The Secret Doorway
Saturday 13th September

Alex K phoned me on Thursday and we're going out Saturday night. That's what's important about being friends with people – you both invite each other out. Not like many groups of friends where one person does all the phoning and the other says “Oh, I get phoned up all the time”. Friends do not count how much each other phones. It's no good if one makes all the effort and one tries to look in demand. Also, phoning is just to arrange the meeting, it's the time you spend out together that matters.

Then earlier today I spoke with Alex K deciding whether to go to Altrincham or Didsbury. We were weighing up the pros and cons of the evening because suburbs like Altrincham and Didsbury are becoming less popular with many people choosing to go to the city centre, or not go out at all. So we had to visit the right bars or it was possible to visit venues on a Saturday night with about 4 people in the bar, or full up with alcoholics. We wanted a normal bar, social place, and a good night out. We decided on Didsbury.

I arrive in Didsbury at 8:30pm, park my car on a side street, and walk towards the bars where Alex is waiting. We go into the Slug and Lettuce for 15 minutes, then decide to go to the city centre instead. The bars in Didsbury had music playing so loud it was more like a nightclub, so we might as well go to a proper nightclub where you can choose the music by choosing the venue, where there's dancing, and lots of takeaways.
Me: “It's now 8:45, we can still make it to Tiger Tiger before 10”.
But Alex K's car is at home in Didsbury suburbs because we hadn't planned to go to the city centre tonight. We could take my car but it's too big to fit in the small city spaces. So we walk to Alex's house where he puts on smarter clothes – so we get let in the clubs – but going on last week with M-two it seems if you wear smart clothes you've got less chance of getting in.
So we're driving through Rusholme, the radio is playing Radio 1 in the background, traffic is ok. We reach the city, drive around a bit, find a parking space. This is what Alex K is really good at – driving around the city. He knows the one way system, the sidestreets, how to get between areas as fast as possible, and the best parking spaces.

Walking over to Tiger Tiger a lady gives us leaflets and tries to persuade us to go into an R&B, or is it drum and bass, club.
Promo lady: “Special offer tonight. 6 bottles for £10.”
Alex K takes a leaflet and says: “What is it like inside?”
Promo lady: “Dance music and R & B.”
Alex K: “Shall we go in?”
Me: “Let's go to Tiger Tiger first, if we go in before 10 we won't have to pay £7 in, so we can check it out and if we like can come back here.”
Alex K: “Ok, We'll come back later.”
Promo lady: “But if you come in here now you can have 6 bottles of beer for £10.”
Me: “We're not drinking, we drove out to the city tonight.”
Her: “Come back later anyway.”

Ok, so we've arrived at Tiger Tiger, it's busy, we get some beers. Then we stand and chat for half an hour.
Me: “It's alright in here.”
Alex K: “Yes, I like it.”
Me: “I used to go here at lunchtimes and eat in the restaurant.”
Alex K: “When did you do that?”
Me: “Remember, you came along once, it was in summer.”
Alex K: “That was a good day.”
Me: “It was when I was going into the city every day and writing the book in coffee shops. I'd come here every day for lunch. That's how I met that guy Anthony from Texas, he worked here.”
Alex K: “He was alright, when's he visiting England again?”
Me: “Christmas time.”
Alex K: “It's a good idea writing in coffee shops, so your writing is authentic from Manchester.”
Me: “Yes, I remember one morning at 10am I was in Starbucks Piccadilly Gardens when I was working on the book. I got talking to a lady called Andrea. She'd just moved to England from abroad.”
Alex K: “I remember you mentioning her.”
Me: “We got on so well we spent the day together, going for lunch, to some cafes, and sitting outside the library in the sun. It was a good day.”
Alex K: “Have you met up with her since?”
Me: “We spoke a few times on the phone. I haven't been going into the city that much now. Most of the time I'm in the suburbs. We'll meet up again sometime.”
By now it's 9:45pm, we decide to go upstairs to the other bars. A lady is at the stairs with a clipboard and a rope across the banister.
Lady: “Hi, are you on the guest list?”
Me: “No, it's usually open upstairs on a Saturday. What's going on?”
Lady: “There's a charity event to raise money. It finishes at 10 then it's the normal Saturday night.”



