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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
Eats
Shoppers fume as Lipton Ice Tea axes ‘best’ flavour
Daisy Jackson
Another day, another heartbreaking discontinued brand – and this time it’s Lipton Ice Tea letting us down.
The popular soft drink company announced yesterday that one of its best-selling flavours, which many fans argue is its best flavour full stop, will soon cease to exist.
There are a lot of unhappy ice tea fans out there today…
Lipton Ice Tea broke the news yesterday that its Peach flavoured drink is being discontinued, and gave absolutely no logical reasoning for it.
The summer staple, perfect poolside drink, hangover cure, sweet and fruity fix in a bottle, is leaving our fridges.
They wrote in a post titled ‘Rest in Peach’: “You may have heard that our iconic Peach Lipton Ice Tea flavour is getting discontinued. We know – it hurts (sorry if we’ve ruined your go-to afternoon chill bev).”
Lipton Ice Tea then continued: “But don’t worry, the rest of your faves are still here to keep you refreshed.
“And who knows? Maybe one day, Peach will make a legendary comeback. We appreciate your understanding during this period of adjustment and apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
One gutted fan commented: “how tf does a company discontinue arguably it’s best seller.”
Another said: “This is like Coca Cola discontinuing Coke.”
Someone else wrote: “PLEASE tell me this is a joke don’t play with my emotions like this xxx”
And one person said: “Please rethink this decision im going to throw up.”
On TikTok, someone said: “With Lipton Peach Iced Tea gone, a part of me feels lost. It was a comforting escape in this hectic world, and now every empty shelf reminds me of the void it’s left behind.”
New Almost Famous owners praised for ‘honest’ statement about burger joint
Daisy Jackson
The new owners of Almost Famous have released a lengthy statement addressing the legendary burger joint’s shock closure and sudden reopening.
The statement touches on everything from hiring back old teams to reopening those remaining venues that didn’t survive the takeover.
And this ‘transparent and honest communication’ has earned them a wave of praise from fans, who say it’s a ‘breath of fresh air’.
In their statement shared a week after reopening Almost Famous, D2 – the company behind PINS Social Club bowling bar in Liverpool – addressed plenty of the rumours and noise surrounding the high-profile closure.
“No, it wasn’t a publicity stunt,” they stressed, adding: “It wasn’t a pre-planned takeover – we saw the news at the same time everyone else and acted quickly.”
Addressing the staff who were made redundant when former Almost Famous operator Beautiful Drinks shut the brand down, D2 assured followers that they have ‘hired as many of the old team as we could’.
And as for their outstanding wages, they added: “We moved heaven and earth to get them a pay check in February as we knew they hadn’t been paid since December.
Food at Almost Famous since D2’s takeover of the legendary burger brand. Credit: The Manc Group
“It was really important to be able to reopen the venues quickly – we wanted to get staff back into their jobs and keep the existing suppliers -otherwise it wouldn’t have been the same brand we all loved, would it?
“If we hadn’t been able to reopen at the speed that we did – then the existing teams would have had to look at new jobs and we’d have risked losing brilliant people. If you don’t believe us ask them.”
When D2 took over Almost Famous, they had initially toyed with the idea of having it as the food operator in its PINS Social Club, but instead swiftly reopened the restaurants in the Northern Quarter and in Liverpool – though its Leeds and Great Northern sites never got back to slinging burgers.
On that, they said: “Leeds – we’ve not forgotten you. Ideally we’d have all four sites reopen now but the lease agreements were more complicated for Leeds and Great Northern. We had to prioritise the sites we knew we’d be able to save and we’re hoping that we’ll be able to look for new sites soon.”
Since sharing their statement on Instagram, Almost Famous has been flooded with praise from customers for their honest take.
One person wrote: “Great to read such an open and transparent statement about everything, especially regarding the old staff, and their pay, the staff at the NQ have always been one of the reasons I’ve kept visiting anytime I’m up in Manchester.
“I’m looking forward to making a visit at the end of the month when I’m up in the city for an overnight stay.”
Another commented: “This is awesome! I love how upfront and honest you have been with all of this. Taking the OG team back too – more businesses need to take this lead! Good luck with your amazing future, I’ll be bobbing in to get my AF fix ASAP.”
And someone else said: “This is honestly such a positive sign. The fact you’re being completely transparent is a breath of fresh air – I had no idea the previous owners hadn’t paid their staff. I really hope the Leeds branch opens again.”
Danny Jones -
5th March 2025 
