Manchester’s bars, restaurants and hardworking hospitality staff have been celebrated at the Manchester Bar Awards.
Now in its fifth year, the Manchester Bar Awards took place last night, Tuesday 14 March, in a high spirited ceremony at industry favourite Bunny Jackson’s.
Following on from a jam-packed first day back at the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show, the creme de la creme of Manchester’s bartending scene flocked across to the First Street dive bar for a night full of Hooch, tequila and well-deserved accolades.
Put together by a group of Manchester bartenders and hospitality professionals, the awards were organised by the admins of a local Facebook group and first began in 2018 to champion local people working in the industry.
Winners were decided by a public vote from within the Manchester bar community, which is some 17,000 members strong.
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Every year the awards pick out the very best operators in the city – with 2023’s categories championing the city’s best new bars, speciality venues and restaurants.
Further categories paid homage to professionals within the industry, with awards given to the best bar backs, front-of-house staff, and rising stars.
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Big winners included underground cocktail bar Project Halcyon which took home the award for best new bar, Mulligan’s of Deansgate, which won the speciality venue award for its incredible pints of Guinness, and modern Chinese takeaway Salt & Pepper, taking home the award for best restaurant/food concept.
See the full list of winners from last night’s awards ceremony below.
Manchester Bar Awards 2023 winners
Best New Bar sponsored by Ford’s Gin
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Winner: Project Halcyon
Shortlisted: Blinker, Sterling, Exhibition, New Century, Project Halcyon
Best Restaurant / Food Concept sponsored by Tito’s Vodka
Winner: Salt & Pepper
Shortlisted: Salt & Pepper, Sparrows, Kong’s, Climat, Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria
People’s Choice Bar of the Year sponsored by Jameson Irish Whiskey
Winner: Schofield’s
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Shortlisted: Blinker, Sterling, Exhibition, New Century, Project Halcyon
Bartender of the Year sponsored by Angel’s Envy Bourbon
Winner: Conor Knowles, Schofield’s
Shortlisted: Jonathan Moncur – Speak in Code, Deana Ferguson – Hawksmoor/Redlight, Adam Montanaro-Taylor – Project Halcyon, Dionysios ‘Dio’ Tzorouchof – Cane & Grain, Conor Knowles – Schofield’s
Outstanding Achievement sponsored by Jagermeister Cold Brew
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Winner: The Schofield Brothers
Shortlisted: Abi Dunn – 68 People, The Schofields – Schofields, Sterling, Stock Market Grill, Atomeca, Nathan Larkin – Speak in Code, Dan Berger – Blinker Bar, Paddy & the Team at So Let’s Talk
Front of House Hero sponsored by Cazcabel
Winner: Alex Proudfoot – Wolf at the Door
Shortlisted: Alex Proudfoot – Wolf at the Door, Paola Mariotti – Sterling, Hannah Wingfield – Ramona, Taylor Martin – Tariff & Dale, Oliver Hughes – Ramona
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Manchester’s Rising Star sponsored by Old J
Winner: Reah Owen, Project Halcyon
Shortlisted: Reah Owen – Project Halcyon, Caitlyn Grocott – Blind Tyger, Eddie Smyth – Tariff, Joe Kereszteny-Lewis – 10 Tib Lane, Ben Topham-Taylor – Blind Tyger
Bar Back of the Year sponsored by Belle de Brillet
Joey Barton officially sentenced over offensive online posts
Danny Jones
Retired footballer Joey Barton has officially been sentenced following a series of offensive posts on social media over the past year or so.
Six counts pertaining to three individuals, in particular, were highlighted when he appeared for his final hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, 8 December: online abuse directed at fellow ex-pros Eni Aluko, Lucy Ward and broadcaster Jeremy Vine.
Charged and now finally found guilty of ‘grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety’, Joey Barton has been given a six-month prison sentence – suspended for 18 months, however, meaning he won’t serve jail time unless he reoffends during this period.
Here he is queuing up outside the Crown Court earlier today:
BREAKING: Former footballer Joey Barton given six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months over "grossly offensive" social media posts about Jeremy Vine, Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko. pic.twitter.com/dQuAAT1mQu
For context, the social media posts in question refer to the ones made on X (previously known as Twitter) and directed at the aforementioned public figures.
The former Manchester City player and Liverpool youth product, who is originally from Merseyside but is now based around Widnes in Cheshire, was found guilty on Friday despite insisting his innocence throughout.