We chat some more in the ground floor bar and relax – we always used to do this on a night out. From 9-10pm we just enjoy ourselves, get into the vibe of being on a night out, it's later we start being more social, meeting people and so on.
Me: “It's 10:30, let's go upstairs.”
Alex K: “Ok.”
We go upstairs to the main bar, there's a band playing.”
Me: “The charity event is still on. There's meant to be DJ's and music on now.”
Alex K: “Maybe it's overrun.”
Me: “The band is playing out of tune.”
Alex K: “Yeah. I can hear it.”
Me: “That room over there is usually the best but it's closed.”
Alex K: “Shall we go in here.” says Alex K referring to a different room off to the side.
Me: “Sure.”
We go into one of the side rooms off the main dancefloor area.


For the benefit of people who haven't been to Tiger Tiger before – It's a huge venue on the edge of Manchester city centre not far from Deansgate (the main road is called Deansgate). It has 6 bars – actually, it advertises it has 6 bars but really it only has 5 you can go to – because one is a VIP bar for private parties which is for people who hired it out. There is a main bar downstairs at ground level which is pleasantly decorated and well set out, and leads through some doors to a restaurant which is also nicely decorated. I like the venue as a place to meet friends in the daytime and evening.

From the ground floor bar if you go upstairs, halfway up the stairs there's the VIP area for private parties. At the top of the stairs there's a main room with a raised dancefloor. This leads to 3 other rooms – one has the same music as the first upstairs room, one has classic hits on a Saturday night, and one is a nightclub.
You can see the appeal of going to a venue with a number of bars, range of music and a nightclub. It's also professionally run and apart from the usual odd aggressive bouncer, the doorstaff are usually ok. Actually, it's very professionally run, some say it can feel too corporate. For example – every weekend I've been they somehow ‘run out' of most beers on draught – the ones that are poured out into pint glasses – except for maybe one not so popular beer and a cider.
Funny that – how such a well run establishment runs out at the same time every weekend, about 9:30pm. Tiger Tiger isn't the only one as other places do it too. They always have enough bottled beer – at £3.50 a bottle, also bottles are quicker to serve customers. All the same, the music isn't too loud so you can chat with friends, there are chill-out style areas and more vibrant areas. Which is why I like it.

So we're upstairs in Tiger Tiger and there's a charity event, the band is playing and singing out of tune but no-one seems to notice except me and Alex K. Possibly because we're not drinking, possibly because I've been in a band and played musical instruments. Alex K goes to the bar to get a couple more drinks, this time we drink half pints of Staropramen since everything else has ‘run out'. It's an ok beer anyway.

