Considering Manchester’s a city obsessed with football, surprisingly, it’s not always the easiest place to find somewhere good to watch the match.
We’ve been inundated with messages asking us where to go this summer, so we’ve knuckled down and done the leg work for you – digging out some of the best spots in Manchester to watch the football outside (and in) this summer.
Keep reading to find out where you should be booking for all the upcoming Premier League fixtures. This piece will be regularly updated as new information becomes available.
Joshua Brooks
Oxford Road
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Image: Joshua Brooks
Image: Joshua Brooks
Kicking off the launch of the Premier League in style, Joshua Brooks is going all out with giant beer pitchers, a massive 3m wide screen and pizzas courtesy of its new kitchen resident Tanto Amore.
With club nights raging on in its basement from early evening, you can even make a whole night of it – going down for the footie, then staying on for a boogie.
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Box
Manchester’s new-ish giant sports bar Box is, of course, screening the football this summer.
The huge venue has screens all over the place, so you’ll never be far from the action if you pick the Deansgate bar to watch all the action.
Barca Bar
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Castlefield
This Castlefield gastropub has it all: canal-side dining, plenty of outdoor seating and loads of big screens for showing the football. With room for 250 outside alone (and that’s not including the balcony), there’ll be plenty of space for fans to watch the action, weather permitting. If the heavens do open, there’s room for another 300 inside.
Binary Bar
Castlefield
Binary Bar is a reliable spot for sports fans in Castlefield, showing all the sports fixtures this summer – footie included. As well as a good selection of pints and a classic cocktail menu, they’ve also got a kitchen service up burgers, pizzas, wings and wraps.
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Hotel Football & Cafe Football
Trafford
With it proudly being Manchester’s “home of the Euros” and also owned by the Class of 92, naturally, you’d expect Old Trafford’s Hotel Football to be showing all the important matches this summer.
The Brotherhood of Pursuits and Pastimes
City Centre
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With a couple of tables always left open for walk-ins, this Mount Street sports bar is a decent shout if you’re looking for somewhere to catch the game last minute. Bringing the inside out, all outdoor seating comes with a guaranteed good view of a TV screen. What more do you want?
Walkabout
The Printworks
Aussie sports bar Walkabout is not short of big screens to watch the match on this summer. Whether you support Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or any of the other big boys, Walkabout will be showing all the fixtures live so you don’t miss any of the action.
Yates
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The Printworks
Showing the fixtures all summer, Yates is another solid go-to for sports fans looking for big screen action and affordable drinks. From the Premier League to the World Cup 2022, if there’s a match you want to see you can trust that Yates will be screening it.
O’Neills
Image: Supplied
The Printworks
With BT Sport and Sky Sports access, you can watch all televised Premier League matches and the top European action from UEFA Champions League, Europa League and more at O’Neills. Tables here are available to book in advance, and there’s even a Carling Score Predictor game on its app allowing you to win prizes if you guess correctly.
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Bierkeller
Image: Supplied
The Printworks
Bavarian party bar Bierkeller isn’t just all steins and oompah, it’s also a great place to catch the match. The shooters sports bar boasts a whopping 20 TV screens, plus a massive projector screen and a large LED superscreen – so no matter where you’re sat, you won’t miss a thing.
The Crown and Anchor
Northern Quarter
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This popular family-run pub on Hilton Street will be showing all the football fixtures this summer. Grab a seat in its cute little enclosed courtyard beer garden or up on the roof terrace, and load up on homely grub from the kitchen – washed down with some of the city’s most reasonably-priced bevs.
Gasworks
First Street
This beer bar and microbrewery on First Street has some lush beers on draught, many pumped straight out of the brew tanks in its cellar, and decent grub too. They’ll be showing all the football this summer, but to secure a table you’ll need to book by email.
The Dockyard
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Media City
Offering a strong selection of craft ales, beers and ciders, The Dockyard at Media City will be screening all the Euros fixtures this summer. Advance bookings are recommended.
Manchester
Didsbury favourite Rustik has confirmed its will sadly be closing this month
Danny Jones
West Didsbury favourite Rustik has sadly announced it will be closing for food after a decade at the end of this month.
The beloved Burton cafe and bar has been a staple of the tight-knit foodie neighbourhood since 2015, but now the independent Irish eatery has confirmed that the business will be shutting down permanently in less than a fortnight.
Confirmed on Wednesday afternoon, 17 September, the casual Manc restaurant and hangout informed their loyal followers of the unfortunate news.
Unsurprisingly, their social media has been awash with condolences, collective sadness and support for the local institution.
Posting across all of their accounts, Rustik wrote: “After an unforgettable 10 years on Burton Road, the time has come to close our doors. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come — never in a million years did we imagine Rustik would grow into what it became.
“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to every single one of you who walked through our doors and supported us along the way. We poured everything we had — our time, our energy, our lives into making Rustik a space for everyone. And what a ride it’s been.
“From the chaotic, beautiful brunch shifts to late nights dancing on tables to ‘Wagon Wheel’, pushing through the challenges of COVID and helping our community with meals during hard times— we’ve done it all, together.
“To our amazing staff, past and present: thank you for your hard work, your dedication, and the love you brought every single day. You helped build something truly special, and we’ll never be able to thank you enough.
“To the incredible musicians who filled our space with life — keep doing what you do. The noise complaints? 100% worth the unforgettable nights.”
The team go on to detail that the official closing date is Tuesday, 30 September, reiterating that it is “business running as usual until then” and urging fans to “come down, grab your last Rustik fix, and raise a glass with us one final time.”
Signing off with an emotional farewell, they add: “Lastly, a message close to our hearts: please support your local cafes, bars, and independents. Hospitality is tough right now, and they need your support more than ever.
“Thank you for the most incredible decade of our lives. It’s over and out from us.”
It goes without saying that we’re gutted to see Rustik go and know how much it meant not only to the Burton Road community, but also to the Didsbury community, Chorlton and many other Greater Manchester natives.
That was dubbed the ‘best Warehouse Project there has ever been’ by people in the room – so the chance to see him at Amber’s is going to be pretty wild.
Fred Again sent a ticket link to fans registered in Manchester, which appear to have sold out immediately.
He wrote in his mailer: “cos it’s a very small venue i really wanna make sure the tickets go to the people who are more likely to be from Manchester based on what the team see when you’ve signed up for things before. so yeah, that’s why you’re getting this first :)”
Sharing the news on his Instagram stories today, he added: “i am playing a small show at @ambers.club in Manchester this thursday with @cariboumusic and @zuri_fernandez. a handful of tickets have been sent to the ppl we know are in manny, we did it this way jus to try and stop resellers and stuff ykno”
Fred Again added: “massive love to amber’s for making it possible. another really important independent venue i’m so happy i get to play in.”
Amber’s is a no-phones nightclub that’s famed for its sound system.
Fred Again and Caribou will take to the stage at Amber’s on Thursday 18 September.