There are a lot of great beer gardens in Manchester. There are also a lot of places that claim to be ‘hidden gems’. But then, everything is a hidden gem if you don’t know where to look.
So allow us to introduce you to arguably the city’s best beer garden (more of a terrace really) with arguably the best view of the lot.
And I suppose it IS a hidden gem, in that it’s tucked way down the stairs below the Bridgewater Hall, not even visible from street level.
This is Society, a food hall and beer bar that crept into the city on the tail of Covid lockdowns.
Its outside space is pretty simple, just a few tables and benches, a handful of thriving planters, a string of fairy lights.
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But its setting is a stunner, right on the water’s edge of the Rochdale Canal, but that bit that calls itself a ‘lake’ and has a huge fountain.
Chaat Cart chicken at Society Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupThe beer garden at Society Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupVocation beers at Society. Credit: The Manc Group
From your position here, your view is of the architectural marvel that is the Bridgewater Hall, with all its shiny glass angles.
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The Society beer garden can officially call itself a sun trap too, thanks to its sunken position that shelters it from the blustery Manchester winds.
The beer is probably what the venue is best known for. It’s all operated by Vocation Brewery, with a whopping 44 lines of beer to work your way through, usually featuring a few rotating specials.
At the minute for example, there’s still the leftovers of the brewery’s Christmas special beers, which were inspired by Celebrations. The coconut milk chocolate stout is surely enough to convert even the most stubborn of Bounty-haters. Delicious.
If beer’s not your thing, you’ll find a decent cocktail menu too, including a summer-ready limoncello spritz and a bright blue margarita.
And then there’s the food. Society has a whole host of briliiant northern operators in residence in its kitchens.
There’s Chaat Caart, serving South Indian street food like masala chicken wings with gunpowder fries, hearty curries, and kebabs served on sourdough flatbreads.
Society is also home to Manzoku, where you’ll find katsu curries, bao, sushi, and wings.
Completing the food line-up are Noi Quattro with Neapolitan-style pizzas, Slap & Pickle with their legendary burgers, and Korean restaurant Yoki.
Mystery golden egg to be hidden in Manchester and you win a £1.5k coffee prize bundle if you find it
Emily Sergeant
A mystery golden egg is being hidden in a secret location in Manchester, and you can win a £1.5k coffee bundle if you find it.
Speciality coffee roaster and popular cafe brand 200 Degrees has announced an ‘egg-citing’ Easter giveaway in a bid to celebrate the anticipated launch of its all-new spring menu, and it’s giving Manchester locals the chance to win an ultimate prize bundle full of some seriously-coveted coffee accessories.
A golden egg will be stashed in a key city location, and the first person to solve the clue and find it will win the premium prize worth hunting for.
Taking place next Tuesday (15 April) from midday, the Easter bunny will be tucked away somewhere in the city centre with an basket full of goodies, and also guarding the ultimate coffee lover’s prize.
A mystery golden egg with a £1.5k coffee prize bundle is being hidden in Manchester / Credit: Mylo Kaye | Victoria Shes (via Unsplash)
A Sage Bambino coffee machine, 1kg of 200 Degrees’ best-selling Brazilian Love Affair Beans, free coffee syrups and speciality oat milk, and even free coffee for a year from its shops, are just some of the prizes you could win in the bundle.
Even if you aren’t lucky enough to find the golden egg though, don’t worry, you won’t miss out, as anyone who joins the hunt and makes it to the giveaway location will receive a voucher code for a free drink from the new 200 Degrees spring menu, which is redeemable in-store.
200 Degrees’ own-recipe Salted Caramel Oat Iced Twist returns to the menu once again by popular demand, alongside a duo of other fruity chilled drinks perfect for the warmer days we’re having right now, and then when it comes to food, you’ll soon be able to tuck into the limited edition chicken tikka wrap and finish it off with something like the new raspberry and bergamot cake.
The new spring menu will be available from all 200 Degrees stores, including Manchester’s on Mosley Street, on the same day as the coffee bundle giveaway (15 April).
Keep an eye on 200 Degrees’ social channels on the day as they’ll be dropping cryptic clues to help you track down the golden egg in Manchester, and if you’re the first to crack the location, find the egg, and give the secret code word – which is revealed on its socials – then you’ll be able to claim the prize.
Don’t forget to check the website too, as secret codes will be hid across there, and if you spot one, you’ll unlock some exclusive discounts to enjoy over the Easter weekend.
Featured Image – 200 Degrees
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Viral influencer ‘Schooner Scorer’ gives Mulligans his highest Guinness score ever
Danny Jones
If you’re chronically online like us, you’ll most likely have at least heard of the ‘Schooner Scorer’, and while everyone’s a critic these days, it does feel noteworthy that he’s just awarded his highest ever score for a Guinness to none other than Mulligans in Manchester.
For anyone not aware of the social media influencer, Alex Hendy, a.k.a. the ‘Schooner Scorer’s whole angle is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin: he goes around the world rating the best pints – no, they don’t have to be schooners – and he has quite the penchant for Guinness.
Don’t we all?
Popular on Instagram and TikTok in particular, he’s gone viral on multiple occasions during the search for the best black gold in the UK and beyond, and he’s finally made his way to the legendary Mulligans of Deansgate. It didn’t disappoint…
In addition to the typical comedic intro (now we’re panicking trying to remember what state we were in on Paddy’s Day), Hendy gives the usual mini-tour of the premises before getting stuck into a frothy head.
And, as you can see, not only is he quick to compliment the “smooth” and “creamy” texture of the drink that is regularly dubbed ‘the best Guinness outside of Ireland’ from ‘the best Irish pub in Manchester‘, but he goes on to give it a whopping 9.2: the highest score he has ever given for a Guinness.
He may not have found his perfect 10/10 pint just yet, adding the caption “the hunt goes on”, but we’re glad to hear that his experience of the much-loved city centre spot lived up to the reputation we all know to be true.
Mulligans gathered its biggest crowds ever over the 2025 St Patrick’s Day weekend as it was the first time they were able to welcome those celebrating the into their second floor following a major expansion last year.
Owner Pádraig Brady maintains that the title of the best Guinness in Manchester isn’t a self-proclamation; it’s merely something the punters have bestowed upon them over the years.
We’ll hold our hands up and confess that we’re not religious Schooner Scorer viewers, but we’ll happily accept him giving Mulligans and, therefore, Manchester the best Guinness score to date.
He’s welcome back in the city any time as far as we’re concerned, and he’ll be glad to know that we have plenty of other great places for a pint of the black stuff.
Daisy Jackson -
6th May 2023 