I chat to 3 ladies who are standing at the bar.
Me: “Hi.”
Lady 1: “Hi.”
Me: “Are you having a good night?”
Lady 2:”Yes thanks. How about you?”
Me: “Yes. I'm out with my friend, he's at the bar over there.”
I look over to Alex K. He waves as he's waiting to get served and shouts:
Alex K: “What do you want?”
Me: “Another half pint.”
Alex K: “Ok.”
Me: “That's Alex, he's an actor.”
Lady 1: “What sort of acting?”
Me: “He's playing a hitman in his latest film. Anyway. Like I was saying. There's a band on tonight, usually there's DJ's playing dance music.”
Lady 1: “I don't usually come here.”
Me: “Are you from Manchester?”
Lady 1: ”Yes, but I just don't go out that much. My friends visiting form Birmingham and Leeds. This is Jane.”
Jane: “Hi.”
Lady 3: “Hi.”
Me: “What do you do in Birmingham?”
Jane: “I'm studying a masters in human resource management.”
Me: “Oh right! Sounds good.”
Jane: “Yeah, it's going ok.” she says smiling.
Me: “How about you?”
Lady 1: ”I design sportswear for Umbro.”
Me: “Wow. What have you designed, anything I've seen in the shops?”
Lady 1: “Thanks. Not really. It's more specialist stuff.”
Me: “That's still good.”
Lady 1: “What do you do?”
Me: “I've written a book. It's for students to make the most of university.”
Lady 3: “How's it going?”
Me: “Really well. I've only just got it into bookstores and we'll see how it goes. But it's going well so far.”
Lady 2: “How long did it take to write?”
Me: “About 6 months altogether to put it together. I wasn't doing it every day though. I'm pleased with it, I put a lot of work into it.”
Lady 2: “What bookshops is it in?”
Me: “Some independent ones.”
Lady 3: “Wow. That's really good.”
We talk for a few minutes more. Then I say.
Me to Lady 1: “Next time you're in Manchester you should come out with me and my friends.”
Lady 1: “I don't know.”
Me: “It'll be good. What's your number?”
Lady 1: “Maybe.”
Lady 1: “I'm not sure. I don't go out so often.”
Me: “That's ok. You can come out with us, so you can go out more.” I give her the benefit of the doubt since I think maybe she doesn't go out so much and isn't used to meeting people.
Lady 1:”I don't know. Maybe.”
Me: “If you don't want to it's no big deal.”
She doesn't say anything
Me: “See you later.” and I walk off.
I thought we got on so well earlier yet she came across a little bit shy so I was being patient asking her out.

I go to Alex K at the bar who's got our drinks and already drunk half of his.
Me: “Why didn't you come over?”
Alex K: “I thought I'd leave you to it, you were getting on well.”
Me: “You still should of come over. You could have joined in too.”
Alex K: “what happened? Did you get her number?”
Me: “No.”
Alex K: “Why not?”
Me: “One was from Birmingham and the other from Leeds, so I didn't bother with them. The one from Manchester, we got on really well at first. She was saying how she designs sportswear for Umbro.”
Alex K: “Yeah?”
Me: “Which is really cool. Then she asked what I did and I told her about the book and your acting. And after that, towards the end of the conversation she went all cold.”
Alex K: “What do you mean?”
Me: “She went all anti social.”
Alex K: “You probably put too much value on yourself.”
Me: “What do you mean?”
Alex K: “I watched it and you were good. You were enthusiastic about what you do that she couldn't match it. So she started pretending not to be interested.”
Me: “You could be right. Because it was going really well at the start and I was asking her what she does. Then when her friends were interested in what I did and enjoyed talking that's when she went cold.”
Alex K: “She thought she couldn't have you. You were too high value for her.”
Me: “Too bad. I'm not going to adjust it and be less enthusiastic for her. If I'm happy and having a good night out that's the way it is.”
Alex K: “Yeah. You're right. Shall we go?”
Me: “Where, that R & B place?”
Alex K: “I want something to eat.”
Me: “Ok, wait a minute. I'll find out when the band finishes and maybe we can come back.”
Me to Barman: “Hi, do you know when the band finishes?”
Barman: “They're on all night.”
Me: “So they're not having DJ's in the other rooms?”
Barman: “Not tonight, sorry about that, it's this charity night they've got on.”
Me: “Thanks.”
Me to Alex K: “Let's go.”

We leave Tiger Tiger and decide to get some food. That's one of the great things about the smoking ban – now all the clubs give a ‘stamp' for smokers who want to come back in – which also means non-smokers can go outside for a break, buy a kebab or sandwich, then go back to the venue.

