For those who are willing to look, Manchester has quite a lot of hidden and ‘secret’ bars to explore.
From prohibition-style cocktail dens, to tiny brewery taprooms, arcade-themed hideouts and grimy dive bars, we’ve got a fair bit of variety going on too.
That said, not all are created equal – especially if these new rankings from The Bottle Club are to be believed.
The online drinks seller has conducted a study ranking the UK’s hidden and secret bars by a number of factors such as secrecy, creativity, cocktail range, cost and Google ratings, and three in Manchester have come out on top as amongst the ‘most secret’ in the UK.
Image: Wood and Co Image: Wood and Co
According to the new rankings, Manchester bars The Washouse, Wood and Company, and Bunny Jackson’s all rate in the top ten for secret UK bars that have ‘actually stayed secret’ – coming in at numbers four, nine and ten respectively.
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Whilst we can definitely get on board with Wood and Company and The Washouse’s inclusions (yes, the latter does have a sign, but it also has a relatively convincing laundrette front and some incredible cocktails), we’re not entirely sure that Bunny’s counts – or that it would even consider itself a secret bar, to be honest.
According to the site, it seems that the American-style dive bar on First Street has mostly been included for its lack of social media presence – ranking tenth with just 2,728 followers. Surprising, actually, as it’s nearly always packed in there (and their content is pretty hilairious).
One of the imaginative cocktails on the menu at The Washhouse, a ‘Soft Brex-fast’ made with cocopop vodka, chocolate and honey liqueurs with vanilla foam / Image: The Washhouse Image: Bunny Jacksons
Still, If that’s all the criteria you need to become one of the UK’s most ‘secret’ bars, we can think of a few more in Manchester that should maybe be added to this list too.
Alongside the ‘most secret’ list, The Bottle Club has also published a top 20 ‘most mysterious’ list, which rings a little bit more true.
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Manchester has five entrants in the top twenty here, with two of them – namely Science and Industry and The Daisy – even making it into the top ten.
Image: Science and Industry
Science and Industry, the secret ‘bar within a bar’ cocktail laboratory on the first floor of Cane and Grain, comes in at a respectable number seven, whilst following close behind at number eight is The Daisy – a former members-only club beneath Evelyn’s now open to all those in the know.
Wood and Co, Bunny Jackson’s and The Washouse all appear again, coming in at 14, 15 and 20.
All great bars, all deserving of a visit, but – dare we say it again – not all exactly ‘secret’ or ‘mysterious’.
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Check out the full list of ‘most mysterious’ UK bars from The Bottle Club here.
Feature image – The Washouse / Wood and Co
News
Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Featured Image – Pxhere
News
Stockport man jailed for life after kidnapping and sexually assaulting teenage girl
Emily Sergeant
A Stockport man has been sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl on her way home from the library.
Paul Sharpe has been sentenced to life imprisonment with an eight-year minimum term in prison after being convicted of a number of offences when subjected a teenage girl to what police called a ‘terrifying ordeal’ that lasted several hours back in May 2026.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that the victim had been studying at Sale Library before beginning her journey home with friends at around 5:50pm and contacting her parents at 6:10pm to let them know she was on her way.
Twenty minutes later, she spoke to her boyfriend on the phone and said she was approximately five minutes away from home, but that her phone battery was about to die.
This was the last contact received from the victim that evening.
While walking along Bradgate Road in Altrincham, the victim noticed a grey Ford parked nearby and a man wearing a high-visibility jacket pressing doorbells in the area.
As she walked past, Sharpe approached her from behind, placed her in a headlock and threatened to stab her if she did not get into his vehicle.
Concerned that their daughter had not returned home, the victim’s family contacted police at 9:22pm to report her missing, and officers immediately launched an investigation to locate her.
Over the next several hours, the victim was subjected to and placed in a number of terrifying situations.
Sharpe drove the victim to several locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, before police located and arrested him at around 3:40am on 19 May 2026.
Following his arrested, 56-year-old Sharpe was convicted of kidnap, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, threats with a bladed article, and administering a noxious substance with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve.
“This was a terrifying ordeal for a young girl who was simply making her way home,” explained Detective Inspector Karl Perry, from GMP’s Criminal Investigation Department.
“Sharpe targeted a vulnerable victim, subjected her to hours of fear and intimidation, and went on to sexually assault her.
“The victim has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings. Through her bravery and actions, she no doubt made it harder for Sharpe to carry out whatever acts he had planned.”
Georgina Pellant -
7th January 2022 
