The best cocktail bars in Manchester

Positioned just off Cross Street, in a smart looking former townhouse, are all three floors of 10 Tib Lane – an idyllic hideaway, perfect for a moodily lit rendezvous. If you’re craving a relaxed setting for a post-work catch-up, or something a little more special, their expertly crafted cocktail menu comes courtesy of the mixological talent behind Henry C in Chorlton and the Northern Quarter’s much-missed Cocktail Beer Ramen + Bun. Their happy is the stuff of legend too, during which you can pair a handsomely discounted cocktail with oysters for a quid. If you’re the kind of person who likes your Chivas Regal yoghurt-washed and your mezcal verde paired with dill, the address you’re seeking is 10 Tib Lane.

Chorlton’s most prestigious address for independent businesses, Beech Road is home to a high density of some of the best places to eat and drink in the entire city. 97 is no exception (and no prizes for guessing whereabouts on Beech road you can locate them). Their menu is a non-nonsense run down of classic drinks – the Bloody Mary, the daiquiri, the old fashioned, the paloma, the whiskey sour. You get the gist. No jazzy twists to be seen, just you old favourites served beautifully, with loads of stuff made on site too, from cordials to carbonations. Plus, their attractive front terrace is perfect for watching the comings and going of the ever-buzzing Beech Road.

Hidden away in a basement, barely perceptible from street-level, Behind Closed Doors is a tongue-in-cheek den of debauchery. While the decor leans into all things 70s sleaze, and despite the risqué names, the cocktails are anything but novelty, the bartenders know how to serve a drink. With vinyl DJs playing funk and soul and 4am finishes at the weekend (2am the rest of the time), there’s nowhere better for a seductive, after hours drink. If you end up here, you’ve had a good night.

Blinker Bar consistently shows up in polls of some of the best cocktail bars in the UK. Located in a stately looking building on Spring Gardens, just around the corner from The Portico Library, they are named after a forgotten cocktail comprising rye, grapefruit and raspberry. Their interest in harmony, balance and the unexpected inform their whole menu, which changes monthly, each iteration focussing on four in-season ingredients. When you’re this good at what you do, less really is more.

One of the NQ’s best cocktail bars, and perhaps a little more low key than some of its peers, The Daisy is neatly tucked away in the basement of Evelyn’s on Tib Street. The menu is divided into four sections, with a range of classics and signatures offering up some well-known concoctions but with a decidedly French, Japanese and Mexican twists. Then there are the sharpeners, which are essentially wild gin creations, and the curtain droppers which are decidedly more complex.

You know how every summer your Instagram feed is full of images of Mykonos? Fenix does the job of transporting you there, without travelling any further than the city centre (St John’s to be precise). All soft lighting, curved surfaces and organic textures, Fenix seamlessly blends the ancient with the contemporary. Suffice to say, the cocktail menu is just as painstakingly conceived as the space itself, inspired by figures from Greek mythology and mediterranean flavours and served in museum-worthy objects and, in one case, something approaching an active volcano.

With a covetable Islington Marina-front location, Finders Keepers take their name from their Keeper’s Quay address. Inside this sleek and airy bar though, you’ll discover loads of delights you’ll want to try for yourself – inspired serves, a reimagined Irish coffee, seasonal aperitifs and digestifs, and an alcohol-free menu that doesn’t feel like an afterthought. On a sunny evening, we can think of no place better to sip a canal-side spritz. And the happy hour offers are pretty decent too.

Hawksmoor is synonymous with excellent steak, but their dimly-lit cocktail bar is actually a stand-alone destination for some of the very best drinks in town. You need to explore their Sacred Six – a collection of six drinks which will always be on the menu like the peerless Sour Cherry Negroni, and the Shaky Pete, a mix of heavy ginger, lemon juice, gin and London Pride beer, which is, frankly, a revelation, created by barman Pete Jeary as a solution to the previous nights excesses, and potentially the cause of the next night’s. From the comfort of their elegant dining room, you’ll want to work your way through the entire list.

The phrase neighbourhood bar gets thrown around a lot, but Henry C in Chorlton is one place where it feels truly apt. A little spot across from vegan grocery utopia Unicorn, this New Orleans-inspired bar is a rather fetching shade of salmon pink. Inside, the space is cool-but-cosy, and perfect for people watching. Prop up the bar and chat to the knowledgeable bar staff (fans of 10 Tib Lane should know that some of the team started here) about their house infusions like black pepper vodka and beetroot tequila. Where most cocktail bars pride themselves on a great negroni, Henry C have an entire menu’s worth, from the classic to the chocolate flavoured, to everything in between. Pre-empting the hangover? Keep an eye out for their Bloody Mary and oyster Sundays too. 

In their Ancoats and Chorlton locations, The Jane Eyre consistently serves up some of the city’s best drinks. The menu is concise and seasonal, with a stripped-back approach that is all about flavour (and not so much about over the top garnishes). If you’re into refined and grown up, with perhaps grab some delicious nibbles on the side too – which are more salad Provençal and sourdough with yuzu butter than your usual salted peanuts and salt and vinegar.

