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    The Rivals

    5.0 (1 review)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    7 years ago

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    The Old Wellington

    The Old Wellington

    4.0(60 reviews)
    0.1 miCity Centre
    ££

    Gotta check out this 1556 building and the English pub. The building is old timber with really neat…read morewindows. It's a narrow and tall building with separate floors for dining. We dined on the second floor for lunch on a Sat. We did not have reservations-but they are recommended. My friend dined on a lively chicken bacon avo salad. I had the chicken bacon cheese sandwich. We added halloumi fries which were delish! Our waitress was MIA most of the time-needing to go to the bar to ask for check and to order.

    The Old Wellington was a great choice for our first meal in Manchester. I had been scoping out…read moreplaces to eat in the area prior to our visit, and with it's unique facade and close proximity to the day's activities, it made for a memorable meal. The food itself was delicious. I had a carrot soup. It was fresh and not overly salty. The sourdough bread and butter was the perfect complement and I enjoyed my meal immensely. My husband had a salmon bowl which looked incredible, but I didn't sample. One of the things we really liked about The Old Wellington was the high caliber of food quality. Being that we had just embarked on our UK trip, it was nice to have a meal that was healthy. I was really blown away by how great the food was and extra happy that I didn't have to settle for something overly rich that would've weighed me down for the days of walking ahead. While the atmosphere and the food were 5 stars all the way, I am deducting one star for the length of time it took to get the food. We scanned the QR code on our table to place our order (a relic from Covid times I suppose), and it took nearly 40 minutes for our food to arrive. We noticed other people going in and placing their orders, but this was confusing since our drink order arrived in a somewhat timely manner. We had timed tickets for an attraction nearby, so I had to leave part of my meal behind. Kind of a bummer since the food was so good and an hour should've been plenty of time to not feel rushed. Of worthy mention is the conveniently central location in Manchester. Literally less than 5 minutes walk to great shopping, Chetham's Library and Manchester Cathedral. We loved our time in Manchester, and someday we'll be back to try more from the Old Wellington. Next time, we'll place our order inside :-)

    Photos
    The Old Wellington - Cask ales

    Cask ales

    The Old Wellington - Halloumi Fries

    Halloumi Fries

    The Old Wellington - Window view from my table.

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    Window view from my table.

    English Lounge - From website

    English Lounge

    4.1(46 reviews)
    0.3 miNorthern Quarter
    ££

    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...

    Photos
    English Lounge - From website

    From website

    English Lounge - From website

    From website

    English Lounge - Just behind the stairs the secret chillout section...

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    Just behind the stairs the secret chillout section...

    The Angel - from website

    The Angel

    3.6(18 reviews)
    0.5 miAncoats, Petersfield
    ££

    On a sunny day (rare in Manchester) my colleagues decided to take me to The Angel pub for lunch,…read moresomewhere I have never tried and to be completely honest, had never heard of. On arrival I was greeted by around 20 other punters sitting in what can only be described as an abandoned car park - the outside area I presume? Great, quirky and fun. Get me a beer. The inside is small and so is the bar area so I quickly checked out their menu, saw the option of a fish finger butty, and it was done. A few moments later it was brought outside to me and I was amazed. It was incredible! so much bigger than I was expecting, and the chips.. Oh the chips!!! I may go out on a limb here and say these could be the best chips I have had in Manchester! They must have been triple cooked, very hot and fluffy and seasoned with rock salt and rosemary. MORE OF THESE PLEASE!

    Now this is my sort of pub! Rustic, rough around the edges and definitely seen a bit of action over…read morethe years - this is just the sort of place I want to hang out in regularly! Positioned just off Rochdale road (5 mins walk from the NQ) and surrounded by some pretty busy roads and nondescript buildings and warehouses, The Angel looks like it could be close to being boarded up. Wander inside though and take in what is a classic boozer with long bar, lots of seating and even an old piano in the corner. I went at lunch time for a bite to eat so wasn't really in the market for a pint but the selection was fantastic with some great local breweries such as Hawkshead well represented. Amongst all the standard rubbish lagers, they also had around 5 excellent imported German ones which showed they could be a place to take friends who haven't yet been converted to the joys of the proper beer scene! The prices were around £3.50 a pint which is pretty good value I think. The aforementioned food was excellent with me enjoying a wild boar moussaka (all served with a greek salad) for £8, just one of the exciting and enticing options of their classic pub food with a twist menu. They also said they have a more formal dining room with a different menu upstairs so this will have to wait till another day when I have more time on my hands. Overall if you're after a classic pub with great food and drinks then get yourself here - I'll be back soon, that's for sure!

