If you were putting together a dream pub in your booze-fuelled mind you’d be hard pushed to come up with a more perfect construction than the Marble Arch.
Enjoy beautiful tiled walls and floors dating back to the heyday of pub architecture whilst you explore one of the city’s leading selections of ales, lagers and liquors, and food that goes far beyond regular pub grub. A brewery in the back provides the majority of the pumps on the bar, as well as some of the finer ale establishments in the city. Seating arrangements suit any number in your gang, there's a fine jukebox from which to choose your soundtrack, and the beer garden catches a good deal of the sun when it decides to show up. The floor even slopes a little to help you along to the toilets when nature calls.
For the uninitiated it’s a glorious reveal when stepping through the tiny door on Rochdale Road, far enough away from the Northern Quarter to weed out the poseurs, Marble Arch is the epitomy of proper pub. Highly rated by critics and customers alike the mosaic floor and grand design of the building is offset by the to-the-point menu and Marble Brewery’s pump clips that state simply what they are and the ABV. Those from out of town might go straight for a pint of Manchester, but those with more of a sense of adventure may go for a half of Ginger Ale or the award-laden Lagonda IPA.
The food is also a point of pride, and for a pub with such a small kitchen it has a lot of big ideas, much like the brewery itself. There are small plates, burgers and sandwiches, the pub's signature dishes plus a children's menu and loads of vegan options. Not being pegged back by lack of space, this microbrewery is a microcosm of the city’s spirit.