The 21 best bars in Manchester

Joe and Daniel Schofield are Manchester’s most famous bartenders – recognised worldwide for their skills. Born in Rossendale, Lancs, the brothers travelled the globe winning copious awards before heading back up North to open their own gaff. The awards kept coming, including being named the best cocktail bar in the UK by Top 50 Cocktail Bars in 2024. Schofield’s Bar brings old NYC-style glamour to Sunlight House (former home to Liz Dawn aka Vera from Corrie’s The Grapes pub). Staff here will confidently shake you the best martini in town (featuring Schofield’s own dry vermouth), or try something more inventive from the constantly evolving menu – you can even pair it with a suggested book from their small library. Equal care and consideration are taken over wine and beer; all beer – including Guinness – is served in a schooner. Book ahead, particularly on weekends. 

Nineteenth-century architect Alfred Waterhouse designed this grand hotel, bar and restaurant, and what a job he did. The iconic joint on Oxford Street has long been a landmark and made even more so by new owners and a million-pound facelift. The bar was put into the capable hands of DJs-turned-restaurateurs Justin Crawford and Luke Cowdrey. Expect similar fare to their award-winning restaurant Volta in Didsbury – think small plates, cocktails and an inspired wine list. And although the pair have since moved on, their influence is stamped throughout. A fairy-light-lit courtyard and fabulous DJs in the basement mean there’s no need to go on anywhere else.

Yes, it's primarily a music venue but Yes is also home to a wonderful attic bar in what used to be an old auction house. The blue-beamed space invites the outside in with a huge array of plants, while the space itself opens into an outdoor terrace area, so you can be inside or out. The idea of the building, with its four floors of music, dining and drinking, is that you can stay there all night and feel like you’re in different places – but once you hit the attic, why go anywhere else, anyway?

Flok comes from the same team behind Balearic party shack Folk in East Didsbury and the (slightly) more grown-up wine bar Wine and Wallop on Lapwing Lane. This bar, smack bang in the Northern Quarter, hones to perfection the mix of laid-back atmosphere and serious drinks offering. The bar features a cosy retro interior, well-chosen wine, an incredible sherry list and, downstairs, you’ll find a hidden, gold leaf-lined vault complete with record player and minibar, which groups can rent out for private fiestas.

How did Manchester ever cope before the perfectly mixed negronis of Henry C came along? This tiny cocktail bar has made a big impression on the boozers of the city thanks to an impeccable and inventive drinks list that changes regularly. Choose from the menu or ask for your favourite classic – if they’ve got the ingredients, there’s no doubt they’ll nail it. Get down early to nab a table.

Yes, HOME is very much a cultural space, but if your preference is for a few drinks with contemporary art in the background, the ground-floor bar is one of the city centre’s finest. It’s stylish, lively and there’s often something happening to grab your attention as you lean on the bar to put your order in. And if, as the clock strikes 8pm, you fancy some arthouse cinema, well, you couldn’t be in a better place.

Fans of a bit of the old Mother’s Ruin could do no better than head to speciality bar Atlas where more than 570 varieties of the drink await you. But that’s not all. Of course, there’s more than gin that’s served, with fantastic corner views of Deansgate from the huge corner windows, and an outdoor terrace at the back.

Tucked away down a side road between the throbbing bars of Canal Street and Bloom Street, the Molly House offers two floors of respite from the hubbub of the Gay Village. Quieter and with a classier selection of drinks than many other Village haunts, it’s a great venue in which to start your evening’s revelries. However, with the standard of cocktails, wine and beers on offer, don’t be surprised if you decide to rest easy there all night. The food’s good too.

Having made a name for itself with some of the tastiest food in the region, OSMA has shown that the quality of flavours created there carries through to the bar selection too. Like the food menu, the choices are limited – but delights will await you in that cocktail glass. Highlights include the cilantro daiquiri but there’s also a lovely selection of wines and beers, making OSMA a great bar in its own right.

Once a Victorian school, The Deaf Institute is now a multi-storey bar, restaurant and live music venue, which is particularly popular among students. Another venue in the Trof empire (see also Gorilla and Albert Schloss), The Deaf Institute’s Grade II-listed ground floor is given over to drinking and dining, while upstairs there’s a music venue with vintage lecture hall seating (plus room for a few hundred standing). Along with live acts, regular club nights keep the crowds coming.