House 9 is alright, and its pretty new so if you're bored of everywhere on Deansgate, its probably worth a try.
Angela makes a good point about the security, as this part of Manchester seems to cast the net wide when it goes in search of bouncers, and ends up bring up all the scum from the bottom. These guys were welcoming, and even let me in for free, while there was supposed to be a couple of pounds charge. Having said that, I think its usually free anyway, unless they have something special on.
It is relatively cheap, especially for Deansgate, so that's another thing its got over its local rivals. However, there were some downsides to my visit. There was a large 18th birthday party going on, which was loud and dominant. A number of under 18 year olds were present and they had a wristband system in operation to mark out the ones eligible to purchase alcohol. Irritating.
Music also was pretty poor, apart from a few Michael Jackson choonz, for whom I have a soft spot. They did take a number of our requests though so I'll have to say fair play there. The décor is done out in that formulaic trendy, shoes-only, style bar, which is pretty boring and unwelcoming.
Basically if you absolutely have to hang out on Deansgate Locks, then you should probably go for the lesser of a bunch of evils and have one at House 9, but if you can tear yourself away, just go onto Deansgate itself and go somewhere actually nice. read more