August has arrived, and with it, we’ve unearthed some cracking Manchester restaurant and bar deals.
Plenty of local bars seem to be capitalising on the terrible weather we’ve been having by launching rain-specific happy hours, and the proliferation of 50% off dining deals doesn’t seem to have slowed down at all.
There is also a pub in Salford giving its diners the chance to win £72,000 worth of prizes when they dine from its £22 set menu this month that is well worth a look-in.
Keep reading to discover the best dining deals and drink offers in Manchester this August.
50% off food and drink – Manchester August dining deals
Image: The Bay Horse
Image: The Firehouse
Corbieres
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The offer: Free pizza
T&Cs: Free pizza when you buy a drink, every Tuesday to Friday from 4-7pm
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Disorder
The offer: 50% off bottles of prosecco, 50p wings
T&Cs: Drinks offer only available when it’s pouring down with rain. Say ‘If it rains, it pours’ at the bar to get the deal. 50p wings every Wednesday.
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Ducie Street Warehouse
The offer: £5.55 selected drinks and dishes
T&Cs: Available Monday to Thursday from 5 to 5.55pm.
Elnecot
The offer: Soup and sandwich £8
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T&Cs: Available Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm.
Italiana Fifty Five
The offer: 50% off food
T&Cs: Available Sunday to Thursday throughout August, booking required.
La Bandera
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The offer: 50% off food
T&Cs: Mondays and Tuesdays, maximum six per booking. Booking required.
Muse Uppermill
The offer: 50% off the menu*
T&Cs: *some exclusions apply. Available every Thursday
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On The Hush
The offer: 50% off food
T&Cs: Available to walk-ins 12pm to 2pm, Thursday and Friday
The offer: Three small plates £17.50, five for £27.50
T&Cs: Available Wednesday to Saturday, 4 to 10pm.
El Gato Negro
The offer: Three dishes for £18
T&Cs: Available Monday to Friday 12 to 4pm, all day Sunday.
Exhibition
The offer: A dish and a drink for £10
T&Cs: Available Wednesday to Friday, 12 to 4pm.
Habas
The offer: Main, side and a drink for £15.
T&Cs: Available Tuesday to Friday, 12 to 5pm.
Hawksmoor
The offer: Two courses for £26, £15 steak and frites ‘strike offer.
T&Cs: Set menu available for reservations made Monday-Saturday until 6.30pm and all day Sunday. Steak and frites offer applies whenever there is a rail strike (book quoting ‘strike steak’).
Henry C
The offer: £5 negronis (from a choice of ten)
T&Cs: Available Thursdays 4pm-late.
Juice Box
The offer: £5 negronis
T&Cs: All day every day, 12-10pm.
Our Neighbourhood Bar
The offer: 30% off pizza
T&Cs: Available every Monday in August
The Black Friar
The offer: Two courses for £22
T&Cs: Available from a set menu all day Monday, 12 to 6pm Tuesday-Friday. Walk-ins and bookings welcome
The Famous Crown
The offer: Four bar snacks for £22
T&Cs: Available throughout August.
The Jane Eyre Ancoats
The offer: £7 cocktails, £30 house wine with two snacks, £8 classic cocktails on Sundays
T&Cs: Tues – Thurs 3 to 6pm ongoing, every Thursday throughout summer, Sundays from 6pm.
The Jane Eyre Chorlton
The offer: Lunch menu 3 for £15
T&Cs: Tuesday to Friday, 12 to 5pm.
Public
The offer: £4 pints and wine, £6 daiquiris
T&Cs: Available only when it’s raining, weekdays until 8pm.
Santé
The offer: £15 for 3 small plates or tapas
T&Cs: Available weekly, starting from 4pm Tuesdays and finishing at 5pm Fridays.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
Hot Blobs – Retro drink makes return to Manchester Christmas Markets, but what is it?
Daisy Jackson
It’s funny how we all turn a blind eye to the temperature outside when it comes to the Christmas Markets.
At a time of year where should probably all be hibernating inside, droves of us instead head out to brave the elements all in the name of the festivities.
Of course, the Manchester Christmas Markets sell all sorts of wares to take the edge off, and we’re not just talking about the stalls selling woollen mittens everywhere.
Our favourite winter warmers tend to take the form of a tray of piping hot garlic potatoes, or a mug of hot chocolate, or another boozy beverage that’s massively underrated.
The drink in question is a Hot Blob, which is listed on the menu at the Piccadilly Gardens markets as ‘legendary’.
A bold claim, but a lot of long-time Manc residents will understand why.