Barton – now 43 and having become a vocal far-right commentator – compared Aluko and Ward to two of the most infamous convicted serial killers in British history, writing that they were “the Fred and Rose West of football commentary” back in January 2024.
He also labelled radio host and TV presenter, Vine, a “bike nonce” in a post that he later went on to dismiss as nothing more than “crude banter” and an attempt at “dark and stupid humour”, stating that he has no intention of actually suggesting he was a paedophile.
Elsewhere in the court appearance, Barton claimed that he is a victim of “political prosecution”; nevertheless, the judge found that the one-time England international (who also played for Newcastle, QPR, Burnley, Rangers and Marseille) “crossed the line between free speech and a crime.”
You can see the moment Judge Andrew Menary handed down the verdict, which will see him avoid time in custody once more, in full down below.
As per an official update via the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Senior Prosecutor Callum Bryce of CPS Mersey-Cheshire said: “Between early January and mid-March 2024, Barton subjected three public figures to offences of malicious communications.
“Barton said in his evidence before the court that in some of his messages he was trying to make a serious point in a provocative way and that in others he was simply joking.
“The finding of the jury confirmed that his conduct had gone beyond any joke and his messages were grossly offensive with the purpose of causing anxiety and distress to his victims.”
It’s also worth noting that he has been charged, found guilty and sentenced before already this year.
Review | The Lion, The Witch and The Beaver* – sorry, Wardrobe
The Manc
What an enchanting evening at The Lowry as we were transported to Narnia to review the live stage adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in Media City as the production began its festive run in Greater Manchester.
As we entered the playing space, the atmosphere was set with a pianist on stage, slowly drowning out the noise of the outside world and settling the audience in for a night of magic.
Launching ‘Act One’ with a touching rendition of the British wartime classic, ‘We’ll Meet Again’ by Vera Lynne, we meet the large ensemble, multi-instrumentalist cast.
This talented ensemble pivots around multiple roles throughout the performance, creating a shape-shifting atmosphere with some impressive seamless transitions, allowing us to “open our minds” and be absorbed into the mythical world of Narnia alongside The Pevensies.
Sweetly played by Joanna Adaran, Jesse Dunbar, Kudzai Mangombe and Bunmi Osadolor, they excel in exploring sibling dynamics such as rivalry, trust, but most of all, loyalty and love.
The most mind-blowing element of this performance, however, was the production; it truly is the unsung hero of the entire show, so we’ll so the singing on their behalf.
Set and costume (designed by Tom Paris), lighting (done by Jack Knowles), puppetry design and direction (by Max Humphries and Toby Olie), sound design (credit to Tom Marshall) and hair, make-up and wig designer (Susanna Perez).
All this carefully curated talent helped create a world where we had no choice but to believe in magic.
For us as an audience, it made things so much easier to immerse and delight in the world of C.S. Lewis’ imagination, as it is so wonderfully presented in front of us.
This was elevated once again by levitation and disappearing acts – the scene was set on the boards and in the air.
Huge credit goes to Gwen Hales (aerial director) and Chris Fisher (magic and illusions); it felt as if anything was possible, and we needed no convincing that we were in the presence of pure enchantment.
However, arguably the most magnificent moment of the show was the reveal of Aslan himself. As this grand puppet prowled onto the stage, you could hear gasps echo throughout the theatre.
Manoeuvred by three puppeteers, this skilful spectacle was a credit to bringing the story to life in live theatre. The seamless, lifelike movements of breath and king-like presence were both majestic and a credit to the production.
Accompanied by Stanton Wright, we had no doubt that this was the true hero of Narnia.
If you want us to sum up our review of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at The Lowry, quite simply, this show is nothing short of a marvel.
Make sure to take home a cuddly lion toy, of course. (Credit: The Manc)
With constant playfulness and wit throughout – mainly brought to you from the broad Northern and oh-so lovable Mr Beaver (Ed Thorpe), and fellow believer in magic, ‘The Professor’ (Kraig Thornber).
It’s the lattermost that left us with a lasting thought, as he warmly reminds the audience that even when times feel dark, “the sun is always up there, we just have to look.”
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is running from The Lowry in Salford Quays all the way up until Sunday, 11 January 2026. Don’t miss the magic and grab your tickets HERE.
If you’re interested in finding out what else we’ve enjoyed at the theatre in Manchester recently, then look no further…
Georgina Pellant -
14th March 2023 
