NQ64, the original Northern Quarter retro gaming bar, will open a huge venue in the city centre this summer complete with a brand new outdoor gaming terrace.
The neon-splattered Northern Quarter bar originally launched on Short Street in 2019, but now, having outgrown its old home, owners have revealed they are gearing up to take over the 350-capacity Dive Bar next door.
From 1 August, NQ64 will officially move one door down the road as the retro arcade and classic console party bar super sizes itself.
Outside on the new terrace, two new arcade machines will allow guests to soak up some rays whilst they game and sip on gaming-inspired cocktails that nod to favourites like Donkey Kong and Sonic the Hedgehog.
Inside, meanwhile, specially-designed booths and banquette seating will make room for more customers and even more games.
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Inside the original NQ64, where it all began in 2019. / Image: NQ64
Time Crisis is a gamer’s favourite at NQ64. / Image: NQ64
NQ64 will take over the former Dive Bar site and install a new gaming terrace outside. / Image: Dive Bar
Alongside fan favourites like Guitar Hero, Pac-Man, Street Fighter, and Time Crisis, the new and improved gaming bar will be introducing the likes of the basketball shooting game Pop-A-Shot, and a ‘Wall Boy’, which elevates the game boy to a large screen.
Drinks-wise, NQ64 will continue to serve the gaming-themed cocktails it has become so famous for. Look out for the Power Star Martini, which offers a twist on a passionfruit martini, the Dr Ro Bev Nik, a cherry Old Fashioned named after the villain in Sonic, and the Donkey Kong-inspired Kong Island Iced Tea.
Elsewhere, there’s an extensive offering of craft beers, wines, spirits, sodas and non-alcoholic cocktails, as well as a bunch of old-school childhood favourite snacks such as Space Raiders and Monster Munch.
Speaking on the move into Dive Bar, Matt Robson, director at NQ64, said: “The public have spoken, and we have listened. No more 1-star Google reviews telling us it looks bigger on the photos, because this one is actually massive.
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“We saw the site come up and it was a no-brainer to move in, not too much of a trek from the original, with loads more room for games, and a mega terrace too.”
“We love to show we really do listen to our customers, and have chosen a venue that holds more games, more people & more fun, whilst not being too hard for our guests to find (we hope). We can’t wait to open our doors & show everyone what we’ve done with the place.”
To celebrate the move on Tuesday 1 August the first 50 customers through NQ64’s new doors will be treated to a gift bag full of goodies, including an NQ64 t-shirt.
The new NQ64 Manchester location will be open seven days a week, from 4pm to 2am on weekdays and from 12pm to 2am on weekends.
Featured image – NQ64
Eats
Popular Manchester restaurant bar to give out FREE sausage rolls to people called ‘Greg’
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s much-loved restaurant bars is doing a free sausage roll giveaway next week… but there’s a catch.
The catch being you have to have a certain name in particular.
It was only last week that popular high street chain Pret A Manger announced it would be slinging out free sandwiches to any Mancs with ‘Nic’ in their name over the late May bank holiday weekend, and now Tariff & Dale is getting it on the giveaway action, and it’s all to celebrate the iconic event that is National Sausage Roll Day.
In case you didn’t know – which is very likely, let’s be real – next Thursday (5 June) is the day dedicated to all things sausage roll.
So what better way to mark the occasion than with free portions of Tariff & Dale‘s legendary meaty treat?
The popular Northern Quarter restaurant bar is known for its creative comfort food, craft beers and cocktails, and laid-back industrial vibe, with one of the cult-classic dishes on its menu having always been the honey pork sausage roll – which just so happens to be a whopping 15-inches long, by the way.
Resembling something more of a pork wellington than a sausage roll, if you will, the dish is crispy, golden, and glazed with honey on top.
But to celebrate National Sausage Roll day, instead of parting with £9.50 for a portion or £48 for the full 15-inch thing, people with one specific name can actually get a slice for completely free of charge.
Tariff & Dale is giving away FREE sausage rolls to people with this name next week / Credit: Supplied
And that name is ‘Greg’, because if we’re honest, when it comes to sausage rolls, we all tend to think of Greggs.
So whether your surname is Gregory or Gregson, or you’re simply just called Greg, then all you need to do to claim your complimentary slice of sausage roll heaven is head on down to Tariff & Dale next Thursday 5 June from 12pm up until 9pm.
Make sure you show your valid ID proving your name when you order at the bar, and get ready to stuff your face.
Failing that, anyone not called Greg will just have to pop into actual Greggs instead.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
Eats
Plans to open a brand-new pub on the site of the Rovers Return
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new pub is set to open in Manchester city centre net month, with treats in store like complimentary bowls of crisps, an outdoor terrace, and a games parlour.
The Stables Tavern is taking shape in the St John’s district, poetically on the same site that was once home to Coronation Street’s iconic Rovers Return pub.
They’re promising this will be a ‘historic tavern reimagined for today’s lover of a proper pint’.
The pub will come from Shiko Group, which is also behind Courts Club, where you can play tennis or basketball followed by court-side pints, and Side Street, a bar-restaurant-events space with a mid-Century interior.
Neighbouring the Bonded Warehouse, The Stables Tavern will join this rapidly blossoming new creative district, just across the yard from Caravan, The Trading Route and Aviva Studios.
Inside, punters will find multiple beer taps with local beers, served with complimentary bowls of crisps as well as a menu of pub snacks like handmade sausage rolls and local pies.
The pub will be split into three sections – an outside terrace, a main bar, and a parlour area at the back of the pub for live entertainment, old school games, and rounds of whiskey.
This might be a new district but it’s a historic area for the city – the same building was a busy watering hole back in the early 19th century for workers, merchants and visitors who made use of the nearby canals and cobbled streets.
It was then the home of the Rovers Return, back when this area was the home of Granada Studios.
Hayley Sammé, Marketing Director, said: “We’re so excited to bring The Stables Tavern back to St John’s. The area’s extensive historical backdrop and burgeoning hospitality scene provides the perfect landscape for a traditional British pub.
“It’s the perfect addition to the existing scene, and we hope it’s going to become a popular spot in our new creative district.”
The Stables Tavern will open at St John’s on Friday 6 June.
Georgina Pellant -
12th July 2023 
