A bar in Manchester has made the move to introduce a ridiculously cheap drinks deal, pricing a number of its most popular bevs at just £2.50 each.
Yes, that’s right. Every Friday night for the foreseeable future, Alvarium in the Northern Quarter will be serving up bottles of beer, alongside spirits and glasses of red, white and rose wine at a super low rate.
Perfect for helping those struggling with the high cost of, well, everything right now, this is a way to get the Christmas presents sorted and still go out celebrating the festive season with your mates. Happy days.
Image: Alvarium
Image: Alvarium
The Northern Quarter bar, which stays open until 1am on Fridays, launched a new extended happy hour earlier this summer that saw it offer two bottles of San Miguel for £5, two cocktails for £10 and bottles of house wine at £12.50 each.
Now, however, Alvarium’s owners have taken things a step further – taking the pricing structure back to the nineties with a range of £2.50 drinks available every Friday.
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As well as wine and beer, you’ll find tasty spritzes sitting alongside other festive-themed cocktails like ‘Santa’s Little Helper’ (a mix of brandy, bourbon, lemon, cranberry and orange) and ‘Winter Berries’ (vodka, apple, passionfruit, grenadine and lemonade).
Sharing the news online over the weekend, the dog-friendly cocktail bar and kitchen wrote: “INTRODUCING THE FRIDAY NIGHT SOCIAL.
“Due to the success of last week’s party […] to promote our happy hour running all night long, we’ve decided why not take it one step further… and continue our £2.50 (YES, £2.50) Friday Night drinks.
“All Friday, every Friday we’ll be serving selected drinks for £2.50. No need to book, just head down, booze up.”
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Image: Alvarium
Image: Alvarium
On the £2.50 drinks menu, you’ll find bottles of Mahou Spanish beer, small glasses of temperanillo, temp rose and viura, plus a cinnamon and orange spritz with lemon and fizz.
Elsewhere, choose from ‘Orange and Berries’, made with Jameson orange, lemon, cranberry and more orange, and the self-explanatory ‘Tequila and Lemon’.
The bar has previously hosted kitchen pop-ups from the likes of vegan kitchen Black Leaf, Manchester slab shack Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria, and Abeja Tapas Bar.
Now it has taken its food offering back in-house, serving up a selection of locally-sourced meat and cheese boards loaded with an array of pickles, chutneys, crackers, giant slices of sourdough and more – perfect for soaking up all that cheap, cheap booze.
To find out more, head down this Friday to check it out for yourself. Lord knows we could all do with a cheeky discount this month.
Feature image – Alvarium
Eats
Inside The Black Friar as Salford pub unveils incredible floral display
Daisy Jackson
Spring has really sprung in Salford – legendary pub The Black Friar has just revealed a sensational makeover, with gigantic flowers sprawled across its frontage and a new seasonal menu to go with it.
The historic pub is celebrating the changing of the seasons with both a striking floral installation and a menu that celebrates spring and Salford in equal measure.
Most Mancs will by now have spotted the 4,000 flower-strong installation that now adorns the front of The Black Friar, with bright pink, yellow and purple flowers spilling from a gigantic pink tap.
And all those florals continue inside, with the pub’s Tavern – previously a cosy winter hideaway – now filled with trailing blooms and woodland installations, just off their award-winning garden.
Cheshire-based artist Kelly Louise Chapman is the woman behind this sensational transformation of the much-loved gastropub.
As for the pub’s kitchen, they’ve crafted a new very seasonal and very British menu, with plenty of nods to Black Friar’s Salford roots.
There are dishes like a Boddingtons braised ox cheek (the pub still proudly displays its Boddingtons sign outside), aged beef tartare, butternut squash and ricotta tortellini, and pan-roasted cod fillet.
Spring small plates at The Black Friar pubDelicious spring drinksInside The Tavern at The Black Friar
A popular item from the Valentine’s Day menu – the Cornish crab vol-au-vent – will be sticking around on the spring menu, along with an enhanced grill section that includes a lamb Barnsley chop cooked over coals.
Then for desserts, you’ll be spoilt with a banoffee knickerbocker glory, and passionfruit panna cotta.
And for drinks (because this is a pub, after all), The Black Friar has put together a range of seasonal drinks like a rose sangria sharer, and non-alcoholic sodas like kaffir lime and coconut.
Ben Chaplin, head chef at The Black Friar, said: “This new menu is all about celebrating the best of spring produce.
“We’ve carefully crafted each dish to highlight fresh, seasonal ingredients and bold flavours, adding new depth to our offerings while still delivering the comfort that will always be associated with The Black Friar.
“My top recommendation and personal favourite dish is the Slow-Cooked Boddingtons Braised Ox Cheek.”
Neil Burke, owner of The Black Friar, commented: “We wanted to bring a taste of spring to The Black Friar, inside and out. This floral installation will transform the space and bring sunshine and smiles, whatever the weather!
“My top recommendation on the new menu is the Cumbrian Spiced Lamb Scotch Egg. It’s EXCEPTIONAL.”
To find out more about The Black Friar and to book a table, visit HERE.
Team behind award-winning Higher Ground to open new Bar Shrimp seafood bar in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Higher Ground, one of Manchester’s very top restaurants, is to open a brand-new seafood bar later this year.
With Bar Shrimp, they’ll be bringing a brand-new offering to town, with cocktails, beers on tap, British seafood and snacks.
Bar Shrimp will come from Daniel Craig Martin, Joseph Otway and Richard Cossins, who at this point are a well-oiled operational machine.
They’re the team behind proudly British bistro Higher Ground, which grows much of its own produce at its Cinderwood Market Garden and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand within a year of opening.
The same team are also behind Flawd, the beautiful waterside wine bar at Ancoats Marina.
And they’ve cemented themselves as one of Manchester’s most widely acclaimed hospitality teams – even Rick Stein says Higher Ground is one of the best places to eat in the entire country, which is high praise indeed.
Bar Shrimp, set to open in Manchester this winter, aims to be a ‘relaxed and focused bar with delicious food’.
They say: “Whether it’s a beer after work, some food with friends or after dinner drinks late into the night, Bar Shrimp will be a dynamic space where the music and energy evolves throughout the evening where everyone and anyone can come together for a memorable experience.”
They announced the news this morning on Cerys Matthews’ BBC 6Music Show.
British seafood with a side of cocktails? Sounds alright to us.
A location, opening date and more info on Bar Shrimp will follow – stay up to date with their latest HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
5th December 2022 
