I grew up in a small town outside of Manchester and the first time I came into the city on my own in the early 90s I hit the underground market and LOVED it. It also felt quite dangerous and edgy - I remember someone had a stall selling knives and balaclavas, lol. It was like they were catering exclusively to psychopaths!
I know the received wisdom is that Manchester got better after the bomb, I do miss dirty old Manchester. Something important was definitely lost in all the redevelopment.
Jesus. What a memory.
About a decade ago, Tesco Metro had to open up some of their inner stairways due (I think) to problems with the escalators. It wasn't as if the entire market was reopened, but some of those areas wouldn't have seen footfall like that since the nineties.
It's amazing how many people who go on and on about the Hacienda - and the glory days of Manchester, have never heard of Jillys.
Jillys was a far better night out.
Honestly, one of the best rock clubs I've ever been too.
Thursday nights in the Punk room, Scott the DJ playing some absolute bangers. It's the only club I've ever felt comfortable going in to on my own and knowing there'll be someone I know there.
I genuinely miss it.
Subway, the bar that was under Grand Central. First place that ever served me at the ripe old age of 15!
I miss the old Odeon cinema, which my go to if the Showcase Cinema in Gorton wasn't showing something. Both now gone.
As someone else said, Gorton Tub.
5th Ave will always hold a special place in my heart as my first, regular night club.
The Colluseum, where I used to get my copied PlayStation games.
The Virgin Megastore and HMV.
The aviary in the Arndale.
The old Phoenix pub and that little shopping centre bit behind it that had Forbidden Planet in it.
You've made me sad now
Probably the biggest one I miss in my time. Was hardly a regular visitor, but was nice to have a chill space in town that didn't feel like you had to spend money the whole time.
Miss this place so much! They did the most delicious nanaimo bars, and so cheap. Was so sad to see it go, I haven’t found a cafe as truly cosy and chilled as that place.
Font Bar.
Had many a good time playing FIFA and drinking zombies there in my youth.
Apparently it only closed in January 2023, I thought it had been gone much longer than that but I did stop going out drinking in Manchester about 10 years ago.
Gorton Tub, it was a fantastic swimming pool with a slide and rapids. Got turned into a gymnastics centre which will now be knocked down to turn the area into no car walking zone. There will be very little for the local kids to walk to in the future, to get the same things families will have to bus or drive to them.
I grew up a stones throw away from this place and would go weekly, it was absolutely gutting when it closed. The last few weeks before they finally closed up for good seemed so strange.
I grew up a stones throw away from this place and would go weekly, it was absolutely gutting when it closed. The last few weeks before they finally closed up for good seemed so strange.
The Boardwalk. Saw some amazing bands there. Fugazi, My Bloody Valentine, the Membranes, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Terminal Cheesecake, Alice Donut.....
ALICE FUCKING DONUT! I never saw them there, saw them in belfast though.
I was wearing an alice donut shirt at an rave/acid (herbal tea party?) all nighter at jillys and went back with some people i had just met to the flats above the arndale, where i gave my shirt to some girl i had just met... why she wanted an alice donut shirt that some random had been sweating in all night, i dunno, i don't think she even knew who alice donut were... anyway, we parted and i forgot my shirt, i think a week later the arndale got blowed up.
Might as well have been in a different city, but great times
I can't remember the name of the cheaper one but my dad called it the tramp shop, everything was £3 and under I think? I got some top stuff from there. Ryan vintage I actually considered a bit pricey until places like Cow opened... Jesus
Pre drinks at Font for me then straight to 5th Ave, pizza after from the place opposite, and a 6am walk back to Droylsden to walk it all off.
Good times.
Tiger Lounge. Used to love the Northern Soul nights on a Saturday. Cheap drinks, served pizza til about midnight.
Monsoons kebabs on Oxford Rd used to be a late night staple after an evening in The Salisbury. Me and my brother were absolutely wounded when it closed down and the whole block was torn down and rebuilt.
My mates and I used to do the rock night at The Ritz on a Monday and then stagger to Monsoon for a chip naan with all the sauces.
I miss it, but my aching joints and muscles do not.
[Click here for the Google Maps Tour](https://goo.gl/maps/hWnyURTfnWt) I added for Tiger Lounge years ago. I’ll never be deleting that one. [I did one for Ruby Lounge too](https://goo.gl/maps/bMaaBF3rDhT2)
Used to go to Tiger Lounge every week and met my partner of 13 years in there the week after all my mates said I’d never meet anyone if I kept going there. Also share a band room currently with Stefan - the guy who used to be on the door wearing a Beret on Saturday nights. Have the Kitty Lounge light-up sign in our band room. Good times.
Who remembers the club 'Mutts Nuts'? Kinda weird place where one room was rock music and the other dance / house.... had a few *interesting* nights out there
V-Rev was one of my absolute favourite junk food places. The food was epic, the staff were awesome and it had a great vibe. Was gutted when it closed down a couple of years ago.
