One of the Manchester's oldest pubs, the Briton's Protection is a much loved drinking den that has…read morea loyal clientele all year round. Open afternoons and evenings, it's a great place to catch up with friends or go for a quick pint before a gig or movie. The front bar is tiny and usually populated by grey haired men nursing a never-ending pint. If you walk down the corridor however, you'll find a cluster of cosy rooms with old velvet seats, copper topped tables and a roaring log fire. There's also a small beer garden which gets rammed in the summer - despite having no views, flowers or atmosphere! Upstairs there's a cosy reception room which local promoters sometimes use for live gigs. I saw Badly Drawn Boy play his first gig here many moons ago and was quietly blown away. If you're coming to a show, get here early or you'll have to choose between queing for a drink or trying to find somewhere to stand. Speaking of liquor, stay clear of the wine - it tastes like battery acid - and stick to their great range of ales, beers, whisky and bourbon.

I'd convinced myself I'd never been to The Briton's Protection before, but on visiting here with a…read moremate for a cheeky after work bevvy (which turned into a mini 'bar crawl', see reviews of Rain Bar http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/rain-bar-manchester and Peveril Of The Peak http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/peveril-of-the-peak-manchester), I was reminded that I'd darkened their door at least once before... On first sight you'd think there was hardly anywhere to sit and enjoy your well-earned beer, as the bar stretches from wall to wall. Follow the corridor to the left of the bar and you'll see several off-shoot rooms to find a cushioned bench or bar stool. Given it's December we headed straight to the room with the roaring fire and got a great seat in front of the flames. I loved it here. My mate loved it here. And we would have stayed but the fact we wanted to sample more than one establishment that evening. Really enjoyed the beer here as well - the bar manager made a recommendation (alas I've forgotten its name, the beer, not the bar guy, but it was very good indeed). Tip: If you love your whiskies, you won't be disappointed here either, they have a sizeable selection.

Nice pub for authentic England's food. Able to eat steaks, pies, pizzas, etc…read more.. Clean, but have a traditional attire. Good spot for lunch and dinner.

When I first encountered T'English Lounge, it was for one reason only - pub quizzage. Now, there's…read morea strange phenomenon that comes with local drinking. Have you ever found that once you have your local, and your pub quiz, you kind of feel like you're cheating on it if you attend another pub quiz? Well, I had this situation with the Crescent. Large's pub quiz only came around once a month so it's wasn't that bad. And I wouldn't be a good little Yelper if I didn't use it as an excuse to check out this pub. Situated on the edge of the Northern Quarter conveniently close to the Arndale and Shudehill, The English Lounge is a cosy, traditional-looking boozer that serves down-to-earth pub grub and provides a bit of respite from the quirk and hipsterville of the NQ and the ostentatious tackiness of the Printworks posse. The homey cosiness of the place is exemplified with dark wood, leather sofas and quintessential Englishness - bookshelves in a pub anyone? I'm to be found at the Cityco meetings here and I always enjoy popping in. Sometimes I'll treat myself to a little wine beforehand and chat with some business owners, and that's always been lovely. The wine that is, not the business owners. Although for the most part they're alright, as it goes. There are all sorts of vouchers and offers associated with this pub so you could save a pretty penny too, especially with the meal deals. The food's on until 9.30pm and it's run by lovely people - aces, no? Note: no wifi! Laptops to be left at home...

Never have I ever. Stay tuned... this is a long and crazy story (little did she know, I'm a…read morefreelance writer!). The bar woman (heavy-set, red hair) who works there isn't wrapped tightly. I went there on Sunday night/Monday morning with some nice bartenders as a plus-one during a "bartenders-only" time. I am visiting from Toronto, Canada (first-timer) and was jiving with everyone. I go to pay via card and my friend and I were jokingly arguing about who should pay. I grab the machine before my friend can reach it, then I turn around, and begin keying in my password. The bartender then startles me by SCREAMING at me to "TURN AROUND! TURN AROUND RIGHT NOW! YOU NEED TO FACE ME WHEN YOU'RE USING THE MACHINE!" I turn around and jokingly say, "Why? You want to see my password or something?" and then she yells "I WAS ROBBED!".... Like, huh? Funnily enough, I was recently robbed (Manchester can be quite gritty). So I calmly tell her that and ask what being robbed has to do with anything. I was literally standing still, holding the machine, and keying my password into it, albeit with my back facing her. How are you freaking out about "robbery" while I'm in the midst of paying you? Weird. I promise you, it was completely out of left field. It's like she was transported into some traumatic setting from her past, wherein I was the perpetrator. So I pay and slowly hand her the machine. She snatches it rudely and people are looking at her wondering why she's being so aggressive to me. I shake it off, change the topic, and continue enjoying the night with everyone. I was never loud, drunk, rude, or obnoxios to anyone at all. And I deliberately ignored her existence. Now the bar's about to close and my friend asks if there's time to go for a smoke and come back to finish our drinks. She says yes, but we have to be quick. 3 minutes later, my beer's gone, all the tables are cleared, etc. So I calmly ask her where my beer's gone. She says she took it off the table since they're closing. I express my confusion, since my friend asked 3 minutes ago if there's time, and mumble to myself that that's $10 literally down the drain (the conversion from GBP to CAD is killer). Then -- again --, she immediately flies off the handle saying "YOU'VE BEEN AGGRESSIVE WITH ME ALL NIGHT! YOU'VE BEEN GIVING ME ATTITUDE ALL NIGHT! GET OUT! YOU'RE BANNED! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE HERE AGAIN!" Excuse me? You've got that backwards lady and everyone saw it. Don't try to make me look bad just because you embarrassed yourself. I just responded by asking her repeatedly, "Who do I look like that hurt you? Who do I remind you of?" I don't even care that she banned me. For one, I'm just a tourist passing through. And second, why would I go somewhere where I'm hated for no reason? I don't feel safe around this woman and other people who go there shouldn't either. She needs serious help. I am really disturbed by this bartender's behaviour. At least when you're robbed, there's a clear motive. Not sure what was motivating her aggression and hatred. To the owner who I met that night (yes, I'm the black woman with long dreads, seeing glasses, and a toque), please have a serious word with your bartender. She will surely try to paint me as a villain but ask anyone I was there with. And check any CCTV footage. No one deserves to be treated so poorly without cause. You don't have to like me to treat me with basic human dignity. Gah-lee.

