants in the Northern Quarter you are only a short bus ride away from Rusholme and the famous Curry Mile, which is fast becoming the Kebab Mile as Asians move out and Syrians, Iraqis and Turks move in. Asians are moving into the courier business according to my Sudanese friend who has his office there.

If you want to taste some really good Indian food, properly cooked and not slopped together with sauces from a factory in Bradford, I strongly recommend Swadesh next to the Novotel in Portland Street; even my agent from Pakistan agreed the food was excellent.

I have already been blown away by the pleasures of the Marble, what a fantastic spot. Plus you have a good(ish) excuse should you stagger.

Halfway between Picadilly and Uni:

Lass O’Gowrie (Irish based pub that’s over a hundred years old and was voted Best Pub in Britain less than 5 years ago)

(Disclaimer: It’s been quite a while since I last went there)

Best juke boxes in town are The Fringe Bar opposite Band on the Wall and Corbieres off St Anne’s Square.

Blimey! Not been in Corbieres for years. Used to be a regular haunt Rusty. The juke box being one of the main reasons 🙂

Oh… if you head out Salford way, then Paul Heaton’s pub, the Kings Arms is bloody great too

Sandbar is a regular haunt of the local bike polo lot. Make of that what you will…

I know the Lass has a great rep and it’s a nice building, but the place just seems off to me.

From Dusk to Pawn is one of my favourite NQ bars, free jukebox. Walked past it loads before realising it’s a bar.

Anyway, there’s loads of great proper boozers as well as plenty of hipster-friendly places.

Font bar is near the uni, bit studenty as they sell cheap cocktails but loads of beers on tap. Temple bar is interesting. Sand bar is cracking. Big hands up near the academy. Plenty in the NQ, marble is ace.

Northern Quarter is great for lunchtime curries too – Marhaba (best naan), Al Faisal (best daal) and Jadgar (best Sunday Nihari) are all great.

Ask nicely and someone might show you where “This and That” is.

Ask nicely and someone might show you where “This and That” is.

I know it well and they’re lovely guys, but tbh in terms of superlatives I’d only award it ‘cheapest’. It’s certainly not bad – I’ve eaten there dozens of times – but I’d rate the abovementioned 3 comfortably ahead.

That said I haven’t been there since about 2007 – so perhaps it’s changed!

If you guys like your cafes in the northern quarter, there are a few similar hidden gems in Cheetham Hill too

This review of Yadgar (my personal favourite) sums up most of the places nicely

Thank you kindly! Lots to keep me busy up there ^^.
I saw Dollar Brand play in the Band on the Wall in its old guise, great place!

20 minutes away by train, beer is max £3:00 a pint locally, stretch your legs son!

Dollar Brand, great choice 🙂 you’ll like Matt and Phreds on tib street as well, free entry during the week and fiver on Fri/sat

There’s a couple of decent boozers opposite to band on the wall, one big old building which has a really impressive but knackered ceiling and one much smaller bar, buy I forget the name of both of them

Well I am partial to daal so I guess I’ll have to try out Al Faisal.

There used to be “Cafe Yakub” or something around there which did a fantastic “Special Curry”, basically meat and cauliflower if my memory serves me well, and fabulous warm fluffy naans.

Matt and Phreds is worth a visit for some good jazz.

Don’t forget ho’s bakery in China town for a Portuguese tart

The Thai supermarket (pink door) on George Street also has a great restaurant in it

Also like soup kitchen on Stevenson square

Soup Kitchen has a tremendous Stout on tap. Forget it’s name, it’s an odd one but it’s described as “Peppery”

Mr Toms (no relation) chophouse does the best corned beef hash you’re ever likely to eat. For a night out, one of my favourites is luck lust liquor and burn (socal, Texmex stuff) followed by cocktails in apotheca in the northern quarter.