Mulligans of Deansgate, Manchester’s most legendary and well-trodden Irish pub, have announced some exciting new expansion plans to make the boozer bigger and better than ever.
Comfortably one of if not the busiest bar in the city centre most weekends, Mulligans is an iconic part of the Manc drinking scene and stronghold for Irish folk, sports fans, fans of live music and more.
If there’s one thing you could ever count against the ever-popular pub it’s that the place is so packed out on any given day of the week that it can sometimes be a bit of a queue to get to the bar, so the news that they’re increasing the square footage to squeeze in more punters is music to ears.
There are few things that we love the sound of more than an even fuller pub sinking pints of the very best Guinness in Manchester and dancing along to classic Irish reels.
A sneak peek at the Mulligans expansion in progress. (Credit: Supplied)
As per an official press release, the expansion will see a brand-new upstairs area unveiled to the general public next month, “promising to enhance the Mulligans experience even more.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Building on the “exceptional craic, vibrant atmosphere, and the best Guinness outside of Ireland” (pretty much everyone seems to be in agreement on that front now), the new first floor will see the team go even further beyond live gigs, sports on the box and pulling pints.
The refurbished second-storey room will feature multiple levels, high ceilings for an entirely different feeling than the tight-knit spaces Mulligans fans are so familiar with, as well as options for private functions and even table service via a new QR code from the shiny new bar.
ADVERTISEMENT
To put things into perspective, the renovations are set to more than double the capacity, meaning this place is soon to be more booming than ever.
Staggering opening times of the new area over the launch weekend, the new upstairs will be open from 5pm till late on Friday’s grand opening, 2pm to the early hours the following Saturday and from noon until late on Sunday. The regular 11pm-12am times will resume the following week.
Speaking on the announcement, owner Pádraig Brady said: “We are super excited to unveil our new upstairs space at Mulligans.”
ADVERTISEMENT
This expansion not only allows us to host more guests but also provides an even more dynamic environment with additional live music and new premium services and spaces which will be available for hire. We look forward to our customers experiencing this new venue.”
Better still, to celebrate the launch weekend for the new upstairs, the first 250 guests through the door on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will receive exclusive Mulligans merchandise – and a complimentary pint of ‘the best Guinness outside of Ireland’, of course.
The grand opening takes place on Friday, 30 August and you better get in line early doors if you want a free glass of the black gold.
This Manchester bar serves a bottomless cheese fondue with endless beer and wine
Georgina Pellant
There’s a bar in Manchester serving a bottomless cheese fondue with endless wine and beer, and it honestly sounds like the perfect treat.
While it might scream cosy winter night in, with a huge outdoor terrace, The Mews is also a firm favourite during the summer months.
Add in a board of melt-in-the-mouth charcuterie, springy pieces of garlic sourdough and a host of crunchy cheese biscuits, and you’ve got yourself the ideal afternoon if you ask us.
But there’s more. Alongside all that cheese and meat and bread, included in the price of The Mews’ bottomless fondue, cheese lovers can also enjoy 90 minutes of non-stop drinks.
Bottomless cheese fondue at The Mews on Deansgate in Manchester. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Costing £37.50 each, included in the deal is a huge pot of melted Italian Fontina cheese served with homemade garlic croutons, sourdough crackers, and slices of British charcuterie.
You’ll also get to enjoy an hour and a half of endless pints of house pilsner and carafes of red or white wine to enjoy alongside.
Serving up to six people, the bottomless cheese fondue is available only when you pre-book, so make sure to get in touch ahead of your visit to let The Mews know that you’re coming.
If you’re not on the sauce, you can opt for the cheese fondue alone. Without the booze, it’s quite a bit cheaper at £25 for one, and £2.50 on top for any additional people who want to get stuck in.
Housed up on Deansgate Mews, just behind the main hustle and bustle of Deansgate, there’s plenty of space inside as well as a large, secluded terrace that is quite the suntrap (when the Manchester sun is shining).
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Danny Jones -
31st July 2024 
