Manchester Student Guide

Jillys Rockworld

Graham — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:32:28 +0000

Jillys is a dingy place that is situated in the heart of the Oxford Road corridor. It caters to the heavier end of the rock scene, so if that’s your thing then you’ll love it.

It’s rather dirty and a bit smelly, but the DJ’s are some of the best on the rock / alternative scene in Manchester, and on a Thursday (”Cheapskates” night) it’s only ?1.50 entry and there are stupidly cheap drinks offers.

On Friday you’ll find it hosting it’s legendry all nighter, with it serving alcohol all the night up until 7am. And yes, it does get messy.

Saturday tends to cater to a slightly older crowd mainly due to the ‘real world’ drinks prices and it does cost ?5.50 to get in (the same as the all nighter on Fridays).

Anyway, on to the club itself. It has four pretty big rooms, with all playing a different genre of music. There’s metal, some mainstream rock and some dance (think more Prodigy and drum and bass than trance) in the main room and depending on the night, the other rooms will have classic rock, punk / ska, goth and indie.

So, score. Four and a half. Looses half a point for the toilets being absolutely disgusting (with added middle age hag coming in with a mop for a stare whilst you’re having a slash) and the drinks are pretty expensive for people on a student budget on Fridays and Saturdays.

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Henry J Beans

Graham — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 01:48:47 +0000

Henry J Beans is located within the Printworks centre, a pretty big complex with bars, clubs, a gym and a rather large cinema. During the weekend it’s pretty rammed and you really have to be into your r’n'b and commercial dance to brave the printworks then.

But Henry J’s seems to be really out of place when compared to most of the places in the Printworks. Obviously at weekends it caters to the masses, but during the week they have pretty good offers like �1.75 for a pint of Fosters or John Smiths (which is a rather good deal in the city centre) and buy one get one free on cocktails during their ‘happy hour’ (although it seems to last most of the night).

They also have a good menu, but it is really quite expensive. Nice though. I think this is a chain of bars, but I’ve not seen any others (can anyone answer that one?).

They have great bar staff who know how to make pretty much any drink you can think of, and they have a free pour license so if you’re nice they put a little extra in your drinks. Good stuff!

Right so what score does this establisment deserve? It’s certainly better than most of the other bars in the Printworks, but that’s like saying a punch in the face is better than a kick in the balls. Actually, that’s a bit unfair. It is a good bar. Well, better than average anyway. 3.5 / 5.

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Rampant Lion

Graham — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 00:54:37 +0000

If you venture a little off the typical student track, you’ll find the Rampant Lion. It’s clientelle are generally the student type during term time due to its close proximity to several MMU and Uni of Manc halls of residences, but don’t let that put you off. You won’t find any cheesy music or stupidly cheap eastern european paint stripper-like vodka here.

The Rampant Lion has a great selection of exotic beers (try the Cherry and Raspberry beers - they’re amazing) and whilst they don’t have the most extensive or cheap menu, it’s a damn sight better than the slop you’d get at a Weatherspoons.

Quick summary: the drinks are averagely priced, but they have some things you won’t find elsewhere. Food is good. Jukebox will usually have some classic Manc bands on. Friendly staff. Good atmosphere.

Quite good then, really! 4.5 / 5

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Robinskis

Joe — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 23:45:12 +0000

Situated in the land of Fallowfield is a ‘Scream’ bar called Robinskis. During the day the place is rather boring but at night time it can get completely packed. Robinskis is aimed at students but you don’t always need a student card to get in there. The place has a rather dingy appeal and isn’t much to look at but the drinks are stupidly cheap (last time I went it cost me �1.80 for a double vodbull).

So long as you are totally wasted by the time you get there you are pretty much guaranteed to have a good night. Robinskis is like a cattle-market in that there are plenty of attractive girls to look at…and guys for the girls to look at…or guys for the guys to look at etc… (must retain political correctness here).

If you enjoy cheesy music then this is definitely the place for you as it plays the best in cheesy music the majority of the time. Open till 2am on a Sunday with lots of �1 drink offers (good selection too…try the strawberry cider) this is one of the only places you can go and get wasted cheaply on the night of the week when most people feel the need to be boring and go to bed early.

Giving Robinskis a rating is difficult because it depends on how close you are to sobriety. If I was sober I would give it a 2. I am however, going to give it a 4, simply because I’m drunk quite a lot of the time.

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Lal Quila

Joe — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 22:50:34 +0000

This curry house was given the nickname ‘Al Quieda’ by us after our one and only visit. I ordered a chicken jalfrezi that was advertised as ‘hot’ on the menu. I’ve had hotter Kormas than that dish! The service was alright but the main memory of the place was the unusually large amount of toilet roll that was used in our house the following day. There are not that many curry houses that will have an entire group of 12 people saying “Al Quieda gave me the s**ts!” Do not go here!

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The Vine

Joe — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 22:28:21 +0000

Are you local? On first inspection you think this pub should be in the middle of nowhere. It is in fact situated on a little back street in the centre of Manchester. If you are the sort of person who loves the traditional ‘local’ country pub then maybe this is for you.The drinks aren’t particularly cheap although they are average for the city centre. Like a lot of places the selection of drinks isn’t brilliant but I will make a point that they do serve a very nice pint. The client�le typically consists of office workers who want a pint after work and this is especially apparent on a Friday when lots more office workers go in there to get totally steaming after work.

The atmosphere is great on a Friday night, the bar staff are friendly and don’t bother you when you play drinking games and fall over. I like this pub but I’m going to have to give it 3 / 5 because the prices aren’t very student friendly.