We go into a takeaway on the outside of the Printworks. Alex K goes to the counter:
Alex K: “Hi.”
The takeaway person is sitting behind the till listening to music with headphones and moving about on his seat in time with the beat.
Alex K raises his voice, almost shouting and says: “Do you want to sell anything or not!”
The takeway person doesn't bother taking out his headphones and says: “What would you like?”
Me: “Let's get out of here. If they have an attitude like that, the food probably isn't that good.”
We go outside with Alex K laughing and saying: “Did you see that. The guy didn't care if he sold anything. That's what happens when you get rubbish employees. It's right outside the Printworks as well, the rent must be thousands.”
We go into the Printworks where we find a newsagent and a sandwich place. I buy a Twix from the newsagent, then we go and sit in the sandwich place and Alex K orders a salad sandwich which looks quite good.

Those vouchers we picked up earlier for the R & B drum and bass place, we'll check the place out seeing as it's free entry. We go over to the club, go inside and as we pass the cloakroom, the guy at the cloakroom tells Alex K he'll have to put his jacket in the cloakroom, it'll cost £1. We're not sure if we're going to stay since we haven't been here before, and there's no point putting a jacket in the cloakroom if we're going to stay 2 minutes and not even buy drinks. So Alex K waits at the cloakroom while I go downstairs into the club to check it out.

I'm inside the club, it looks ok, the music is ok, the people seem ok, but it's not the type of place we feel like going to. So I got back upstairs and we go back onto the street.

Hard Rock Café – I've always wanted to go in there, so we do. It's ok, we stay about 45 minutes. There's a few rockers, a few groups, a few people drinking on their own. Towards the back of the venue is a raised restaurant area with families and friends dining. Me and Alex K discuss production companies – Alex K is an actor, and alongside playing a hitman in a short film, is making his own film with some people he met at acting classes.

We leave Hard Rock Café for the Northern Quarter. Visit a few bars in the Northern Quarter. Outside one of the bars we approach a group of people.
Me: “Hi.”
Them: “Hi.”
Me: “What are you up to, special night out?”
Man in suit: “We're on a works night out.”
Alex K: “Where do you work?”
Man in suit: “Selfridges.”
Lady 1: “I work at a bank.”
Me: “Sounds good. What do you do at Selfridges?”
Man in suit: “Nothing special really.”
Me: “You should be proud of your job. Selfridges is a good place to work.”
Lady 2: “Yes, he's right you know.”
Lady 1: “What do you do?”
Me: “I've written a book, he's an actor, he's playing a hitman in his latest film.”
Lady 2: “That's good.”
There's a silence.
Me: “Ok, nice meeting you.”
Them: “You too. Bye.”
We walk out onto the street.
Me to Alex K: “Some people aren't used to going out and being social. They think there's some ulterior motive other than meeting people and having a good time. They're only friendly if you're selling them something, then they feel they know the motive.”
Alex K: “That's good stuff.”
Me: “What?”
Alex K: “What you just came up with then. You should write it down.”
Me: “Maybe.”

From the northern quarter onto Sacha's hotel, by now we've already visited 4 venues. This is why we're going to a hotel bar – for a change. We get to the entrance and two doormen stop us
Doorman 1: ”Where are you going?”
Alex K: “The hotel bar.”
Doorman 2: “We can't let you in. What do you want to go in there for?”
Me: “We've been around a few bars and we want a change. We went to Tiger Tiger earlier and there was a band instead of the DJ's. The music is too loud in most places. A hotel bar is a good atmosphere where me and my friend can talk.”
Doorman 1: ”Ok.”
We go inside. It's nicely set out in here. Hotel bars could really work as a place to go out with friends. We enjoy it sitting here relaxing. There's only 3 people here and no-one serving at the bar so after 15 minutes I say:
Me: “Let's go.”
Alex K: “We just got here.”
Me: “We'll find another hotel bar.”
Alex K: “Ok.”


