The best bars in Manchester
Arcades, wine specialists, cocktail connoisseurs, underground dens, and more. These are the best bars in Manchester.
Last updated: 5th Aug 2024
Originally published: 1st Aug 2024
Booze, poison, tipple, liquid courage, giggle juice, whatever you call it, Manchester has plenty of it and many mint bars for you to enjoy it in.
There’s a bucketload of bars in Manchester, covering every niche and vibe from grimy but charming underground bars to arcades with hip-hop and cocktails to fancy speciality bars whose staff can recommend the best wine, whiskey, or gin for your tastes.
To help you plan your next outing in the city, we’ve gathered all the best bars in Manchester, here. Because there’s nothing worse than sitting in a bar so bland you resort to reading the beer bottle label.
If you’re after gin, whisky, or wine bars, you'll find them towards the bottom.
Temple
Photo: The Temple / Instagram.com
Where: 100 Great Bridgewater St, Manchester M1 5JW
If you’ve heard Elbow’s ‘Grounds for Divorce’, the “hole in my neighbourhood” Guy Garvey sings about is this little gem. Temple is a small bar that used to be a Victorian public toilet. Converted into a rough-around-the-edges dive bar, Temple offers a global beer selection and has a jukebox packed with tunes. When the sun’s out, they put tables outside. Expect a laid-back atmosphere, graffiti in the toilets, and a proper laugh.
Photo: Big Hands / Instagram.com
Where: 296 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9NS
“Drink, dance, fall over” is Big Hands’ motto. Temple’s sister bar, Big Hands, is another golden bar, perfectly located for pre and post-gig drinks, as it’s just up the road from Manchester Academy. Authentic and full of grimy charm, you’ll find more graffiti in the toilets, posters on the walls, and a roof garden. Temple and Big Hands are the blueprints many Manchester bars have tried and failed to replicate. Check out the best rooftop bars in Manchester.
Sammy’s
Photo: Sammy's Cocktail Bar / Facebook.com
Where: 26 Swan St, Manchester M4 5JQ
This 70s-inspired cocktail bar is a retro lover’s dream. A bit of a hidden gem, stepping into Sammy's really does feel like stepping into a different era. It looks and feels like a café from yesteryear with its wooden panelling and yellow wallpaper, dated TV sets and vintage glassware. But Sammy’s remains modern in the ways that matter, bringing in DJs and ensuring a solid menu of drinks. But its real speciality is its homey atmosphere that gave the bar its loyal fans.
Photo: YES / Facebook.com
Where: 38 Charles St, Manchester M1 7DB
Bar, gig venue, and home to delicious vegan pizza slices, YES is a firm favourite of many Mancs, especially the younger crowd. Open from 12pm every day, you'll find cheap pints, cocktails, a roof terrace, a beer garden, pizza, and sandwiches (including vegan options).
Find events at YES / YES Basement / YES Pink Room
Behind Closed Doors
Photo: Behind Closed Doors / Instagram.com
Where: 93 Oldham St, Manchester M4 1LW
This is a bar you have to go to yourself to fully understand and appreciate it. Behind Closed Doors is a… debauched bar that plays boogie, soul, and funk. The underground den has all sorts of features that you most certainly won’t find elsewhere like private phone lines in the booths so you can speak to other guests, posters of almost-naked pin-ups, bondage gear, and a “peep show” room. Cocktails are king, here.
NQ64
Photo: NQ64 Arcade Bars / Instagram.com
Where: 12 Tib St, Manchester M4 1SH and 23 Peter St, Manchester M2 5QR
If you love hip-hop and arcade games, stop your search for the best bars in Manchester right here. You’ve found it. NQ64 boasts cocktails named after the Mario universe characters, banging tunes, and gaming favourites like Time Crisis, Guitar Hero, Crazy Taxi, Pac-Man, car racing games, Space Invaders, and loads of early PS and XBOX console games to play for free. The walls are adorned with gamer-themed graffiti that glows under the black light.
Red Light
Photo: RED LIGHT / Instagram.com
Where: 4-2 Little David St, Manchester M1 3GL
A brilliant LGBTQ+ cocktail place situated in Kampus, just across from the Gay Village, Red Light is open Wednesday to Sunday, 4pm until 1am. Awarded Best New Bar, it’s a beautiful venue on a cobbled street. Its walls are covered in queer local artists, celebrating icons from LGBTQ+ history. Red Light is laidback, dog-friendly, and has an outside terrace. They offer cocktails, natural wines, and ales from local breweries. As one of the best gay bars in Manchester, it's definitely worth a visit.
Rain Bar
Photo: Rain Bar / Facebook.com
Where: 80 Great Bridgewater St, Manchester M1 5JG
Funnily enough, one of the best places to have a drink in the sun is Rain Bar. This award-winning bar has a lovely big beer garden beside The Bridgewater Canal with heaters and covered tables. Rain’s open every day so you can head in for a post-work or pre-night-out drink. You'll find Mancunian beers on tap and scran like honey baked camembert and fish and chips. Discover the best beer gardens in Manchester.
Bunny Jackson’s
Photo: Bunny Jacksons / Facebook.com
Where: 1 Jack Rosenthal St, Manchester M15 4RA
Home of the 25p chicken wing, BJ's is a fun and silly dive bar with American whiskies, cold beer, and cheap eats. Open until 3am every day, there's live music all weekend (including Bandaoke on Saturdays), pool, darts, and happy hour from 10pm.
