Cam, Ry, and Olly were great & friendly bartenders. Very respectful and made great drinks!!!…read more Sully, Cal, and Greg, on the other hand, were rude and were incapable of manning the bar. Will not be coming back. (due to the fact that I live in America, not Manchester)

Hallelujah! After…read morefour years of redevelopment, not-for-proft charity Inner City Music finally re-opened the doors of Band on The Wall last September. Aside from redecoration and a spacious chill out area, the main difference to the legendary music venue is the stage. There's a spanking new state of the art PA system installed, new lights, new audio-visual equipment and for the jazz fans amongst you, a concert grand piano. What's more, the venue looks set to make local funk, soul, blues, jazz, hip hop and world music fans extremely happy with a packed programme of live shows and deejays most nights of the week. They've already had gigs from Breakestra, Nitin Sawhney and The Mad Professor and Southern soul legend Candi Staton is set to grace the stage in April. The show you have to reserve a ticket for however, is 27 March when 10 piece band Introducing will be attempting to recreate DJ Shadow's seminal Entroducing album live. Yup, that's note for note, loop for loop, for the very first time, live AND in front of an audience! Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmzHRGoKca0&feature=related

A quirky establishment with an upstairs dining area and downstairs bar. The food is 90% vegan,…read morewhich was nice because they had creative options for everyone! We had the BBQ Jackfruit dog, which was a vegan sausage topped with BBQ pulled jackfruit, vegan chipotle mayo, and jalapeno's. It was absolutely delicious! The sausage was not dry, as sometimes happens with vegan sausages, and the combinations of flavors was great. We also got the vegan Mac n Cheese; it was listed under bigs, but the portion size was disappointingly very small. It also tasted a bit grainy, not the best potato cheese I've had. They are allergen friendly, but make sure you make all your allergens known! The mac n cheese does have coconut milk in it. They also have Ice Shack Vegan ice creams, which is a bonus!

It doesn't have the same history as The Roadhouse, Night & Day or Manchester Academy but The Deaf…read moreInstitute is probably my favourite venue in Manchester these days. They have great club nights and a truly eclectic range of gigs from emerging punk-funk and disco groups like Yacht and The XX to established underground pop bands like Broadcast. Even better, most of the gigs take place in an intimate room with high ceilings, cleverly stacked seating and standing room for about 300 people. I went to see Detroit protest singer Rodriguez on Monday evening and had a fantastic night. The atmosphere was great, the acoustics were fab and the drinks were mighty fine. Being a long-term country and Americana gal, I also fell in love with the Good Dolly and Bad Dolly wallpaper in the ladies toilets! The only disadvantage is, I'm still a little hungover!

How delighted I was to stumble across this little basement by accident, strolling down Half Moon…read moreStreet just because it had a nice name. And there, opposite the fire escapes, and between the back doors and wheely bins...is Corbieres...a welcoming little rectangle of light luring you in and down its steps. And I really do mean 'luring' - my beau and I had said just 5 minutes ago that we didn't fancy a beer, and yet we soon found ourselves at the bottom of those stairs investigating the various lagers on offer! There wasn't a great selection on tap, certainly no names that I recognised, and the barman didn't seem too enthused about what was on, but I got to try a new Czech lager that I was quite pleased with. And there was a good selection of bottled goodies behind the bar as well. The room is rather small, but the atmosphere of the place is just great: exciting yet understated, the kind of place I could imagine both hipsters and die hard football fans could rub shoulders and neither would snigger at the other. That's my kind of place. The jukebox is wonderful. During our brief visit we were serenaded by a mixture of Happy Mondays, Stone Roses (we are in Manchester after all) and some other classic delights. In fact, one of the quotes on the walls (see photo) claiming to be from Ian Brown himself, is that it "always was, still is, the best jukebox in Manchester." High praise indeed. To sum up, my beau and I both left already plotting our return, this time with friends in tow, to show off the cool bar that we found!