We visit another hotel bar – it's the Britannia Hotel on Portland Street – inside people are relaxing on sofas, watching TV. We pass them and walk past the bar area, past a bar/restaurant area to the toilets. We go the wrong way, actually we walk way past the toilets to the back of the hotel, round a corridor, and stop when we get to some double doors.
Alex K: “Listen to that.”
There's dance music playing.
Me: “There's a private function or something.”
Alex K: “Where is it. It's through those doors.”
Alex K pushes through the double doors, they close behind him. I decide to have a look too. I go through the double doors and there's a deserted landing where loud dance music is playing. To my left there are some stairs leading down towards a door that leads out onto the street, with two doormen with their backs to us guarding the door. Alex K walks along the landing passing the stairs on the left, and goes to the end of the landing exploring where it leads – not only to a nightclub but to other areas of the hotel. Then we walk back through the double doors into the hotel. It turns out we've found a back entrance into a nightclub which we find really funny.
K says laughing: “Are we going to the club?”
We walk through the double doors, along the landing, down the stairs, and then directly behind the doormen dealing with people wanting to get in, unnoticed. Then down another set of stairs and into the club.
Free entry
Me and Alex K hi-five.

We get some drinks, enjoy the venue, the music, the atmosphere. The place inside is more like a hotel restaurant than a nightclub with its nice chairs and tables. Yet people are dancing where they can find space and having a good time.

We leave the club and go out onto the street. We take a shortcut along canal street towards a bar on Portland Street. There are students – hundreds of students on canal street. I'm not a fan of the area, but many people like to go there, not gay, straight people too. The students are all here simply because they've moved to Manchester and want to see the famous place. However, really, there's probably as many gay people in canal street as anywhere else. Reports in some media claim the area is taken over by straight people who want to go to a place where there isn't any violence or trouble, and that now the area is just about money making and tourism.

A shady looking youth approaches us
Shady youth: “Do you want some coke?”
Alex K: “Like you've really got any!”
Alex K to me: “He's not really a drug dealer. He's a teenager showing off.”

We approach a group of four people who look like they could be students. Students 1-3 are women, student 4 is a guy. We're having a fun night and approaching and talking to people comes natural tonight.
Me: “Hi, how's it going?”
Student 1: “Fine thanks, how about you?” she says.
Me: “Really good. What are you up to?” I ask this because they're dressed as if they're going to a special party. They're smarter than the usual smart casual clothes everyone else is wearing.
Student 2: “Just came out for a bit, to have a look around.”
Alex K: “Are you students?”
Student 1,2, and 3: “Yes.”
Me: “What are you studying?”
Student 1: “Sociology at Manchester University.”
Student 2: “Fashion.”
Student 4: “History of art.”
Student 3: “I'm a robot.”
Alex K says laughing: “What kind of robot are you?”
Student 3: “I don't know.”
Student 2: “What do you do?”
Alex K: “My friend has written a book for students, it's really good.”
Student 2:”What's it about?”
Me: “It's for students to make the most of university. An inside guide so they can make a head start and have fun from the beginning of term, and do well in studies.”
Student 1: “Wow.”
Alex K: “Yeah, he's got leaflets, do you have a leaflet?”
I have a few leaflets on me in my wallet so I give them out.”
Student 1: “What do you do?”
Me: “He's an actor. He's playing a hitman in his latest film.”
Student 1: “When will it be finished?”
Alex K: “In a few months. We're reshooting it at the moment.”
Student 4: “Are we going to get food.” says the guy in the group because he wants to get going.
Me: “We've got to get going.”
Alex K: “Yeah, nice meeting you.”
Them: “See you later, bye.”
We walk away from the group and Alex K says: “That guy was feeling left out because we were talking to the ladies. “
Me: “It doesn't matter. We want to go somewhere else anyway. That's a good idea promoting the book to people on a night out.”
Alex K: “It was. You should always carry leaflets or business cards with you.”

