To experience the best that a city like Manchester has to offer in terms of nightlife and bars, sometimes it pays off to have a proper explore and look in places you wouldn’t normally think of. If you’re lucky, you might stumble onto some of these well-guarded secret bars on your own (some easier to find than others), but just in case you haven’t hit the jackpot yet and don’t know what to look for, we’ve done the hunting around for you. Here are 7 secret bars Manchester has to offer.
This is as hidden and covert as bars come. The Washhouse is so well disguised as a launderette that many people really struggle to find it. If you manage to identify the correct ‘launderette’ and make your way inside, you have to pick up the nondescript landline and call ahead to request how many ‘loads of washing’ you’d like done. If the bar can accommodate your laundry, you’ll be buzzed through and away from the subterfuge and illusions. You’ll find yourself in a refined, leather-clad space where a DJ ensures that thumping house tunes accompany the cocktails. If you want to be sure The Washhouse will be able to ‘accommodate your laundry’ on a particular evening, tweet ahead and be prepared to speak in laundry related lingo. This is certainly one of the more unique bars Manchester has to offer.
Dusk Til Pawn hides in plain sight, and those with an untrained eye risk walking right past it. This unique bar disguised as a pawn shop transports you back through time to the era of speakeasies and jukeboxes as soon as you step through the façade. Set in a refurbished Grade II Listed building, the air of understated sophistication lends itself well to a cheeky Instagram post. An exhaustive and eclectic cocktail menu accompanied by an ever-changing list of house infusions make this a cocktail lover’s dream. You should definitely make the effort to track this place down!
The third bar on our list to cheekily hide behind a faux frontage, The Convenience Store (as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now) uses the ploy of a very convincing convenience store to remain hidden. From the outside, everything from Pop Tarts to Lucky Charms breakfast cereals are visible, and so to the average man walking around, it just looks like another kooky hipster shop selling tasty American Treats – that in itself would be very Northern Quarter anyway, so the ploy is totally believable.
They do give you a little help though. They have a nice neon sign that upon closer inspection reads “Not Another Fucking Tesco Express”, we share their sentiment. Step inside and you’ll find delicious booze concoctions on offer as well as the array of tasty treats from the window. The best part? They make actual American frozen squishies, and they also serve A Flaming Moe: fire makes it good.
Not necessarily overtly hidden per se, The Fitzgerald is just extremely easy to miss as you saunter around the Northern Quarter in search for booze. If you managed to stumble across the entrance on Little Lever street and head upstairs, you’ll find yourself transported to the 1920’s prohibition era. Lavishly furnished and dimly lit, it’s a self-proclaimed ‘atmospheric drinking den’. They regularly hold jazz, swing and electro swing music nights, and you’re encouraged to party like it’s 1925. Everybody needs some Gatsby glamour in their life, and now you know where to find it.
Hidden away behind a secret and guarded door within the Northern Quarter rib and whiskey bar, Cane & Grain, are the secret stairs that lead up to Science + Industry. This is a cocktail den that was created to push the boundaries of modern molecular mixology. Ever had edible orange perfume as an element to your cocktail? In pursuit of the ultimate cocktail menu, Science + Industry enlisted the help of the University of Manchester’s chemistry department to really perfect their distillation, filtration and crystallisation processes. You won’t find a more technically advanced cocktail anywhere else…but you’ve got to get in first. There are tons of secret bars Manchester has to offfer, you just have to look really hard.
Known as Manchester’s ‘hidden den of debauchery and indulgence’, Behind Closed Doors is a unique bar truly hidden away beneath ground level. With an entrance to the outside world so unassuming and nondescript, many who go in search of it on Oldham Street end up missing it! Once you’ve located the entrance, you need to buzz through in order to access the sexy, racy bar. A classic 70’s inspired interior influences everything from the chairs to the furnishings, and screens showing old school porn play on loops. You can order your cocktails and craft beers using vintage telephones in your booth to call the bar. How’s that for service? These bars Manchester has to offer are certainly one of a kind.
Corbieres is one of the worst kept secrets in Manchester. But we’ve included this wine tavern because it’s tucked away down an alleyway (Half Moon street) so isn’t immediately obvious. Home to Manchester’s greatest jukebox, you can pick songs for free and listen to the classics. Huge oak barrels are strewn everywhere, and those combined with the cavernous ceiling and walls make this a very special and different place to have a few rounds. The drinks menu is all about the wine (hallelujah) and winos will be spoilt for choice. It’s not all bad for beer lovers as Corbieres also offers a few select Salford ales too.
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