Alison's is a pretty good review of Corbieres, covering all the main points. It definitely…read moredeserves a visit. However, she writes that the bar has managed to keep a low profile and that if you get there early, its all yours. In recent months its popularity has absolutely boomed if that used to be the case, and on Friday and Saturday nights, you've often got little chance of getting in, let alone sitting down, or accessing the Juke Box. The Juke Box is an absolute joke, no doubt, as it claims, it's the best in Manchester. The place is in a cool wine cellar which gives in a unique feel and it has a lizard attached to the bar (great idea). There isn't a focus on wine despite being a wine bar and the clientele are indeed much better than your average Deansgate set. Its genuinely one of the coolest bars around and I think its one everyone should try, so I do advise going, just make it a week night...

I was lucky enough to catch the Paul Farr band at Matt and Phred's last night. It's safe to say…read morethat I entered what Howard Moon and Vince Noir would refer to as a 'jazz trance'. My word, if you get the opportunity to catch these guys when they play again on the 17th August (they play here quite regularly and it's always free entry) or at the Cinnamon Club you really must - even non-jazz fans would thoroughly enjoy their awesome musical prowess, it's absolutely universal to appreciate the percussive banter between the awe-inspiringly superb drummer and the creative percussionist armed with an absolute arsenal of unusual instruments. The guitarist has worked with the likes of Tom Jones and Lily Allen and along with the fabulous bassist, they're all just mind-bendingly supreme. The pedant and I (have I introduced you to him before?) popped in for some cocktails while the Thursday salsa classes were still going on, and I tell you, if you're remotely nervous about salsa you must join this group. Beginners are from 7-8, improvers from 8-9 and everyone was having an awesome time. The teachers seemed very sweet. The pedant took on a Dave Walsh special pizza, a great combination of anchovies, chorizo and spring onions, and if you get the opportunity (and are comfortable in your masculinity) try out a Pixie's Potion cocktail. It might look girly, but it contains absinthe. Talk about a kick and a half. As well as this, I had no idea Matt and Phred's did fresh-baked cakes - they look amazing. And the bar staff, as always, were truly magical. There's a wonderful cosy atmosphere to Matt and Phred's, and had we not had any pressing errands the next day the pedant and I could have stayed there all night. It's one of those places where whoever you're with, you constantly find yourselves looking back and forth at one another and smiling in agreement at the joy of seeing incredible music in such a cool little place. I'm making a late New Year's resolution. Visit Matt and Phred's far more often. Like on a weekly or fortnightly basis perhaps? I'd best start saving up for all those caipirinhas...

During the week there isn't anywhere better to be if you like Jazz music. Came here on a quiet…read moreWednesday and stumbled across quite an incredible Organ trio playing their entire album. There weren't that many people there which was both fantastic and extremely sad. Fantastic, because my friend Ben and I had prime seats and rude back ground chatter was non existent. Sad, because there were so few people there to witness some really exceptional music. The band was called Svarc Henley Longhawn and they'd traveled all the way from Leeds to perform. The particulars re drink prices and decor are monumentally irrelevant when it comes to utterly brilliant music such as this. Despite the lack of an audience the musicians never held back and gave it 100% which was not only admirable but inspirational. I made it a point to shake hands with all of three musicians and thanked them for an awesome performance. They were absolutely made up about that. If Matt and Phreds put on acts like this even once during the week, It's well worth a visit. I will definitely be returning on another dark stormy night, for some morale lifting Jazzy tunes.

At last, there's a bar where you can go and hear freak-folk, weird country and free jazz!…read more Run by a local muso, Dulcimer is a small bar on Wilbraham Road in Chorlton. The school blue exterior is shocking but inside it's simply decorated with brick walls, wooden tables and chairs and awesome, limited edition, music and film posters. They have cool singer-songwriters playing occasionally and deejays like Twisted Nerve / Finders Keepers boss Andy Votel playing a couple of nights each week. Drinks wise, they stock everything from quality spirits to great local ales whilst foodies have a choice of homemade soup or a cheese board with strong cheddars and local bread from the Barbikan deli. For me personally though, it's all about the great tunes, friendly staff and the fact you can hear Wendy & Bonnie whilst sipping your Guiness!

I hadn't been in Dulcimers for a long time but headed down there for a new book club meeting. They…read moreappear to have done a refit and the interior now has an extra bar upstairs which is a great addition. There were lots of cushions on the seats which made me want to sit down and spend the evening there. The barman quite happily made my favourite drink for me although it wasn't officially on the menu. They have a great range of beers and a cosy interior. I need to get back there for a proper evening and can't wait for the next book club.