    Photos
    The Angel
    The Angel - From website

    From website

    The Angel - From website

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    From website

    Pie & Ale

    Pie & Ale

    4.1(49 reviews)
    0.5 miNorthern Quarter
    ££

    First time in Pie and Ale, which in itself is astonishing given they are two of my favourite…read morethings. But now I know why, even though it's not hidden, it's listed as being on Lever St but in reality it set back from the road slightly down Faraday St. So it's not immediately visible from Lever St unless you're looking for it; which is really my only reason for not giving it 5*. Pie and Ale doesn't bound head long towards the current fashion of ultra trendy scrounged and up-cycled interiors that so many bars are doing, it's interior is very clean and simple but also warm and inviting and won't age or go out of fashion as quickly as some of the other bars in the NQ. It's also got several different space so you can choose to sit in the open seating area with the large glass windows, next to the bar at high benches or walk around the corner and up the stairs for a more cosy intimate set of booths above the bar; this means the location can suit a lot of different situations. They have a good selection of ales for the likes of myself, but have a good range of bottle beers and your general assortment of keg beers, wines etc. The pies are on the pricey side (£9.95-£11.95) especially compared with the likes of Pie Minister (£7.95 for the Mothership) only a few blocks away, but they are big and hearty as you'd hope and with the availability of cask beer (Pie Minister only has bottles) improves the experience for me. In my opinion it's always nicer having a fresh well kept pint than having bottled beer. I had the Moufflon and Minted Chocolate which was spot on as far as I'm concerned the chocolate and stout sauce went fantastically with the well cooked steak. Overall I really enjoyed the relaxed feel of Pie and Ale and will be most likely to return now I know where it is.

    I think I've found my new favourite place!…read more Ok so I've been here before for our Elite event a few months back (and that was a flying visit) and I've had many friends spreading the gospel about this place being super amazing for beer, food and general 'good time' ambience but on Saturday night everything came together to really make me say "yeah I get it now" So without going into all the boring details - they do pies very well, they do ale vey well - the pies coming from a selection of about 12 (I had the steak and 3 cheese with peas and mash - £11.95) and a pretty similar sized range of craft beers, cask and real ales on tap. I really thought the selection was excellent (and well priced - a flight of 3 thirds was £3.40 of cask ale) and their bottles are a good mix of what America and Europe has to offer! This place is going to be amazing for the world cup with a big screen up in the main bar showing all the matches (they were actually showing the Champions league final on Sat night, adding to the ambience) - and the music was just the icing on the cake - what a fantastic selection of reggae, dub and hiphop for the 3 hours I was in. Really looking forward to going back and having some great beer with a phat ass pie soon! *extra note should go to all the waiting staff - amazing friendliness and table service all night - nice job guys!*

    Photos
    Pie & Ale - Lunch special pie & a pint

    Lunch special pie & a pint

    Pie & Ale
    Pie & Ale - Raspberry beer! So so nice

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    Raspberry beer! So so nice

    The Oxnoble

    The Oxnoble

    4.1(33 reviews)
    0.6 miCastlefield
    ££

    Note: this is a breakfast review so may not reflect the pub fully. I was waiting for an event at…read moreMosi, and decided to check out the nearest pub for breakfast options. The menu was pretty standard, so I quickly have chosen what to have and went to take a seat. The breakfast was of the right temperature, no twists, does the job. If want a quick fix ( depending on how many people are already there) while waiting for your train or stuff at Mosi, than that's the place; otherwise might want to check out things nearby. The wait was a bit too long - but again, this is a pub, not a breakfast place, so not sure it's fair to expect fast service at this time of day.

    The Ox has been a place I've been wanting to revisit for quite some time! In fact the last time I…read morewent for lunch was probably a good 5 years ago and whenever I see a Yelp review come up for it it does make me think I've been missing out on this fine classic pub that serves fine British classics for too long! Although it's traditional and there's nothing that makes you go wow like some nearby trendy bars, it's definitely this which appeals to me - in fact I found a lovely little table towards the back with a roaring fire which warmed me up on a day when the weather was starting to look rather autumnal. I was served by 3 different staff and all were friendly, polite and welcoming. For some bizarre reason I decided to go for their 2 for £12.95 lunch deal (why I needed 2 courses at lunch I'm not sure but it seemed good value - plus I'd been in meetings all day so needed a fair amount of comfort food) and I went for the ham hock terrine to start with (lovely piccalilli) followed by the steak and ale pie with chips and vege's (devine). The quality and taste was excellent and with a very full belly I felt my work here was done! Speaking of work, it was also a good little spot to work for an hour on my laptop afterwards - with free wifi. That's the right way to blend tradition and modern so as the customer has the best of both worlds :-)

    Photos
    The Oxnoble
    The Oxnoble
    The Oxnoble

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    The Rivals - gastropubs - Updated May 2026

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