Everyone’s favourite festive pop-up, Bar Hutte, is ready to open in Manchester for another year of karaoke, festive drinks and live music.
The beloved wooden huts and twinkling fairy-lit spaces have reappeared, ready for their grand opening on Thursday.
Now with two sites in the city centre, Bar Hutte promises a vibrant festive atmosphere and loads of events running all the way through to the new year.
The alpine pop-up brings a taste of the apres-ski experience to two corners of Manchester – the waterside space at Kampus and Great Northern Square.
At Bar Hutte Kampus, the beautiful gardens will be made even more magical with the arrival of snug wooden karaoke huttes and an apres-ski bungalow, filled with cosy furnishings and glittering lights.
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There’ll be a full schedule of Christmas movie nights, including Love Actually and Office Christmas Party, where you can relax with a mulled wine or fizz and popcorn, plus Kids Movie Mornings with family friendly festive hits like Polar Express and The Grinch.
On 21 November, Bar Hutte Kampus will host Ginger Hunter’s Sparkling Chalet Chic Drag Night, with festive bingo, games, and karaoke.
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Nell’s Pizza is servedBar Hutte’s siganture ski shotsBombardino, hot chocolate and a Baileys martini at Bar Hutte
You’ll also be able to join in with freestyle painting workshops and wreath making sessions in the run-up to Christmas.
At the Santa Claus Club, kids will have an hour of karaoke fun and hot chocolate, plus the chance to meet Santa Claus himself.
Expect winter warmer drinks like Bombardinos and the Bar Hutte ski shot, festive cocktails, and classics like mulled wine and fizz.
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And all of that is fuelled by giant pizza slices from Nell’s, who’ll be slinging out slices and whole pies from their restaurant next door.
Bar Hutte has popped up at KampusUpstairs at Bar Hutte KampusBar Hutte has popped up at Kampus
Across town, Bar Hutte at the Great Northern will be a go-to party spot, with 14 cosy huttes under a heated stretch tent, with live singers, DJs, pizza made fresh on site and an exciting drinks menu.
Callum Winsper, operations manager at Bar Hütte, says: “We’re so pleased to bring Bar Hütte back to Manchester for another year.
“Our festive karaoke hüttes, lively courtyard and schedule of family events have become a holiday favourite in the city, and we’re proud to continue this tradition.
“We’re excited to return to both locations, Great Northern and Kampus, and we look forward to welcoming everyone – whether with friends, family, or colleagues – for another memorable Christmas season.”
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Bar Hütte at Kampus opens on 14 November, while Great Northern Square opens on 15 November. You can make a booking HERE.
The best beer gardens in Manchester for when the sun is shining
Georgina Pellant
With the arrival of spring comes the first promises of sunshine and, being British, of course we’re already thinking about where to go for that first sun-soaked pint.
With the sun finally starting to stick its head out, even if his visit is brief, we expect we’ll be seeing plenty of packed beer gardens soon enough.
We all know the pain of walking pub-to-pub trying to find a seat on a sunny and/or warm Manchester day, so we’re rounding up the best, the biggest and the most hidden beer gardens in the city to help you to make the most of the good weather.
You might actually stand a chance at getting a seat in one of these, if you’re quick enough.
Thomas Street and Edge Street, Northern Quarter
Common on Edge StreetAd Hoc on Edge Street
This was one of the few positives to come out of the pandemic – removing vehicles from a back-to-back stretch of the Northern Quarter.
It means that the bars along Thomas Street and Edge Street can now fill the roads with tables and chairs in one giant beer garden, but being such a busy stretch it’s often the first place punters think to go for a drink in the sun.
You’ll find the likes of The Morris, Common, Ad Hoc, Terrace, Smithfield Social, the Bay Horse Tavern, Cane and Grain and Wolf At The Door all being given the al fresco treatment.
Terrace also has a gorgeous little hidden beer garden upstairs, and if you find yourself really struggling to find a perch head over to Trof which has a tiny little hidden beer garden on its middle floor.
The Wharf and Dukes 92, Castlefield
Two beer garden institutions both stand in the canal-side setting of Castlefield.
Both The Wharf and Dukes 92 are stuffed to the brim with pub-goers in spring and summer, thanks to their massive terraces, with more people spilling out onto the green lawns surrounding them.
Down here you’ll also find Bar Barca and Albert’s Shed, both in prime position for soaking up some rays with a broad array of seating on offer.
It’s one of the prettiest spots in the city centre too, right on the water with narrow boats and plenty of lush greenery in view.
Stevenson Square, Northern Quarter
Stevenson Square has turned into one giant beer garden in ManchesterPublic’s beer garden in Manchester
Very much in the same wheelhouse as the aforementioned Thomas Street is Stevenson Square, another pocket of the Northern Quarter that’s really still benefitting from those relaxed pavement licenses of 2020.
A number of local operators vie for precious outside space here, including Flok (which does a roaring trade in Aperol spritzes and peach Jubel in the summer), Public, The Faraday, and Eastern Bloc.
There are even a handful of seats outside Soup and Noho when the weather is good, even if they don’t get quite as much sunshine.
