Beloved Manchester bar, beer hall, restaurant and home of all things involving dancing on benches, Albert’s Schloss is upping their game for Oktoberfest 2025, confirming three whole weeks of the annual event.
Tipping this year’s edition as their “biggest party ever”, this one IS the big one.
Located on Peter Street – just off the main Deansgate strip – the city centre boozer is one of the busiest spots around, day or night, and they definitely know how to lean into the festivities whenever it comes to big dates on the calendar.
That being said, given their German heritage, it doesn’t get much bigger than Oktoberfest, especially now that they’re spending nearly a full month celebrating the global favourite.
Kicking off from Saturday, 20 September onwards, the Albert’s Schloss will be observing Oktoberfest for 21 days to coincide with the original festivities in Munich, hoping to nail a slice of that authentic experience here in Britain.
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Culminating in one final Bavarian blowout on Sunday, 12 October, ‘The Bier Palace’ will be offering three weeks of unique brews native to the region, a range of delicious new dishes themed around the festival, as well as the usual non-stop live entertainment that will have you dancing on the tables all night long.
What’s more? Albert’s Schloss‘ Oktoberfest party is open to all; there are absolutely no tickets required – just turn up, get in the queue and prepare for a proper knees-up.
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2024 saw nearly 5,000 steins of the beer served to punters (not even just pints, STEINS), plus you can expect the same keg-tapping ceremonies, oompah bands, the ‘Baby Grand Slam’ and the equally unmissable ‘Disko Wunderbar’ to return this autumn.
Of course, there is more than just beer, pretzels and dancing; if you’re not into you ale or salty snacks, then you can always grab an alpine cocktail like their ‘Oktoberfest Spritz’, a blood orange/ginger version, or perhaps a ‘Munchen Long Island’ – all of which are mixed with Monkey 47 gin.
As for the food menu, how does Oktoberfest Paprika Roasted Half Chicken, a towering traditional Schweinshaxe (Bavarian pork knuckle), Currywurst, as well as sweet treats like the München Mess and Klassic Apple Strudel sound? Töp scran, that’s what it sounds like.
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Credit: Supplied
James Plant, Head of Innovation at Albert’s Schloss, said ahead of 2025’s festivities: “We are so happy to be extending Oktoberfest to three full weeks this year.
“Every year, the energy and enthusiasm from our guests grow, and 2024 completely exceeded expectations. This year we are going even bigger – with more bier, more showtime and more Bavarian feasting. We cannot wait to welcome everyone back through the doors.”
Make sure to keep your eyes peeled on their socials for more info closer to the time on what might just be the biggest beer and boogie-filled bash of the year, and yes, you will most likely see us there, clad in lederhosen and silly hats.
Featured Images — Albert’s Schloss (supplied)/The Manc Group
Eats
Deansgate bar Simmons closes just over a year after opening
Danny Jones
London-born bar brand Simmons has closed their Manchester site just over a year after opening their first Northern location.
They’ve lasted roughly 15 months on one of our busiest nightlife strips.
Opening on Deansgate back in October 2024, Simmons Manchester wasn’t just their first foray here up in this half of the country but their only other venue outside of the capital.
An otherwise well-established and popular chain down south, they have a total of 15 different bars in central London, but things clearly haven’t quite taken off as planned here in Manchester.
Placing a poster in the unit’s shopfront besides the likes of Be At One, Yours, The Moon Under The Water Spoons and the Deansgate branch of Slug and Lettuce, as you can see, the fellow franchise founded over a decade ago said: “After much consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our doors.
“It’s never easy to say goodbye”, they add, “We’re incredibly proud of what the team built here and so grateful to them, as well as everyone who joined us over the past year.
“We’ve had some unforgettable nights. We love Manchester, and we hope to be back under the right conditions.”
They go on to thank everyone for being “part of the journey”, but for now, it looks like the room has closed effective immediately.
Simmons started back in 2012 when founder Nick Campbell opened the first bar below his flat in Kings Cross, and their presence has grown hugely since then. The closing sign was spotted and shared on social media earlier this week.
Offering everything from stylish cocktails to New York-style pizza, live music and even private karaoke booths, the place had plenty going on.
With rising business rates, energy bills and more dovetailing with the continuing cost of living crisis that is still hampering both hospitality and the nightime economy, they are just one of many to unfortunately close their doors of late.
For instance, it was only earlier this month that we saw multiple well-known names shut up shop here in the city centre or elsewhere in Greater Manchester, including another long-standing late-night favourite, Revolution.
It’s a shame for any business to close, and we certainly hope they’ll return someday with a model that can be sustained in the current climate.
Inside Butter Bird – Ancoats’ hottest new neighbourhood rotisserie with a menu dedicated to butter
Clementine Hall
A new restaurant has opened its doors in Ancoats serving up two of life’s greatest pleasures.
Those two things being chicken and butter. And coincidentally, they go very well together.
Introducing Butter Bird, a new neighbourhood rotisserie restaurant that has taken over the old Counter House site on Blossom Street.
If you’ve been living under a rock or you have a healthy relationship with social media, then you won’t know that rotisserie chicken is very much ‘in’ for 2026.
Images: The Manc Eats
So of course, just like anything, Ancoats is first to hop on that trendy bandwagon.
When simple things are done properly then they’re very satisfying indeed, and that’s exactly what Butter Bird have achieved.
Built around classic spit cooking and time honoured technique, with an impressive Rotisol Millenium rotisserie oven at the heart of the space, the chickens are seasoned and brined in house, then slowly rotated over open heat so the meat self bastes as it cooks.
Images: The Manc Eats
The result? Moreish, crisp, golden skin, succulent meat and deep flavour.
If that doesn’t sound enticing enough, they’ve also got a section of their menu dedicated entirely to their house butters.
Flavoured, complex butters designed to compliment your bird in however you desire.
My personal favourite was the moroccan-spiced Chermoula, but the tarragon with wildflower and mustard was also stellar.
Images: The Manc Eats
Drinks wise they’ve got a great selection of Crémant, chosen to cut through the chicken fat, as well as fun cocktails and decent wines.
Obviously you’ll need some sides to go with your bird which you can order as a quarter or half, and they’ve got everything from rotisserie potatoes which you can douse in chicken gravy to a Caesar salad stuffed with enough croutons it’s probably not classed as a salad anymore.
Butter Bird opens to the public on Thursday 29 January, with a launch offer offering 50% off rotisserie chicken when booked in advance for the first two weeks.
Danny Jones -
19th August 2025 