Traditional-looking pub? Yes. Decent selection of ales? Alas, no…read more Did a search for pubs close to Chinatown before a meal and this place popped up so thought to give it a try. They were showing the footy on their two big screens so it was fairly busy in there (I say busy, there were probably 20 people but it's not particularly spacious). They had Timothy Taylor's Landlord and Black Sheep Brewery's Best Bitter available - the few others were more well known lagers etc. A pint of Landlord cost £3.90 and it was supposedly happy hour so who knows what they normally charge. It just doesn't have anything that would make me want to return in a hurry to be honest, there are better boozers only a few minutes walk away. Timber to Seven Oaks...

We enjoyed our visit here! Perfect sized 7" pizzas (bogo) with a lot of different options…read more Handmade...no frozen pizzas here! Very, very good! The hot honey sauce is great...but if you don't like a lot of heat, use small amounts of Great service and wonderful atmosphere. Highly recommend!

While I really do like these grunge pubs, the thing that annoyed me about this one was that they…read moreonly accepted card, which I personally don't appreciate, being the type of person to prefer to use cash when I am at drinking establishments. However, that aside, this pub I have to admit was certainly pretty cool, especially since it was a grunge pub, but then again I really do like grunge pubs like this one, so I'm certainly quite delighted that I randomly wandered into this one.

Decent ambiance and food, when you want a chill vibe! I met up with friends here for an evening out…read moreand it did not disappoint. The food was okay; slightly overpriced, but the servings were big. The drinks were pretty fun and not too expensive, and they have many on 2-4-1! If you stay late, there's always good music and some dancing to groove your worries away.

went for bottomless brunch and server Robyn was amazing. Very prompt service, very friendly with…read moreawesome recommendations. brunch was amazing value with cocktail upgrade. Had amazing afternoon.

The day we went it was busy for a World Cup match. Great atmosphere. Food was not bad. Good beer…read moreselection. Easy to order at table and they bring you everything. We were happy. Good atmosphere.

We were in Manchester, UK overnight the other day on a quick visit, and we're trying to scrounge up…read morea breakfast before our meeting. Not much time to look for a proper resto, so we popped into the Paramount pub close to our hotel and were pleasantly surprised. We both had the big breakfast to get us through the day. Nothing like a full fry up Eggs, ham, toast, hash browns, tomatoes, mushrooms and beans. And of course - awesome breakfast sausages! Why oh why can't we get decent breakfast sausage in Germany? Anyway, it's a big pub, probably a good place in the evening. And there are more that 20 beers from all over the world on tap.

The architectural detail in here is absolutely stunning! It's worth a visit if for no other reason…read morethan the architecture!!! I found the pints reasonably priced. The live entertainment was well done. While the main floor gets very packed, it is still easy to move around and easy to get drinks at any of the several bars inside the establishment. Toilets downstairs on either side, easy to walk around the bar by going up or down on either side to bypass the dance floor.

Had 3 friends visiting from London. Bouncers wouldn't let us in because one girl had a bride sash…read moreon (as she's getting married). Bouncers said no hen parties. Really pointlessly rude and obnoxious. I am normally a regular at Via but won't be going back. Really humiliating had to try to convince my friends canal street isn't normally like this. Luckily bar pop were really nice and welcoming but doubt my friends will want to come back any time soon.

The City Arms. If you've ever been then you'll feel manly just thinking about it! Grrrr! It should…read morebe called the The City Gun Show, I can actually feel my testosterone levels increasing with every typed word. This is a proper boozer from a time when men had mutton chops and women just weren't allowed the hell in damn it!! Oak filled, serving real ale and housing pool tables that it just isn't big enough for -probably to increase the chance of a fight breaking out- this is a pub that has laughed in the face of progress for over 50 years. Go there to watch or talk about sport. If the mood takes you just go ahead and punch somebody.

Another day, another pub that I've walked past a billion times and never thought about going in! If…read morethe truth be known I think I always thought it was part of the Vine Inn next door which I've been in a few times over the years. Located in a part of the city that is clearly on the up (just off St Peters Square) it's a traditional boozer of the very old school variety - deceptively sized with a tiny front bar but loads of seating in the back! The drinks on offer are all a little bit stuck in the past for my beer tastes but this isn't a problem for most patrons - they just do lots of bitters, lagers and stouts. I have to say that their beer flights are great value at just over £3.00 where you can get a third of each beer of your choice up to a pint - really good idea and great to see it appearing in more and more pubs! City Arms is somewhere that's cool to pop into if you're after a quick pint or meeting with friends, I just can't see myself wanting to spend all night here - I think I'd get very bored, very quickly of the beers on offer - but this is my own overly pretentious beery opinion!