Everybody knows The Font. It’s been part of the fabric of Manchester’s bar scene for more than 20 years, famed for its insanely affordable cocktails.
All these years on, you can still get a cocktail here for £1 – admittedly, only during Happy Hour, though even outside that deal you’re only looking at £3 a drink.
When the New Wakefield Street venue first opened in 2000, its niche wasn’t much of a niche at all – it was a cheap watering hole with colourful walls where students would grab a vodka and coke before heading on to the clubs.
But over the years, and with the input of all the faces who’ve worked behind the bar since, its identity evolved into something clearer.
The Font has been loved by generations of students – and beyond – for its cocktail menu, full of candy floss garnishes, sweet toppings, and ice cream cones.
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Its creative menu currently includes jelly shots topped with edible photos of Andy Burnham, a honey-inspired cocktail made with cereal flavoured milk, and a ‘Unicorn Juice’ topped with a twisted edible unicorn horn.
Current specials at The Font. Credit: The Manc Group
The Font is unusual in many ways, one of which is the amount of time it’s hung on in Manchester for while other bars – including its long-lost neighbour Sound Control – crumbled.
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Dan Rinaldi, general manager, has worked here for 15 years and remembers a very different city.
“The bar scene in Manchester was loads smaller,” he says. “The Northern Quarter was maybe just Common, Trof had literally just opened, and maybe Odd? The Ancoats of now didn’t exist. The scene was so limited in some ways.”
So what exactly has given The Font the legs to keep going, even in the tumultuous times the hospitality industry has faced in recent years?
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It’s a combination of authenticity, value, fun, and family atmosphere, Dan says.
Credit: The Manc Group
“It’s all fun, it’s all about fun, we’re definitely not a serious place.
“We encourage everyone to feel at home here, you can do what you want, come as you are and join in, as long as you’re not causing hassle for anyone else. It’s a safe place.
“One thing we’re very proud of is that if you meet anyone who’s been a student in Manchester any time in the last 20 years, they’ll know us. Everyone knows The Font.
“It’s the perfect starting point to people’s night out, and we get to see everyone at the start of their night when they’re all excited and get them ready to go. That’s our favourite thing.”
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Another remarkable thing about The Font is that their cocktails have only gone up £1 in the 22 years they’ve been open – something Dan admits is ‘difficult’ to maintain.
He says: “We got really nervous when we put our prices up 50p a few years ago and we were really worried, but most people were like ‘What? That’s still so cheap don’t worry about it’.
“In the current climate we still want to be the place where you can get good value, and we still feel like we can do that well enough, especially with happy hours.”
He continues: “The cocktails, and that’s really what everyone knows us for, were only actually introduced about four or five years after we opened, and the idea came from the staff basically. They decided they wanted to make some cocktails and give it a go, and it all evolved from there.
“Our owner is very good at letting whoever is working here come up with ideas and push them forward – he’s an owner that gives us the chance to express our ideas and influence, and what we pick up from other bars and cities.
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“We can really express ourselves through what we sell and what we do and how we decorate the place and even the music that gets played.”
Part of the magic of The Font is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously – and for those who are new to cocktails, it’s the most fun possible introduction.
Looking back on the history of The Font and its many, many years in the city, Dan has a few fond memories.
The artwork left over from Eurocultured festival new The Font. Credit: The Manc Group
He says: “Way back there used to be a street festival on new Wakefield street called Eurocultured, it ran for quite a few years.
“The street was closed and there was a big stage under the arches near Gorilla, and we’d have bands and DJs on in here, a lot of the artwork on the street is left from the last one of those. It was chaos on the street and chaos in here and it was just so fun.
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“One of our proudest moments was our recovery from Covid – we had outside seating for the first time and it was packed, straight away, and it felt so good to come back from that.
“And all our staff were brilliant and stuck with us through furlough and all that and they all came back, all of them. We managed to keep everyone together which is crazy. It was a very proud moment.”
In the coming weeks, The Font will welcome the next generation of freshers and students, all getting their cocktail crash course.
You can bet they’ll never forget this place.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Eats
Live your Come Dine With Me dreams with this all-new dining concept
Thomas Melia
Across the world, one app has been uniting strangers in 235 cities, matching six lucky diners for an evening meal at a surprise restaurant table and now Manchester is the latest city to open its taste buds to this pseudo-Come Dine With Me concept. Only this one involves less cooking.
