Manchester’s pubs, bars and hospitality professionals will be celebrated in a huge awards ceremony later this month.
Now in its fourth year, the Manchester Bar Awards picks out the very best operators in the city – with 2022’s categories championing the city’s Best Restaurant Bar, Best Speciality Bar, Best New Bar, Best Food Offering, and Bartender of the Year.
Further categories pay homage to professionals within the industry, with awards given to the best bar backs, front of house staff and rising stars.
Run by a group of Manchester bartenders and hospitality professionals, the awards were set up by the admins of a local Facebook group in 2018 to champion local people working in the industry.
First created in 2012 to help fundraise for Movember, today the Facebook group is a decade old and one of the country’s leading hospitality-focused groups – boasting over 17,000 members.
The shortlist for the 2022 awards has just been revealed, with members of the city’s bar community now being encouraged to vote for their favourites.
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Hawksmoor, Cottonopolis, 10 Tib Lane, CBRB and newcomers Namii are all shortlisted for the Best Restaurant Bar category, whilst the Best New Bar award shortlist features Schofield’s, Junior Jackson’s, 10 Tib Lane, Ramona and Lost Cat.
Image: Lost Cat
Image: !0 Tib Lane
Image: 10 Tib Lane
In a nod to the quirkiness of the city’s bar scene, this year’s Best Speciality Bar Award names wine bars Flawd and Salut, The Briton’s Protection (for its epic whiskey collection), brewery-owned bar Northern Monk and gaming bar NQ64.
Shortlisted food offerings, meanwhile, include three businesses launched by local bartenders during lockdown – Bada Bing, Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria and Kong’s Chicken Shop – alongside Wolf At The Door and Parmogeddon.
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Elsewhere, rising stars and MVPS have their own categories, whilst an outstanding achievement award highlights those who’ve done good for the community – picking out a Manchester bartender who hosts a yearly ‘Orphans Christmas’ for staff with nowhere to go, alongside others including mental-health focused organisation So Let’s Talk.
Image: Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria
Image: Bada Bing
Image: So Let’s Talk
This year’s event ceremony will be held on 15 March at First Street dive bar Bunny Jackson’s, an industry favourite amongst many of Manchester’s bartenders, and promises to be a raucous, fun-filled affair.
Speaking on the upcoming awards, Manchester Bars admin and organiser Nate Booker said: “We’ve waited a long time for this moment, but the shortlist is finally here. This list was built by the crowd-sourced thoughts of over 100 hospitality professionals from Manchester (and a smattering of the rest of the UK)! We believe this is quite possibly the best shortlist we’ve published, representing a diverse cross-section of the industry.
“We have new faces and venues hitting the list amongst some old favourites, which show how dynamic and tenacious our industry is. Now we’ve just got to wait for the people of the group to vote on their winners!
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“With the Northern Restaurant & Bar Show in the city, every year Manchester is full to the brim with our hospitality peers from across the country. Hosting an awards ceremony on the first night seemed serendipitous, rewarding the hard work and passion so prevalent in the city (when our friends can join us!).
“The awards have become incredibly important to the community and we are proud to organise it, but ultimately it’s an event based embodiment of what Manchester does best, and that is have a whole lot of fun.
“We want to say a massive congratulations to all the nominees, and a huge thank you to the panel, the sponsors and of course Bunny Jackson’s. “
The full shortlist for this year’s Manchester Bar Awards ceremony:
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Best Restaurant Bar sponsored by Crystal Head
Hawksmoor
Cottonopolis
10 Tib Lane
CBRB
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Namii
Outstanding Achievement Award! Sponsored by White Claw
So Let’s Talk
Dom Gold, (Orphan’s Xmas)
Kiera & Amie, Feel Good CLub
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Mike Ramsden (Too Many Owners)
Abbie Dunn, 86 People
Best New Bar Sponsored by Portobello Gin
Schofield’s
Junior Jackson’s
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10 Tib Lane
Ramona
Lost Cat
Manchester’s Best Speciality Bar Sponsored by Maison Ferrand
Briton’s Protection, Whisky
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Northern Monk, Beer
Flawd, Wine
Salut, Wine
NQ64, Gaming
Food Offering of the Year Sponsored by Ten Locks
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Kong’s
Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria
Parmogeddon
Wolf at the Door
Bada Bing
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Bartender of the Year – Sponsored by Slane
Conor Knowles, Schofield’s
Rachel Orange. Schofield’s
Connan Henry-Madden, Speak in Code
Jack Sleaford, Sandinista
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Jake Nicholl’s, Junior Jackson’s
Manchester’s Best Bar Back – Sponsored by Sairen & O’Hara’s
Calem Ocram, Smithfield Social
Sid Curry, Sherlock’s
Karis Bleakley, Washhouse
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Ethan, Behind Closed Dorrs
Tom Fastiggi, Schofield’s
Manchester’s Rising Star – Sponsored by WSET & Horse With No Name
Aidan Tibbins, Schofield’s
Dom Cleaver, 10 Tib Lane
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Reah Owen, Clubhouse
Konstantinos Koutis, Rosso
Amanda Lane, Lost Cat
Front of House Star – Sponsored by The MANC
Georgi May, Science & Industry
Leighton Russell, Seven Oaks
Lachlan Meany, Tairff & Dale
Charlotte Felton, Impossible
Meg Williams, Flawd
Feature image – Schofield’s Bar
News
More than £2 million in compensation received by underpaid workers in the North West
Danny Jones
More than £2 million is said to have been dished out in compensation to workers in the North West alone, as the UK government is continuing to crack down on employers underpaying their staff.
