Finding somewhere to eat with your beloved pet can be tricky, but one of Manchester’s grandest buildings is surprisingly dog-friendly.
The Corn Exchange is a landmark building in the city centre, which over the years has operated as a merchant building, a shopping centre, and now in its current guise as a food and drink hotspot.
With more than a dozen restaurants and cafes under one roof, there’s something to suit every appetite, from curries to pasta to kebabs.
And perhaps surprisingly, a massive chunk of the businesses based here in the Corn Exchange welcome you bringing your dog along with you.
With three of our five office dogs in tow (yeah, we love dogs at The Manc), we went to explore exactly how dog-friendly the Corn Exchange is – and it was Mowgli we had in our sights.
The Indian street food restaurant, founded by barrister-turned-chef Nisha Katona, has been a staple of the Corn Exchange for almost a decade.
With its signature monkey logo plastered all over the walls, it’s no great surprise that they’re animal friendly here – but what we didn’t expect was the staff to be such animal lovers.
The Manc with three of our office dogs. Credit: The Manc Group
Bringing your pooch into Mowgli is a delightful way to spend a lunchtime. The restaurant is super accommodating for all guests, whether they have four legs or two.
Our unruly trio of hounds are given a bowl of water and a treat as soon as we arrive, and the staff barely blink an eye when the watchful eyes of a very hungry young Staffie stare at them every time another dish is brought over.
When one of our mutts climbs up on the restaurant’s signature swing seats (then immediately panics about his choices), the staff again don’t even flinch.
Their friendly approach means that both dogs and humans can relax and enjoy our lunchtime feast of chilli cheese toast, paneer curry, rhubarb dahl and perfectly puffed-up puri breads.
And if you don’t fancy a curry, here are all the dog-friendly restaurants inside Manchester’s Corn Exchange.
Banyan
This huge, colourful bar, famed for its crowd-pleasing menu and its cocktail happy hour, will welcome pooches.
Dogs are allowed in certain areas of the bar – just ask a member of the team for help and they’ll steer you in the right direction, and give your four-legged friend a water bowl too.
The Cosy Club
Beloved Corn Exchange bar The Cosy Club is well-loved locally for its cosy interior, with oil paintings all over the walls and a balcony facing out over the atrium for prime people-watching.
Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the bar area, which is filled on a first-come first-served basis.
Croyaki Tea
This little business based in the Corn Exchange serves up a massive range of bubble teas, as well as Hong Kong sweet treats like Taiyaki (fish-shaped cakes with different fillings), bubble waffles, macarons, and milkshakes.
They’re totally dog-friendly – the only rule is that they want to see photos of your pooch enjoying the cafe on Instagram.
Inside The Faraday Pub, the Northern Quarter’s newest boozer
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new pub has opened slap bang in the middle of the Northern Quarter – take a look inside The Faraday.
This pub is just off the bustling Stevenson Square and has bags of stuff on offer.
Spread across two floors on the site that was previously 7Sins, you’ll find live music, games, cocktails, and of course plenty of pints.
The Lever Street venue has been totally transformed into a cosy space inspired by traditional British boozers.
We’re talking vintage pub mirrors, mismatched bar stools, wood paneled walls, deep burgundy leather banquette seating and a fresh lick of dark green paint.
And this smart pub has got the space to become a live music gem for the Northern Quarter, with live music every Wednesday to Sunday.
Downstairs, there’s still a wide range of games to keep you entertained, including pool tables (which are unlimited play for your booking), electric darts, and shuffleboard.
The Faraday’s drinks menu boasts loads of classic cocktails, including margaritas, old fashioneds (including a tequila version), and a selection of sours.
In pictures: The Faraday pub opens in Manchester
Inside The Faraday Pub
When happy hour rolls around (6pm til 10pm every evening but Saturday) you can get £5 drinks including pints of Guinness, and a selection of spritzes.
On draft there are fan favourites like Guinness, Mahou, Corona, Lowenbrau, Jubel Peach, Camden Pale, Kopparberg, and Camden Hells.
There’s a decent amount of outside seating for when the sun has got his hat on, too, with full sunshine in the afternoons.
The Faraday is open until 1am during the week, and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
It’s open now at 43-45 Lever Street in the Northern Quarter.
They’ll be giving away a free pint to the first 100 people to visit on Friday 1 August from 5pm. You just need to show you’re followingThe Faraday on Instagram.
Here & Now – The Steps Musical is coming to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A musical inspired by pop band Steps is coming to Manchester this year, and the principal cast for Here & Now has now been confirmed.
The musical features Steps’ most beloved hit songs, including Tragedy, Heartbeat, Stomp, the One For Sorrow, Better Best Forgotten, 5,6,7,8, Last Thing On My Mind, Love’s Got A Hold Of My Heart, Chain Reaction, and many more.
The story is set in seaside superstore Better Best Bargains, where it’s Friday night, the vibe is right, and everyone’s dancing in the aisles.
But when Caz discovers the shelves are stocked with lies and betrayal, the summer of love she and her friends dreamed of suddenly feels like a tragedy. Have they all lost their chance of a ‘happy ever after’? Or does love have other plans in store…?
Here & Now has an original book by Shaun Kitchener and is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with choreography by Olivier Award-winning Matt Cole and Matt Spencer-Smith as musical supervisor, orchestrator and arranger.
The show is produced by Steps themselves, ROYO, and pop legend Pete Waterman.
Producers have now confirmed that Rebecca Lock will star as Caz, returning from the original run in Birmingham.
Here & Now – The Steps Musical is coming to Manchester
Finty Williams will play Patricia, Blake Patrick Anderson will be Robbie, River Medway (fan favourite on the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, BBC) is Jem, Edward Baker Duly (The King and I) as Max and John Stacey as Lesley.
There are new cast members joining the principal cast too, including Jacqui Dubois (Ghost The Musical UK tour) as Vel, Chris Grahamson (NOW That’s What I Call A Musical UK and Ireland tour) as Gareth and Rosie Singha (& Juliet UK and Ireland tour) as Neeta.
Set design by Tom Rogers, costume design by Gabriella Slade, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Adam Fisher, wigs, hair and makeup design by Sam Cox, casting by Will Burton for Grindrod Burton Casting, Music Technology by Phij Adams with Production Management by Setting Line.
Steps are one of the biggest pop bands of a generation, made up of Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Ian ‘H’ Watkins, Lee Latchford-Evans and Lisa Scott-Lee.
In their career they achieved 14 top five singles, four number one albums, 22 million record sales, 500 million streams and 11 sold-out national arena tours.
Steps’ 2017 comeback tour was one of the biggest pop tours of that year, with 300,000 tickets sold, and they’ve continued to release new music.
You can find out more about Here & Now and book tickets HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
17th May 2023 