You might not expect such a hedonistic bar to have such a well-rounded cocktail menu, but Lost Cat doesn’t just prioritise the party, their cocktails are exceptionally considered too. Their irreverent offerings include serves like Frenzied Girl (vodka, white cacao, vanilla, matcha and almond milk) and the Sunnydale President (gin, pear, almond, lemon, soda). Sipping on the dance floor has never tasted so good.

Nordie is a neighbourhood spot done right. It’s relaxed and inviting, with a Nordic feel (hence the name) and a sun-drenched beer garden for when the weather’s on your side. Fresh takes on classics like the Basil Sour and Smoke & Spice Margarita, as well as considered alcohol-free options like the Clean Collins, make this Levy haunt a place you could seriously spend a cocktail session at. With a no-nonsense bar menu and a roast dinner on the Sunday, there’s plenty to soak it all with too.

Peste is the bar offering from the minds who brought you experimental Salford club The White Hotel, so it’ll come as no shock that the vibe is quite avant garde. With an independent book and record offering, and an octagonal mahogany bar, the aesthetic is a gothic church-via-Berlin’s trendy Kreutzberg neighbourhood. Listen to the city’s most adventurous DJs while sipping classics like martinis and negronis, all served on silver platters, often complete with ornate doilies or tiny fragments of literature. Because, of course.

Inspired by ‘turn of the century illicit bars’, Project Halcyon is a secret secret bar, complete with an on-site distillery, an Old Fashioned trolley for making drinks table-side, and its own ‘Salon Vert’, where absinthe is served with all the necessary pomp. And when they say hidden, they actually mean it. Buried deep in the basement of a labyrinthine bonded warehouse in St John’s, this place delivers theatrics as well as quality. With the thematic cocktail menu separated out into Challenge, Wisdom, Conflict, Love and Age, you’re sure to find a drink that resonates with you.

With an ‘everyone’s welcome’ ethos, Red Light, as you might expect, takes its decor notes from dive bars, but with a refined take on the theme. Located on the squint-and-it-could-be-Manhattan Little David Street, complete with its fire escape ladders, it’s currently the only late bar in the KAMPUS neighbourhood. Grab a stool at the bar or cozy table for two and enjoy full table service as day effortlessly becomes night in a cocktail bar where the vibes are as well executed as the beverages.

The best of the best? Quite possibly. Opening up rather quietly back in 2021, Schofield’s have confidently established themselves as a must-visit destination if you like to think yourself a cocktail connoisseur. Nestled in a corner of the ground floor of Quay Street’s Grade II-listed Sunlight House, Schofield’s – named after the two founding brothers, Joe and Daniel – is the embodiment of sophistication. The cocktail menu consists of twenty four drinks, no more no less, with the onus on classics done the right way and consistency of service which is nothing short of impeccable. They keep a handful of tables aside for walk-ins, but to avoid serious disappointment we recommend you book.

The team at the award-winning Speak in Code say that if they can make something in house, they do and if they can use it again, they will. That’s an ethos we can get behind. Inspired by the speakeasies of NYC – but with unmistakably Manc service – sustainability is important, but flavour is key, as they serve up drinks featuring resourceful ingredients like discarded grape skin vodka. Located on Jackson’s Row, just off Albert Square, Speak in Code is worth wandering off the beaten path for. These guys are real hip-hop heads, but thankfully their menu is a pun-free zone – drinks are simply named Track 1 – Track 12. Very cool, that.

‘The roaring twenties are back’ announce Sterling. Created by the brothers behind the immaculate Schofield’s bar, Sterling sits in the basement underneath the Stock Exchange Hotel, with a vintage-themed menu which just oozes class. The menu is broken down into The Untouchables, Sterling Moonshine and Vintage Cocktails, which loosely translates as timeless classics, their own signature creations and cocktails made with some unspeakably high quality vintage spirits. This dark and moody spot, illuminated by a scattering of lamps, screams date night.

With their own dedicated space on the corner of the Mackie Mayor food hall, Stray is fast becoming a destination drinking hole – a stylish haunt with a focus on effortless simplicity and unpretentiousness. Their smart serves are presented beautifully, often minimally, and set the tone for an evening which can pivot from sophisticated to loads-of-fun drink by drink. Start with one of their inventive martinis, and then shift on to a wild tomato marg or their take on the Balearic classic, the Fanta Limon – pop made wonderfully boozy.

With all the glitz and glamour of Spinningfields, it could be easy to rest on your laurels when it comes to cocktails: throw a bit of prosecco in with some Chambord, add a sparkler, call it a day. Tattu takes a different tack, using their cocktail menu to tell a story about their culinary inspirations. That’s why you’ll find some truly excellent, outlandishly presented creations, many with nods towards typically Asian flavours like sake, cherry blossom and lemongrass.

For a bar with a full scale gin distillery on-site, it’s safe to expect the cocktails at Three Little Words to be a cut above the rest. Their drinks menu is displayed on a matrix of sweet to dry and delicate to robust, allowing you to experience a spectrum of carefully-curated flavours. Of course, anything gin-based comes highly recommended, but with an extremely detailed menu you can also take the opportunity to explore a whole boozy landscape of flavour profiles. Three other words: worth a visit.