Employees from nearly 500 different companies across the region have received the money they owed following a raft of fines in excess of £2.7 million.
Covering the likes of Greater Manchester and beyond, the companies responsible have been revealed by the government as part of the new Fair Work Agency (FWA), which is tasked with shoring up workers’ rights moving forward.
The FWA is part of Labour’s wider ‘Plan For Change’, and hopes not only to correctly reimburse those short-changed but also, with the clear threat of swift action, deter others from trying to do the same in the future.
Matthew Taylor CBE has been appointed Chair of the Fair Work Agency, a new body that will transform how employment rights are enforced across the UK.
How? By tackling exploitation, supporting businesses doing the right thing, and helping to build a fairer labour market. pic.twitter.com/duEeNlwDHr
— Department for Business and Trade (@biztradegovuk) October 14, 2025
Released publicly last Friday, 17 October, 80 companies that failed to properly pay approximately 19,000 workers in and around the North West have now been repaid by their employers.
Perhaps most concerningly is that the fines sweep across multiple sectors and sizes, from local independents and SME to well-known high street brands.
From April 2026 onwards, the updated Employment Rights Bill (which also includes the FWA) grants more powers to tackle employers underpaying workers and failing to fulfil both holiday and sick pay.
This announcement also comes after the National Minimum Wage rate was increased earlier this year, with millions getting a pay rise and those working full-time on the National Living Wage seeing their families supported by an extra £1,400 per year.
Under the ‘Make Work Pay’ initiative set out by the Labour Party, more than 15 million Brits are expected to benefit from the new measures.
Overall, roughly £6 million has been put back into the pockets of underpaid workers up and down the country following these fines, which are said to have totalled roughly £10.2m. The full list of companies in question can be seen HERE.
Speaking on the news, Employment Rights Minister Kate Dearden said: “This government is taking direct action to ensure workers get every penny they’ve earned, and to put an end to bad businesses undercutting good ones.
“We’re proud to have delivered a strong minimum wage, and enforcing it thoroughly is crucial in our mission to put pounds back in your pocket. I know this news will be welcomed by brilliant businesses across the country, those who know that happy, well-paid staff are at the heart of building a successful company.
“With our new Fair Work Agency and the coming Employment Rights Bill, this government is keeping our promise to Britain to make work pay again.”
If you fear you might be suffering from underpayment by your employer, you can check that your wages are correct online; alternatively, you can call the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 or contact their website for more information right HERE.
342 arrests made in Piccadilly Gardens since start of GMP’s pledge to ‘improve’ public safety
Emily Sergeant
More than 300 people have been arrested in Piccadilly Gardens since the police pledged to ‘improve’ the perception of the area.
A dedicated neighbourhood policing team that was set up by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) back in March to tackle issues and concerns in Piccadilly Gardens, and ultimately improve the public’s sense of safety, has seen a total of 342 arrests since its inception.
The City Centre Piccadilly Gardens neighbourhood policing team – which is led by Chief Inspector Michael Tachauer – works together with partners, including Manchester City Council, to tackle these problems with long-term solutions.
Following the team’s success since it started, GMP will now continue to build on the foundations of its problem-solving approach to address some of the most prevalent issues.
According to police, Piccadilly Gardens has seen ‘real progress’ being made in terms of safeguarding, enforcement, and GMP’s wider understanding of the issues and concerns communities are facing this past year.
342 arrests have been made in Piccadilly Gardens since the start of GMP’s pledge to ‘improve’ public safety / Credit: GMP
Since March, GMP has seen a total of 342 arrests resulting in 279 charges / cautions, 511 stop searches, 37 weapons seized, and large amounts of Class A and Class B drugs seized too.
“We remain committed to improving both the perception of Piccadilly Gardens and the public’s sense of safety in the area,” commented Chief Superintendent David Meeney, who is the City of Manchester District Commander.
“However, this is not something we can achieve alone. We will continue to work closely with our partners and deploy additional police resources whenever intelligence or demand indicates a need for increased presence.
“We also rely heavily on information from our community, from those who work in the area to residents living nearby. Your reports are vital in helping us develop targeted plans that our neighbourhood officers can act on, so please continue to share any concerns or incidents with us.”
Got any concerns about Piccadilly Gardens? You can continue to report those to GMP by calling 101 or online via gmp.uk.com. Always dial 999 in an emergency.