Do their Hotter Than The Sun challenge - basically you try to eat a bunch of really, really spicy wings - and you'll win a T-shirt whether you win or lose. But it might end in tears. And sweat. A lot of it.
You can also find BJ’s little brother, Junior Jackson’s, in the Northern Quarter at 64 Oldham St.
Nightcap
Photo: Nightcap / Instagram.com
Where: 10 Hilton St, Manchester M1 1JF
Underground speakeasy, Nightcap, is one of the best bars in Manchester. Run by the same team behind brunching hotpot Another Heart To Feed, you can find Nightcap beneath the restaurant. Expect moody red lighting, cocktails, and natural wines. It’s open from Wednesday to Sunday with happy hour all day on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and DJ sets on Fridays and Saturdays. Open until the early hours, it’s a late-night favourite in the NQ.
The Washhouse
Photo: The Washhouse / Facebook.com
Where: 19 Shudehill, Manchester M4 2AF
Ah, The Washouse. Made to look like a laundrette when you first step in, you have to pick up the phone and ring before going through a hidden door to the bar upstairs. When you’re in, you can find all sorts of fun like secret rooms. There’s a lot more but we don’t want to spoil anything for you. The cocktails change often and are very well thought out and inventive. Again, we don’t want to spoil anything. And whatever you do, don’t (not) touch the big red button. If you know, you know.
Albert’s Schloss
Photo: Albert's Schloss - Manchester / Facebook.com
Where: 27 Peter St, Manchester M2 5QR
Schloss: castle, palace, or manor house for indulgence, pleasure, and debauchery. Albert’s Schloss is one of the most popular bars in Manchester, probably because of its entertainment. They have cabaret, DJs, or the haus band daily to ensure everyone’s having a ball. The lively bar has a massive European beer selection and banging scran.
Lost Cat
Photo: Lost Cat / Facebook.com
Where: 64 Oldham St, Manchester M4 1LE
If you want a dance, Lost Cat is a goodun. Open daily until 3am, Lost Cat has quizzes on Wednesdays and “the funnest DJs in town” from Thursdays to Sundays. Happy hour runs from 5pm until 9pm every day, offering BOGOF deals on selected drinks. Serving cocktails, “fancy cans”, draught beer, wine, fizz, and sandwiches, they also offer bottomless brunch. Go for a chilled, fun time!
The Liquor Store
Photo: The Liquor Store Deansgate / Facebook.com
Where: Maybrook House, 40 Blackfriars St, Manchester M3 2EG
If you like rock, indie, and dead-good cocktails, consider a visit to The Liquor Store. The bar fuses New York and UK rock 'n' roll vibes, donning its brick walls with Mancunian memorabilia. Open daily with happy hour from 5pm until 10pm from Sunday to Friday, this place serves up award-winning cocktails. When the sun’s out, sit on the terrace and order yourself a giant cocktail. Seriously, they serve a cocktail in a pretty massive glass (pictured above).
Schofield’s Bar
Photo: SCHOFIELD’S BAR / Facebook.com
Where: Sunlight House, 3 Little Quay St, Manchester M3 3JZ
Schofield’s only opened in 2021 and it’s already been named the UK’s best cocktail bar twice. So, yeah, Schofield’s is one of the best bars in Manchester. The classic cocktail bar is open from Wednesday to Sunday and has a terrace for when the sun’s out (or if you just want to bring your dog along). Run by two brothers who are Manchester natives, it’s impressive how much the bar has already achieved.
The best wine, gin, whiskey, and cocktail bars in Manchester
Salut
Photo: Salut Wines / Instagram.com
Where: 11 Cooper St, Manchester M2 2FW
This independent wine shop and bar is a must for any Manc wine lovers. With over 40 wines available by the glass, over 400 bottles to take away, self-serve wine machines, cheese, charcuteries, small plates, and craft beers for the wine haters, Salut is probably Manchester’s best wine bar. Sit outside in the summer, or huddle indoors in winter below the twinkly lights.
The Whiskey Jar
Photo: The Whiskey Jar / Facebook.com
Where: 14 Tariff St, Manchester M1 2FF
Focusing on cocktails, The Whiskey Jar stocks over 350 whiskies while hosting events like beer festivals, whiskey festivals, open mic nights every Tuesday and Wednesday, and live music on Fridays and Saturdays. The restored textile mill has become one of the Northern Quarter’s favourite venues, particularly in the summer thanks to its outdoor terrace.
Atlas
Photo: Atlas Bar / Facebook.com
Where: 376 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4LY
G&T lovers, this is the one. Over in the railway arches of Deansgate, you’ll find Atlas, a gin bar that opened over 25 years ago and offers over 570 gins. The multi-award-winning bar has a relaxed atmosphere, breakfast, lunch, and evening menus, and a beer garden with an outdoor screen (which, itself, earned an award for Best Beer Garden). For a low-key evening enjoying gin (or day, it's five o'clock somewhere), there’s really no place better.
Some absolute stunners. Manchester bloody loves a good bar, which is brilliant because it means there are plenty for you to check out. And with so many options, you’re guaranteed to love at least one of these. But, if we’re being real, you’ll probably love most of them.
If you’re after more brilliant venues in Manchester, check out the city’s best beer gardens, rooftop bars, student bars and clubs, and clubs. Or, if you're new to the area, check out our guide to Manchester’s nightlife.
Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.
Header: Sammy's / Instagram.com