The Vine Inn
42-46 Kennedy Street
Manchester
M2 4BQ
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Total Garage (Fallowfield)

Graham — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 20:24:16 +0000

There aren’t too many places where you can stumble in at 3am blind drunk chanting “Ribena Ribena Ribena Ribena. Ri-f***in-bena!” and the guy behind the desk will stand there with a camera phone to “show people back in India what English people are like”.

But you can at the Total garage in Fallowfield. Haven to students and stoners alike, extortionately priced munch can be bought 24 hours a day, as can surprisingly cheap beer.

Yes, it may just be a place to get money to avoid the queues in town or somewhere to pick up beer when you’ve run out at 4am, but where else will the bloke behind the counter proudly display his ‘Fat Bas***d’ belt buckle and recommend exotic spirits that are very “effective”.

Where am I going with this review? I’m not sure. So I’ll wrap it up now - 4/5. It would get five if it didn’t shut for half an hour when they change the shift over.

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Czech Bar

Joe — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:46:08 +0000

One word! Fishbowl!

What is a fishbowl? A fishbowl costs six of your Great British Pounds on a Monday night! A fishbowl contains 10 shots of vodka and comes with a small variety of mixers! A fishbowl will probably make you fall over! A fishbowl is a great warm-up for any night out!

I could rant on all day about the fishbowl and how drunk you can get drinking them but it may start to bore you. If however, you are not tempted by the idea of getting trolleyed for �6, I advise you to stop calling yourself a student right now! I don’t really need to say anything else about Czech Bar but I am going to anyway; just because I love it so much.

The Czech Bar also offers other drinks offers and it has a shooters and a cocktails menu. I have sampled a small number of the cocktails and they were all nice. There is a reasonable selection of exotic bottled beers and the choice of draught beer is good.

If your mates can’t provide you with adequate entertainment there are two pool tables and a selection of board games to play. Giant Jenga can be pretty good fun (especially when combined with a fishbowl).

The only bad thing I can say about the Czech Bar is the often dubious music they play in there. In my opinion it is cheesy pop rubbish but maybe you like that. Despite this, I love the Czech Bar and its cheap drinks, its fishbowls, its atmosphere and even the wall on the way to the toilet that teaches you basic Czech phrases. I give the Czech Bar a well deserved 4.5 / 5.

Czech Bar
57 Booth Street West
Manchester
M15 6PQ
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Tiger Lounge

Joe — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:11:52 +0000

When you enter Tiger Lounge you are instantly transported back in time to 1964. Tiger Lounge is a basement club and so you walk downstairs for the first time not quite knowing what to expect. The door tiger fur door at the bottom opens out to reveal what looks like an over-sized ’60s living room - only difference is that is has a bar and a lot more furniture than the average living room. The place is never packed out but becomes the temporary home to its fair share of happy drunkards dancing to a variety of music that varies from ’60s disco to downright obscure.

I’m going to try and avoid reviewing venues for live music on this site because there are others in Manchester that do a brilliant job already but there is a night at Tiger Lounge that is well worth a mention. Tiger Lounge is the home of a club night called Fiction Non Fiction which put on some bands that are great and some that are rather obscure (although still great). I have never been to another club where the artist on stage sings about plastic bags and how his world was built by Bruntwood whilst at the same time playing a variety of instruments that include a cardboard box. Entry to Fiction Non Fiction nights is free.

So far Tiger Lounge is looking pretty appealing but I do have my complaints. The selection of drinks is awful, especially where draught lager is concerned. The is quite a nice selection of wines but other than that the choices are somewhat boring and unoriginal.

Overall I have to agree that Tiger Lounge is cool. The atmosphere is always good and I would rate a 4 for this alone but the drinks are not aimed at students. If you dont mind spending �2.80 for a bottle of beer and you like ’60s music I’d say you should check it out. If you dont like ’60s music it is worth heading down there now and again to see a good band. On the other hand if you don’t like ’60s music or watching live music there is nothing here to see. Because of the expensive drinks and lack of choice I will give Tiger Lounge a 3.

The Tiger Lounge
Waldorf House
5 Cooper Street
Manchester
M2 2FW
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Grand Central

Graham — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:52:08 +0000

Grand Central (situated in the heart of student town on Oxford Road) is not a pub for everyone. If you enjoy your RnB and Garage, whilst looking at those strange people dressed head to toe in black with disgust, then you should try it anyway. You never know, you might like it.

But on the other hand, if you happen to be one of those “goffs” or other alternative type, then you will almost certainly enjoy Grand Central (or GC as it is known to the regulars). The beer isn’t that cheap, but they do have a good selection of the more popular beers, along with pretty much any evil shot you care to think about, which help the walk to Jillys and the Ritz that little bit warmer in the delightful Manchester weather (rain rain and more rain).

The have some of the most disgusting toilets in Manchester and a passable pool table, but the main attraction at GC does have to be the jukebox. It must be one of the only pubs in Manchester that has Slayer and Rob Zombie on there. Remember, this is a place where Fall Out Boy are classed as pop.

This isn’t a trendy bar, and don’t even think about asking for food other than crisps and nuts, but it has become a second home for those that wouldn’t really be welcome down Deansgate Locks…

If you’re into metal music, then you’ll love it here, but if you’re not, then you probably won’t like the music as much, but you’ll get a warm welcome anyway - we’re a happier bunch than we seem.

So, it comes to score time. GC is a traditional metal pub. It doesn’t do much in the way of food or quiz nights or the like, but what it does do it does well. If they had cheaper beer and nicer toilets, this would be a 5 easy, but alas they only score 4/5.

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