The Oast House, Spinningfields
Manchester’s massive free festival Manifest is back for the August bank holiday weekendManchester’s massive free festival Manifest is back for the August bank holiday weekend. Credit: The Manc Group
Beer gardens seem to be everywhere in Manchester these days, which is of course a good thing, but we still have a soft spot for the original outdoor watering hole.
Cast your mind back a few years and The Oast House was one of the only venues that really focused on an open-air offering.
It’s still the same today – masses of tables in the heart of Spinningfields, with bleacher seating all the way round, plus live entertainment and a belting Aperol Spritz.
The Corn Exchange
Banyan is one of the Corn Exchange bars with a great beer gardenSalvi’s sunny terrace at the Corn Exchange
Another corner of the city where bars and restaurants spill outside alongside one another is the Corn Exchange.
Its residents – including Salvi’s, Banyan and Cosy Club – almost all have their own terraces, but it’s the ones on the Exchange Square side who get the most sunshine.
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Neighbouring it, meanwhile, are two of Manchester’s oldest pubs – Sinclari’s Oyster Bar and The Old Wellington – both of which also boast large sun trap beer gardens, for those after something a little more traditional.
You might have to queue a little while, but with so much seating, you’ll be sipping a drink in the sun before you know it.
Cutting Room Square, Ancoats
Set in the middle of Ancoats, also known as one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world, Cutting Room Square is guaranteed to get the sun all day long – and with plenty of bars here to choose from you’re pretty much guaranteed to find a seat one way or another.
There’s the classic pub reborn Edinburgh Castle, brilliant cocktail bar Jane Eyre, and local brewery bar from Seven Brothers – drinkers are spoilt for choice.
You can even soak up some rays outside Rudy’s (and the Ancoats one is the OG pizzeria), perch outside the award-winning Erst with a nice glass of wine, or jump in to Elnecot’s patio, where you might even find a BBQ on sunny days.
Waterside neighbourhoods are difficult to find in Greater Manchester, which is what makes New Islington marina feel so special.
In the warmer months, the bars and cafes along here throw out the furniture so you can sit with a pint overlooking the water.
There’s Flawd, an award-winning wine bar; Cask, a brilliant local craft beer bar; and Pollen, if you fancy a pastry garden rather than a beer garden.
Piccadilly Trading Estate, East Piccadilly
Drinking around the Beermuda Triangle in Manchester
Beer paradise awaits just past Manchester Piccadilly, with plenty of beer garden space too, in an industrial estate that’s nicknamed the ‘Beermuda Traingle‘.
There’s the lovely Track Taproom with a huge outside space out the back; Cloudwater Taproom, which is an absolute sun trap; and then Balance Taproom and Sureshot just around the corner, which have less space but just as many vibes.
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It’s the perfect activity if you’re looking to drink really great beer and not walk very far whilst still visiting a range of top class spots, because after all…variety is the spice of life.
Society, central
Manchester bar Society to give away FREE Aperol Spritzes to gig-goersThe beer garden at Society Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Not only is this spot right on the water, with excellent views of the Bridgewater Hall, but it’s also home to the biggest beer collection in Manchester.
Society has a whopping 44 beer taps, with a vast range from loads of different top northern breweries, including Cloudwater, Pomona Island, and Rivington (along with a few globally-brewed favourites).
The new beer range is flowing now, alongside all those amazing food traders that call Society home too.
Mala, Northern Quarter
This ‘secret garden’ bar is right in the heart of the Northern Quarter in the midst of the pandemic and is another great outdoor space for getting the drinks in when the sun is shining.
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Tucked behind those big mint-green wooden boards on Dale Street is a cluster of picnic tables and wooden huts festooned with fairy lights and plants.
It might not be the tropics, but they’ve got the cocktails to trick your tastebuds into thinking it is – we’re talking frozen strawberry daiquiris and frozen pina coladas. Oh, and there’s beer too.
Featured image – The Manc Group
Eats
Manchester pubs are doing half-price pints of ‘proper northern stout’ for St Patrick’s Day
Daisy Jackson
Pubs across Greater Manchester are pouring half-price pints in honour of St Patrick’s Day – but it’s not Guinness on the taps today.
A Manchester-based brewery has decided to seize an opportunity to show off its own ‘proper northern stout’ on a day that everyone rushes to the pub for a pint of the black stuff.
JW Lees pubs right across the North West, including two in Manchester city centre, are slashing prices for one day only.
There’ll be 50% off pints of its Black Tuesday stout, a proudly British beer that they’ve created to show St Patrick’s Day isn’t exclusively limited to Irish beers.
The brewery has selected 50 of its pub locations across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and North Wales.
That includes two in the heart of Manchester – the Founder’s Hall in Albert Square, and Rain Bar and Great Bridgewater Street.
William Lees-Jones, Managing Director at JW Lees, said: “While 17 March is traditionally seen as a celebration of St Patrick, we don’t think it should be a celebration exclusively for Irish stout fans.
“As more and more British pubgoers participate in St Patrick’s Day, we are challenging them to ‘dare to be different’ and try our Manchester-based stout in one of the selected 50 pubs during what is set to be a truly party atmosphere next week, on Black Tuesday.”
50 select JW Lees pubs will serve half-price pints of Black Tuesday stout on 17 March.
A full list of JW Lees pubs taking part in the Black Tuesday offer can be found HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
12th November 2024 