Guests are expected to partake in an evening of food, booze and plenty of interesting conversations between six total strangers, only with hopefully less drama than the hit Channel 4 show. Strictly no Jane’s spoiling anything…
The concept is being pushed by French entrepreneur Maxime Barbier and his company ‘TimeLeft’. He has a lengthy career in the nightlife industry behind him and now wants to further strengthen good food and good times via this app.
And it’s clearly working: according to the company’s official website, 96% of dining groups consider themselves compatible meaning their carefully selected pairings are pretty accurate.
All curious diners have to do is download Timeleft and take a personality test before they’re whisked away for a night of entertainment and lush catering picked out by the pioneering new app.
Fear not, there will be a ‘Break the ice’ game where you can get to know the like-minded and compatible strangers you’re spending the rest of the evening with.
Once the table fills up and the evening is well away, everyone round the table will receive a notification to continue the night at a nearby bar chosen once again by this new dining concept app.
This new mealtime experience is a really good way of making connections, especially for newcomers to the city who are looking to expand their friendship group and navigate Manchester with some similar fresh-faced companions. There’s crucially much less cooking involved too, by which we mean none.
Throughout their website, the company shares a range of blogs breaking down everything from ‘6 tips for smoothing over a heated conversation’ to ‘the ultimate guide to Timeleft’.
In a standout piece entitled, ‘The 10 types of strangers at your table‘, they discuss the different types of personalities that you may come across during your meal.
From the simpler and recognisable labels like the introvert and extrovert to the more complex like the contemplative and the humourist, these little excerpts are handy to anyone who may have any nerves ahead of the meeting.
So, anyone located in Greater Manchester who might be interested in this new dining concept can participate by downloading the TimeLeft app and seeing where the night takes them.
You might not go home with £1,000 in cash but you’ll certainly create some memories and come pretty close to living out your Come Dine With Me fantasy – there really is an app for everything.
The stalls causing massive queues at the Manchester Christmas Markets
Daisy Jackson
If you looked at our comment sections during the Manchester Christmas Markets you’d assume everyone hates them – but one look at the queues forming again this year proves that is FAR from the case.
The annual festive event is back with a vengeance for another year, with wooden sheds and pop-up bars all over the place.
Whether you’re after a traditional mulled wine and bratwurst, or a loaded mac and cheese and shimmery cocktail, you’ll find it.
And while the Manchester Christmas Markets always get busy, especially at the weekends, this year is looking especially lively.
Videos shared online show huge queues of gridlocked people on Market Street, in Piccadilly Gardens and on King Street.
The cause of one of the biggest queues is again The Flat Baker – the Ancoats indie debuted at the markets last year with huge croissants served with pots of dipping sauce including pistachio and dulce de leche.
For 2024 they’ve introduced hot chocolates served in an edible cookie cup.
It went viral last year, it’s gone viral again this year, and the queues have gone so wild there’s now actual fences, Disney-style, specifically to manage The Flat Baker crowds.
These wind all the way from their stall in Piccadilly Gardens to the outside of the markets, travelling along the Piccadilly Wall.
And while getting your hands on a Flat Baker croissant requires some grit and determination, it’s not the only spot where you’ll be facing a wait.
Molten dark, milk and even golden chocolate can be bought here in an edible chocolate cup, poured over brownies and strawberries, or used as a base for hot chocolates and affogatos.
The Flat Baker are at The Winter Gardens in Manchester Christmas Markets and causing big queuesWaffle Kart are back at the Manchester Christmas Markets 2024
The team here move fast but if you go at peak times you’ll still be looking at a queue.
Down on the King Street section of the Manchester Christmas Markets you’ll find Waffle Kart, a brilliant little business serving fun family recipes inspired by Hong Kong street food.
Expect fried chicken and waffles, waffle prawn toast and loaded waffle fries – and a bit of a queue that’s worth the wait.
And finally, the biggest queue of the lot is just Market Street in general.
This is Manchester’s main shopping street so ahead of Christmas it’s always busy, but now that there are stalls all the way down it luring shoppers in, it’s totally gridlocked.
Daisy Jackson -
8th September 2022 
