A Few More Manchester Favourites....

I went on a tour the other day of a few old-school favourites over in Manchester, all of which I call in fairly regularly, and had a cracking afternoon. Read on to find out why I think they are always worth a visit....

One of my favourite pubs in Manchester, and indeed anywhere, is the Marble Arch, a brisk 10 minutes walk from Victoria Station, on Rochdale Road which heads out from the ever-changing city skyline towards the suburbs of Collyhurst, Harpurhey, Blackley, and beyond. This classic pub was built as a show-pub for the long-gone McKenna brewery in 1888 on the site of a former hostelry and with its ornate entrance with arch and marble-like columns, hence the name of the pub (spoiler alert - the columns are actually granite!), attractive brick and tile exterior, and distinctive chimneys, the Marble - which unusually for the those days had electric lighting installed when it opened - must have stood out against its peers.

I have been coming here for years, certainly for most of time since the Marble Brewery was based in a room at the back of the pub, which takes us back to 1997. The beers produced in those days were organic, and a brewpub near the centre of Manchester was very unusual and therefore a big draw for beer drinkers. The pub itself was a draw with its beautiful glazed tile interior with barrelled ceiling, open fire, attractive wooden bar with tiling, and a sloping mosaic floor which followed the incline of Gould Street outside. There was a mixture of padded bench seating and dark wood tables and chairs, with the odd comfy armchair beside the fire which were always popular, especially in the winter months. The beers were brewed by, amongst others, future luminaries of the Manchester brewing scene such as James Campbell and Rob Hamilton, and even back then the range included a few favourites that are still around today, such as Manchester Bitter and the stronger Lagonda, whilst Chocolate Marble and Ginger Marble are brought back occasionally, although rising costs meant the beers ceased to be organic some time ago.

The beers were immediately popular, and it wasn't that long before the brewery had to find a new home to allow them to increase capacity, and so they moved into an empty railway arch on Williamson Street, a few minutes walk away down the hill. That allowed the pub to expand its kitchen to cater for a growing appetite for its food. Further developments led to a beer garden out at the back of the pub, and over the years the Marble's popularity continued to grow with visitors regular coming from out of town and further afield; on one visit I remember having a conversation with a brewer from Philadelphia who had come on a fact-finding trip to the UK, with the aim of sampling some of the Marble beers high on his to-do list.

 

Today, as you walk in through the archway, the main room is largely unchanged from 20-odd years ago; that familiar tiling and sloping floor giving a reassuring welcome if you haven't been for a while. The armchairs though have gone, presumably to free up some room whilst waiting to place your order. The bar features a total of 9 hand pumps and 8 keg lines, predominantly Marble beers, now brewed in a bespoke brewhouse in Salford, plus a few guests. The food is a big draw, and when I visited recently a group at a neighbouring table were eagerly tucking into what looked to be some delicious fare. The room to the rear of the bar and kitchen with the food servery is much more plain, but offers some overspill seating for both diners and drinkers, whilst the garden is very attractively laid out with a number of pods allowing shelter from any inclement weather.

Today, as I enjoyed my pint of the 3.9% Pint (NBSS 3.5), not one of the original Marble beers but now very much a stalwart of the range, I reflected on my many visits here over the years both with friends and on my tod. The pub has always had an atmosphere that is its own, and has always attracted a loyal number of regulars, such as workers from the nearby Royal Mail, plus an eclectic mix of folk from the city and beyond. Most times my visits have been brilliant but sometimes unfortunately the pub has been too busy to really enjoy. But then again, it doesn't take a genius to understand why the Marble Arch is so popular; its excellent beer, top-class food, friendly service, outstanding good looks, and iconic reputation mean it is on so many must-visit lists....

When I visited the Marble Arch the other day, I had broken my journey from Victoria and stopped off at the Angel. This is another pub I first visited many years ago, and whilst I have not called here as often as the Marble, it is still a place I enjoy visiting. It takes its name from Angel Meadow, the bucolic-sounding name of the notorious slums that covered this area in the 19th century which informed the writings of German philosopher and revolutionary socialist Friedrich Engels. Today this historic pub is surrounded by high-rise developments and busy roads, but maintains a quiet calm inside. It has been undergoing a gradual refurbishment for years, but still retains many original features. The main entrance is down the side through a narrow door and up a few steps, which brings you out in to an L-shaped room, with the bar on the left. To the right of the bar is an area featuring a huge grand piano and a few tables and chairs, plus large glass doors which allow access to rather scruffy patch of grass with some garden furniture should you fancy al fresco drinking beside the busy road junction. Back inside, there is an area which branches off to the front-left of the bar with seating and a fireplace with an open fire in cold weather.