This place is absolute legend. Nothing fancy about it…read more Doesn't need to be. It's a proper venue for dancing and checking out bands. This is about as old school Manchester as you can get. They've been doing The Smiths Disco (first Friday every month) for a long time and it is the greatest night ever. Can't say enough good things about this club.

Housed on Fairfield Street, behind Piccadilly Station, the Star & Garter is a red brick pub that…read morelooks like a crime scene from a Hitchcock thriller. It was featured in the 50s film noir Hell is A City and since then, seems to have gone from chic to shabby with little investment or TLC. The carpets are frayed, the seats are grubby and the walls upstairs are painted chocolate. Endearingly, none of this seems to bother the students and regulars who flock there for the monthly Smiths nights and occasional rock and punk gigs. The gigs are housed upstairs on the first floor - where there's a small stage and bar - whilst the club nights straddle the ground and first floor. Drinks are cheap and cheerful and there's a long-running indie night every Saturday called Smile. You might hear the odd Brian Wilson song but you're more likely to hear everything from Pulp and Placebo to Belle and Sebastian. In short, the Star & Garter is a venue that's more about the music and the people than the ambience or the interior. Which takes us right back to Pulp and..... A Little Soul: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XMDfMaKDa0

I basically entirely concur with Emily B's review which is good as we were there together…read more To repeat: 1) Busy on a Friday night - much younger and more lively crowd than I expected, had quite a party vibe but a good party vibe with good music 2) Old Tom GINGER YES HOW LONG I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS DAY. It's basically like a ginger beer biscuit. Tried it in Buxton ages ago but have not sourced since. Although now occurs to me that as it's a Robinsons beer it's probably at all the Robinsons along the A6 aka where I live. 3) Toilets very small, difficult to manoeuvre but hey you make some new friends in awkward circumstances 4) Great to visit post Stockport Foodie Friday

Nice job Robinsons on doing something different with the Bakers and letting the guys from the…read moreCastle and Parlour take it over and transform it into what it is now. A very welcome addition to the Stockport scene and somewhere to definitely start the night on the way to the Magnet or maybe on the way back, the vibe is laid back and modern looking while still giving a nod to the old architectural style of this classic building. It was a smart decision to do something new with this place and on this Thursday evening it was fairly busy with beer loving punters. On tap there were 5 Robbies classics (we tried the Citra - ok but not quite enough citra in it for my liking and compared with the likes of Oakham ales same type) and there's 5 guest beers on tap from exciting craft beer breweries. Sandwiched in between there's still room for all the usual lagers and they have Brooklyn and Blue Moon on tap. Prices are fairly decent really (compared to Manchester city centre) and its refreshing to see the pricing reflected in the strength of the ale and fairly transparent in what you're actually paying when ordering a beer. We were drinking the Great Heck hoppy wheat beer mainly - if you see it on tap somewhere then make sure you get yourself onto it, so so good! Their food menu is all about the dogs - but as opposed to hard skinned fakey American ones, these are all about proper British butchers ones which fit in well with a giant roll and some crazy toppings - I went for the classic one which was good enough for me (£6 with pickles, tasty onions etc) although you could have everything from blue cheese to meatball toppings (time to get a bit more adventurous next time I think!) Nice job Bakers - looking forward to getting back here very soon! Wifi password is: aabbcc33ee

Had a mojito here - a relatively "cheap" £5.95 - when compared to other places. Tasted great…read more Its a small place - so its kind of got a cosy feel. The music was from a jukebox and although we were only there for a relatively short time, while there I remember the music sounding pretty good. However, not to sound old but the music was a bit too loud. Don't get me wrong, although I am prefer places a bit quieter so can talk while shouting/screaming, if the music is louder thats fine. However, this was too much. Especially with the place being so small.

The Drawing Room used to be the same price as everywhere else in West Didsbury with prices north of…read more£7 per drink, but it seems they've caught onto the happy hour idea now and most cocktails are two for £8 before 9pm now, which is an absolute bargain for the quality of them! There a lot of great choices on the menu and the staff are always happy to amend the drinks to your tasting preference. Early in the evening this place is great for some quiet cocktails and a catch up with friends, however later on the juke box volume is cranked up and the place becomes bustling with people. I've never had a bad thing to say about this place. It's absolutely brilliant.