Me and Alex K are having a debate now. I'm saying that a place that we're passing was previously called Prague 5. He says it's not on this street but on another parallel street. I'm sure it was here because while I was at university they hired out the venue for a party I went to. The reason Prague 5 was such a big deal is because it was owned by Mick Hucknall, it was a quality venue, and non-gay people could go there. The bars owned by musicians and record labels had a reputation for being very good and catering to the customer extremely well, ensuring a good night out.
To resolve the debate we ask random people on the street if this place really was Prague 5 – two guys don't know and look afraid of us which is amusing, two more people are from out of town and don't know – they're one of the many tourists. Then a lady in her 20's with a guy.
Me: “Hi, me and my friend are having a debate. Is that place over there on the corner, did it used to be called Prague five. I say it is because I went to a party there. But he reckons it was on another street.”
Guy: “You're right, it was Prague 5, they changed it a few years ago.”
Me: “Are there any good places to go around here? Where do you normally go? out?”
Her: “I'm from Leeds, so I don't usually go around here, I'm visiting my friend tonight.”
Me: “What do you do in Leeds?”
Her: “I'm studying events management at Leeds University. It's going really well. I'm going to Australia next term as part of my course, I'm really looking forward to it.”
Me: “Sounds good.”
Her: “What do you do?”
All through this conversation we're smiling and enthusiastic, it's going really well.
Me: “I've written a book for students to make the most of university. I only finished it a few weeks ago but it''s already in a few bookshops and available on the internet.”
Her: “That's so cool. Where are you going tonight?”
Me: “To a bar on Portland Street.”
Her: “You should come inside this bar with us.”
I feel the energy of attraction between us, she's with a guy but he's a friend. We're already standing close, I hold her hand, we get closer, and kiss.
It's romantic. It's fun. Then we talk a bit more and say bye. Me and Alex K leave the area to visit more bars. We're not going to stay in canal street. It was nice meeting her but she lives in Leeds and is going to Australia, so me and Alex K carry on with our night out.

So far we've been to the nicer safer areas of the city. The ones with good security, strict door policies, and cost more to get in. Leaving the area we're going past Yates's back to the car. We're offered drugs. This is the more rough side of Manchester. But it's not just the fact that we've already been offered drugs in the street 3 times so far tonight.

Outside Yates a guy lies on the floor with a group of people collecting around him. There's blood on the concrete, he's lying face down on his front on the pavement. He's being put into recovery position which means he's alive, and that there's someone who knows first aid, he'll probably be ok.
Alex K sees someone he knows – it's a friend of a friend – a guy who once ended up in prison for a bit after trying to break up a fight in the street. He got caught up in it protecting himself and the police arrested him. That's the trouble with street fights, it's best to not get involved. They're dangerous, people can get killed, and it's not worth breaking them up. I know of one guy who saw a man and woman fighting in the street, he was a doorman but not on duty at the time, and the two people who were fighting each other turned on him. He was able to handle himself. But it's a common story I've heard happen to a few people.

This whole area is like a scene out of GTA the computer game. In the window of Yates's is a pole, it's in the corner of the venue with windows around it viewing onto the street. It's so women inside the place which has a nightclub atmosphere can pretend to pole dance in the window to passers by outside. A drunk woman is dancing in the window.

Me: “This place is a joke.”
Alex K: “It is a bit rough.”
Me: “Manchester used to be a classy place to go out. I'm not surprised so many people stay at home or go to restaurants. Why would they want to come out to this?”
Alex K: “It's not that appealing.”
Me: “It's why dating websites are so popular. If you don't go out to bars to meet people how will you meet anyone.”
Alex K: “Have you ever tried a dating website?”
Me: “No. What do I want with one? I meet people in the real world. That's why I'm out tonight. To enjoy the entertainments, meet people, make friends, and so on.”
Alex K: “True. Going out is better than dating websites.”

Anyway, the guy Alex K knows wasn't involved in this ruck where the guy was knocked out, but says the man got knocked out in a street fight outside the venue. We talk for a minute then he says:
Him: “I'd stay to chat, but I've got to get going.”
Alex K: “Sure.”
Him: “My friend is over there, he's a bit worse for wear because of drink! I've got to take him home and make sure he's ok.”
Him: “See you later.”
We shake hands.
Alex K: “See you round.”
They shake hands.
Him: “See you later.”