The bar at the Angel

There are up to 10 beers available on hand pump, often ones you don't find often in central Manchester; on this visit I enjoyed a pint of the 4% Crafty Fox bitter from Wigan's Wily Fox brewery, which was not only enjoyable and in great condition (NBSS 3.5), but also reasonably priced by local standards. There have been times over the years when the Angel has seemed a bit rundown and unloved, but on my last couple of visits it seems to have got its mojo back, and as I left there were quite a few people in; a group of old guys on an afternoon crawl sat at a table near me and a few suits who'd managed an early weekend getaway from the Co-op offices nearby.

A survivor: The Angel

Near to both the Marble Arch and the Angel is the nowadays always-reliable Crown & Kettle, situated in a prominent position on the corner of Great Ancoats Street and Oldham Road. A tall, rambling building with distinctive high ground floor windows dating from the early 19th century. Inside it spreads over a number of separate rooms and has undergone several refurbishments over the years which have served to highlight the distinctive ceiling and exposed brickwork of the pub's stunning interior. A high central bar serves the main room and a separate, quieter room around the other side. The pub always seems to be busy these days, and at times the seating inside is virtually fully occupied. In fine weather there is a secluded beer garden at the back of the pub, plus tables outside on the Oldham Road side which are often busy, as are an overspill of chairs on the Great Ancoats side, taking advantage of an unlikely suntrap beside this busy corner. Over the years more high buildings have shot up over the past few years and transformed the streetscape of this part of Manchester, although only a matter of yards away from the Crown & Kettle is a small surviving enclave of terraced housing that once made up so much of this area. The pub has always been worth a visit, but over the past couple of years in particular it has become an essential place to call in with a number of CAMRA and other awards indicating the quality of its beer, of which it has a varied and interesting range on both cask and tap (from which on this visit I was drinking Pomana Island Factotum). And the staff are some of the friendliest in the city centre. And this time there was also the added bonus of bumping into Harry and Clare, a couple I'd had the pleasure of meeting at the Grayston Unity in Halifax a couple of years ago, who were just having a quick drink before heading off to catch their flight home to Cornwall. Small world!

The Crown & Kettle (Image: EAT MCR)

Another favourite, not far from the Crown & Kettle, is the Bar Fringe on Swan Street opposite the Band on the Wall. Due to train times, I didn't call in this quirky, Belgian-style bar on this occasion, but on recent visits it has been as good as ever. The place never seems to change, probably because the landlady has been here for years. The Bar Fringe definitely has an atmosphere of its own, and manages to draw in a wide variety of customers attracted by an interesting range of beers served via a total of five handpumps, one of the best beer gardens in the centre of Manchester, and eccentric decor - how many other pubs in the city have an old motorbike amongst the artefacts on display? Well worth a visit if you have the time.

I did though call in another old favourite further along Swan Street, the Smithfield Market Tavern, to give it its full name. When I first visited here back in the early noughties it was a basic free house with a couple of hand pumps and a pool table and appealed mainly to the working man. However over the intervening years it has been transformed into one of the most popular real ale destinations in the city. It is a comfortable and chilled bar with wooden floors, a few sofas, and cushioned seating with books and board games for those wanting to relax. There is a dartboard and bar billiards for those who are feeling more active. The Smithfield has been run by Blackjack Brewery for the past few years, and normally around four of their beers are available on hand pump along with a couple of guests, with a further 10 keg lines and a range of bottles. Beer quality is always reliable (the 3.8% Irk Street Pale Ale was drinking well - NBSS 3) and quite simply it is a great place to chill out away from the bustle of the city outside.

The Smithfield Market Tavern

I did have one more place to visit before I caught the train and whilst it was another old favourite, it was definitely not a pub. I wandered down into the Northern Quarter, where just off Thomas Street and behind Trof on Soap Street is This & That Cafe. This family run cafe has been serving delicious Indian food for the past 25 years, and is well-known for its rice and three, three curries that is. Despite its unpromising location it is an absolute gem of a place which I have been coming to regularly over the years following recommendations by friends. It serves a wide range of different curries which vary each day of the week. You order your food at the servery as you go in and dine at long canteen-style tables in a brightly-lit plainly decorated room. No alcohol is permitted, so it's soft drinks or water. Today I ordered ladles of lamb and spinach, daal, and Bombay potatoes to go with my boiled rice, adding a few fresh chopped green chillies and onions from the dishes by the servery for extra heat and crunch. As usual it was excellent, and at £6.50 for the lot, great value for money. And then it was back down the hill to Victoria, having thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon visiting a few old favourites....

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