Popular Northern Quarter pub The Freemount has announced it’s closing its doors – but not for good.
The beloved Oldham Street pub, which recently had a facelift and added a huge Guinness mural to its frontage, is having to bow out of its current location after being ‘unable to renew the lease’.
It’s been a staple of the Northern Quarter since it opened in 2017 thanks to its nightly live music, but will officially shut the doors for the last time on Sunday 9 March (with a massive closing party, naturally).
The Freemount will now be picking up all its pints and party atmosphere and heading down the road, ready to bring back an iconic spot that’s been empty for eight years.
It’s set to take over the legendary old Dry Bar unit further down Oldham Street, which was opened by Factory Records label boss Tony Wilson in 1989 and frequented by famous music faces like Liam Gallagher, Ian Brown and Peter Hook.
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The Freemount will be moving into the old Dry Bar site. Credit: The Manc Group
Dry Bar shut down in 2017 after an impressive 28 years, many of which it acted as the epicentre of Manchester’s music scene.
The Freemount is hopping across the road and reopening there on 14 March at 5pm, with extended opening hours and even more live music.
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There’ll be exposed brick interiors, multiple beer taps, and plenty of Guinness.
The Freemount will throw a closing party in its current home on Sunday 9 March.
If you can’t get in Mulligans on St. Patrick’s Day, Albert’s Schloss might be the next best spot in town
Danny Jones
St. Patrick’s Day in Manchester is biblical, no doubt about it, but getting in amongst the mile-long queue is another question entirely – so it’s a good job Albert’s Schloss is offering a grand auld alternative.
Arguably one of the best, biggest and admittedly busiest bars in all of Manchester city centre (for good reason), Albert’s Schloss on Paddy’s Day is becoming an increasingly popular annual event, with not just hundreds but literal thousands filing in and out of the beloved Germanic beer hall over the 24 hours.
Having spent St. Patrick’s evening here on more than one occasion, we can certainly vouch for the vibes as the night rolls into the early hours, but they’re offering food, booze, entertainment and more all day long on what many refer to as the holy day.
And by many we mean us. It’s our holy day.
St. Patrick’s Day Manchester is always a belter, but this has to be one of our favourite venues for it (Credit: Supplied via Albert’s Schloss)
For starters, what do Bavarians and Irish have in common? A love of great beer, good craic and party vibes. With that in mind, this St. Patrick’s Day, Albert’s Schloss is painting the town green with a two-week celebration of all things Irish.
Kicking things off from this week – Wednesday, 5-Monday, 17 March – expect rivers of Guinness, plenty of Jameson whiskey, even more epic feasting, live music and even the chance to test your luck with some Paddy’s Day surprises, Albert’s Schloss is about to party hard enough to make St. Patrick proud.
During this special two weeks and this period alone, Schloss will be pouring pint after pint as well as Guinness-inspired specials and food flavoured with black gold, plus promising plenty more.
From pints of the ‘Baby Guinness‘ shots to rich and hearty dishes like beef and Guinness pie, or indulgent sweet treats such as the Guinny and ginger sticky toffee pudding, they’re going to be ramming everyone’s favourite drink down people’s throats and we’ll be there with mouths wide open.
Better yet, on the Sunday and Monday of St. Patrick’s Day weekend (16-17 March), guests can roll the dice to win an array of exclusive prizes, from free drinks and desserts to Jameson merch or even a fully comped bill worth up to £100. Yes, you heard that right.
On the Sunday, the Schloss team will be handing out 150 Jameson and limes drinks on trays across the venue early in the evening, “to get the party shamrockin’.”
And of course, no Schloss party is complete without top-tier entertainment. Get ready for live bands, folky Irish tunes, a ‘Sunday Service’ with a St. Paddy’s twist; walkabout performers, Vegas-green showgirls for a sprinkling of burlesque, as well an interactive game show host to keep the energy high.
Put it this way, we always have an absolute riot in here…
Take it from the beloved Manc bar themselves: “With fire-lit revelry, Bavarian feasting, and plenty of Irish spirit, Albert’s Schloss is the place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.”
Walk-ins will of course be welcome as they always are but if you want to try and beat the crowd and secure a table to dance on – well, you can dance on the benches but you catch our drift – you can book your place HERE.
It’s fair to say that the Irish boom across Greater Manchester is well and truly in full swing, with more and more venues popping up all over the place, and long may it continue.
Featured Images — Albert’s Schloss (supplied)/The Manc Group
Food & Drink
Get Baked is giving out FREE slices of its viral multi-layer chocolate cake in Manchester next week
Thomas Melia
The viral bakery known for its impressive multi-layer chocolate cake is offering slices of its huge sweet treat for free when it opens in Manchester next week.
If you’re fed up of your friends in Leeds banging on about how good Get Baked is, then don’t worry because, the headline-grabbing independent bakery is landing in Manchester next week, and if that news wasn’t sweet enough to tempt you to the new opening as it is, they’re also offering out free slices of their ‘Bertha’ cake to the first 1,000 people in the queue.
Get Baked’s first ever Manchester location will be in the Northern Quarter in the heart of Stevenson Square meaning you can pair your Aperol spritz with a serving of chocolate cake this summer… can life get any better?
The massive chocolate cake is inspired by the dessert featured in Roald Dahl’s book ‘Matilda’, later turned into a film adaptation in 2002, and its name ‘Bertha’ is a spin off the original ‘Bruce’ cake.
Rich Myers, who is the founder and creator of Get Baked, recently put out a statement on Instagram to explain why the company recently took the decision to increase a slice of ‘Bertha’ cake from £17 to £20, saying they’ve received nothing but love from people understanding the rising costs of owning a business.
Get Baked’s Manchester is soft-launching on Friday 14 March, but it’s the following day (Saturday 15 March) when the 1,000 slices of ‘Bertha’ will be up for grabs.
“Expect it to be a bit all over the place, because the first day of a new site is never easy. But that’s okay, because on the second day, we’re giving away 1,000 free slices of Bertha,” Get Baked announced on Instagram.
So if you fancy your luck at securing a slice of free cake, head down to Get Baked at 1 Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter, from 12pm on Saturday… but let’s be honest, you’ll probably need to get there much sooner.
Daisy Jackson -
5th March 2025 