The Hot Blob is a jaw-clenchingly sweet concoction served piping hot at the Manchester Christmas Market, similar to a hot toddy.
It’s made with Australian fortified white wine, lemon, sugar, and boiling water.
Hot Blobs – Retro drink makes return to Manchester Christmas Markets, but what is it? Credit: The Manc Group
The drink was first invented by Yates, that well-known pub chain, which started life as Yates’s Wine Lodge up the road in Oldham.
According to Pubs of Manchester, the Hot Blob has a tendency to ‘speed up drunkenness to a young drinker’.
These days, it’s pretty rare to come across one on a menu, but back in 1990s it was a staple in a few pubs around town.
There even used to be a ‘Blob Shop’ on High Street, run by local legend Ged Ford (now in charge of the equally legendary Millstone pub), which found itself in a state of utter carnage when the IRA bomb went off.
The long-lost institution specialised in ‘cheap wine, cheap beer, and plenty of blobs’.
The old Yates Blob Shop on High Street, Manchester. Credit: deltrems@flickr
Ged sold 6,000 a week.
And while the drink may have fallen out of favour since then, there are still healthy numbers being sold at this time of year, even if they are a damn sight more expensive than they were in the 1990s (£6 a pop, plus a glass deposit).
Anyway. If you’re sick to the back teeth of the endless gluhwein being peddled across the markets, make a beeline for Manchester Winter Ale House at Piccadilly Gardens, where you can find Hot Blobs as well as boozy Vimto and cask ales.
The Manchester Christmas Markets officially end on 22 December.
Where to find the cheapest drinks at the Manchester Christmas Markets, from beer to mulled wine
Daisy Jackson
The main gripe people seem to have with the Manchester Christmas Markets is the prices of food and drinks, blasting them every year like a broken record as being ‘overpriced’.
So we’ve done the hard slog for you, running all around the city centre to suss out exactly how much everything is costing in 2024.
From Piccadilly Gardens (rebranded as The Winter Gardens for the season) to King Street, there are wooden sheds and festive cheer absolutely everywhere.
There’s some brilliant food and drink to discover – you can see our top picks HERE – but as this is a huge visitor attraction, that can come at a price.
Once you factor in the deposit for a Manchester Christmas Markets mug, you can easily spend £12 just to get a mulled wine (though you will get £3.50 of that back when you return your mug).
There are also deposit charges on glassware – £2 for a pint glass, £3.50 for cocktail glasses and £7 for a stein.
You can see the full list of prices for food and drinks right across the Manchester Christmas Markets HERE, but below are where you can find the cheapest spots at the festive event.
Mulled wine
Mulled wines are priced at £5.50 almost everywhere across the Manchester Christmas Markets, though some stalls are offering bigger serves of this popular festive drink for a small price hike.
Then people are charging another £3 to add a shot of brandy, rum or amaretto, making an £8.50 total.
But the cheapest we’ve found is just £7 for mulled wine with a shot of booze, and that’s at Mamma Mia, an Italian stall on New Cathedral Street, right near St Ann’s Square.
Where to find the cheapest drinks at the Manchester Christmas Markets, from beer to mulled wine. Credit: The Manc Group
Beer
Again, prices for beers at the Manchester Christmas Markets are pretty consistent and average £6 a pint.
But you can get cheaper – at The Last Outpost, a Western-themed bar at Exchange Square, beers start from £5.50.
And at The Hip Hop Chip Shop at Piccadilly Gardens, they’re selling local craft beers, like Shindigger, Pomona Island, Manchester Union) for just £5.50. And you get bonus good vibes for supporting local breweries.
Wine
We’ve found a couple of glasses of wine for just £5 around the Markets this year, which is cheaper than most bars in town really.
The King Street Craft Bar, which has the bonus of having seating, has house wines from a fiver.
Christmas Alley at Piccadilly Gardens will also give you a wine for £5.
Prosecco
Prosecco works in every season and if this is your go-to of all the drinks at the Manchester Christmas Markets, we’ve found where you can save a few pennies.
Most places are charging between £6.50 and £7 per glass, but at El Gato Negro on King Street (yep, the same stall operated by the Michelin-recommended restaurant) are charging just £5 – that’s a whole £1.50 cheaper than most other stalls.
Hot chocolate
Basic hot chocolates are generally £3.50 everywhere, with a few very luxury upgrades (like a £7.90 creation from The Flat Baker that’s served in an edible cookie cup).
Once you add in a shot of alcohol, the cheapest as at the Apres Ski Bar at Piccadilly Gardens, which charges £2.50 for a spirit.
Georgina Pellant -
5th August 2023 