Fab Café, last bar of the night. We were meant to be going to the car but stop in here for a minute. It's an entertaining place. Friendly too. We get talking to a lady and her sister who are celebrating a birthday, they're from Bury. We started the conversation with her because she was making eye contact and smiling, also she was sitting next to us so we thought we'd see what's going on. She says “If you hadn't approached me, I would have approached you” and continues “It's cool to go out and just approach people and chat. It's good fun. I knew you were cool guys, not like everyone else, and it's good you're so confident to meet people you don't know”.

Sometimes, we meet someone we really click and get on with. And this is one of those people. We talk for about one and a half hours non-stop. Discussing everything from what we do to hobbies and interests. It turns out she runs a drama group for children which is also a point of conversation since Alex K is an actor. We swap contact details and leave the venue. She's from Bury, it's a long way, though I'm sure we'll all meet up in the city again in the near future.

We leave Fab Café, arrive at the car, and drive out of the city.

Summary and venue reviews: Saturday 13th September

Slug and Lettuce Didsbury
Medium busy. Clientele: Smart casual, townies. Décor: 6/10. Music: Chart music.
Notes: A vibrant and busy venue. The music is too loud for a bar.
Slug and Lettuce Didsbury

Tiger Tiger
Medium busy. Clientele: Smart casual or smart. Décor: 7/10.
Notes: A band was playing tonight when customers were expecting a club night. Not a reliable venue because they might put something unexpected on.
Tiger Tiger

Takeaway near the Printworks.
Empty. Clientele: None. Décor: 4/10.
Notes: The guy who works there prefers listening to music on headphones rather than selling takeaways.
Takeaway near the Printworks

Newsagent inside the Printworks
Medium busy. Clientele: People on a night out who want a snack. Décor: 6/10.
Notes: Fast service. Polite staff.
Aleefs newsagent

Sandwich place in the Printworks
Not very busy. Décor: 6/10.
Notes: Ideal for a snack in between going to bars an nightclubs. Excellent service and polite staff.
Quiznos

Drum n bass club not far from the Printworks
Medium busy. Décor: 5/10. Clientele: mixed. Music: drum n bss and dance.
Notes: Good value for drinks.

Hard Rock Café
Quite busy. Décor: 9/10. Clientele: smart casual, rockers, couples, groups of friends. Music: rock and classic hits.
Notes: A nice venue to be with friends in a relaxed environment with a good vibe.
Hard Rock Cafe

Northern Quarter
Medium busy. Clientele: smart casual and casual.
Notes: An area of the city with bars that has become increasingly popular in recent years.
Northern Quarter

Sacha's Hotel Bar
Quiet. Clientele: people staying at the hotel. Décor: 6/10.
Notes: A pleasant hotel bar.
Sacha's Hotel

Britannia Hotel
Medium busy. Clientele: People staying at the hotel. Décor: 7/10.
Notes: If you go past the toilets and along the corridor there's a secret doorway that leads onto a landing, then a staircase down behind the doormen into a club called Wave.
Britannia Hotel Manchester

Wave bar
Busy. Clientele: Heavily worked out guys, heavy drinkers, streetwise women, some party types who like dance music. Décor: 6/10. Music: Dance.
Notes: £2 a drink and a party vibe.
Wave bar

Canal Street
Very busy. Clientele: students.
Canal Street

Yates
Busy. Clientele: Heavy drinkers and some normal pub goers. Décor: 4/10.
Notes: Lots of trouble. Pole in the corner that looks out onto the street so passers by can see clientele pole dance!
Yates Manchester

Fab Café
Busy. Clientele: casual, students, smart casual. Décor: 8/10.
Notes: A relaxed atmosphere with friendly clientele.
Fab Cafe


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