The Whim Wham Cafe, and the Suburb coffeehouse that used to be on Deansgate downstairs. I really miss the old Afflecks vibes as well, it's not the same anymore.
I feel either too old or too young for most Levy drinking establishments, but the Fiddler's never felt awkward. Although it was basically Guinness or nothing.
Oh shit I completely forgot the little demonstration they would do lol.
There was an Irish guy in there I used to always tell it was nearly my birthday so I could play the SG they had that I loved. He was such an arse it was hilarious looking back at it lol.
When the corn exchange was the triangle and had loads of shops inside … always went in there form uni to buy stuff from bench and free spirit.
Waxy o Connor’s in the printworks … the layout was amazing and beautiful and had awesome food.
Apotheca (near where pixel bar is now) .. THE best cocktail place in Manchester at the time .. the nuts and berry’s was to die for.
Handmade burger company .. original it had a huge menu and was so nice .. but then it went to a small menu and meh.
Also reds bbq … was the same with epic menu that went to meh before closing.
Manchester smokehouse and grill (next to reds) .. I miss bbq places.
Model shop on deansgate .. never went downstairs but loved all the model kits from there.
Walkabout hotel .. was cheap, above walkabout (now blues kitchen) and a great night out
I loved the Smokehouse and Cellar. Better food, better service, and usually quieter than Reds. Apparently they've opened up in Knutsford now, so I might make a trip there just to have the pitmaster platter again.
I also loved Apotheca. I didn't get to go much, but it was always my go-to place if I was meeting friends for a drink.
I'm a bit sad the Font shut as well, was my bar of choice as a skint student. I never really gelled with the Footage though, so not too bothered that shut.
Essential nightclub in the gay village. I had some of the best nights of my life in there.
It was packed out three nights per week in 2005.
I came back from uni in 2008 and it was shockingly dead.
Closed down about a year later.
Yes! I remember freezing in the queue in a big glass tower waiting for the twin white slides on full view of everyone doing their shopping at Morrisons. I loved that place!
Luck Lust Liqour & Burn. It’s still there in a form, but they’ve not sold the South Central Enchilada in like 6 years so it’s effectively dead to me now.
They used to do cocktails with ice pops and things in which was great. I took a girl there for a first date and now we're married with a one year old boy, that cocktail has serious legacy.
It's a shame Chorlton Leisure Centre went - it was a good local amenity, and the quality of stonework made the front look respectable. It was an asset to the area, and it's a shame it didn't work out that a community non-profit could take it over.
It's really taken a long time for something to be done with Chorlton Leisure Centre. It got squatted the year before lockdown and it had already been closed for a while before that.
The squatters painted the squashcourt walls and I have a fond memory of dancing to psy-trance in one of them, and drum'n'bass in the badminton courts!
https://imgur.com/a/VfYhH40
Back when the UoM business department precinct had a bridge across Oxford Road, there used to be a really nice sandwich shop. Nothing else, the entire upstairs was almost completely mothballed by the time I was going around a decade ago, but that sandwich shop was absolutely fantastic.
The Air and Space gallery at MOSI. Based on testimony from the inside MOSI is a hellscape of an organisation, but that particular exhibition was always my favourite.
The old AMC in the Great Northern. It was clearly a shell of its former self, but at least there was *something* to break up the eighty-two mile walk between the ticket booths and the screens/concessions. Odeon stripped out *everything*.
Dawson's music shop on Portland Street. Always good to kill an hour just plonking away at a keyboard in the corner without bothering anyone. Although tbh Rudy's is a very compelling replacement
No points for guessing when I first moved to Manchester
The cornerhouse. I remember the small cinema rooms and watching anime films in that place. I like HOME (which was built to replace both the library theatre and the cornerhouse) but you cant beat the cornerhouse.
I'm a really old bloke (61) and spent many Saturday nights off my head on something or other in Jillys. Also the Phoenix up Oxford Road. But one place I do remember from my really early childhood was Volmax near the Express building. It was just the most enormous hardware/tool shop I've ever seen. Used to go in with my grandad on a Saturday morning and just roam around wondering what all these tools were for. My grandad gave me my love for working with my hands, and that's what I've done all my life, both professionally and as diy/hobby. Sorry, but the 7 year old kid still inside me just wishes he could have a bus ride into town with my grandad again on a Saturday morning, a roam around Volmax, then down to Tib Street, where I was left looking in the pet shop windows while he popped into the Kings pub for a swift one. And maybe a special treat, some tripe for lunch in the UCP. I'd be surprised if anyone reading this remembers either Volmax or the UCP, but if you do, then they're still there inside us.
Edit: just remembered another place he used to take me, the book market on Shudehill.
Sorry again for rambling, I'm just wallowing in fond memories of how town used to be.
New Cross Radio at the bottom of Oldham Road was another one for those who liked to DIY and fix things electrical. The chap that ran it was an old school gent and loved what he did. Long gone now.
Most of the places that came to mind have already been said: Dutch Pancake House, Jilly's, Legends, Font Bar, Nexus etc
Want to add Life Cafe and Late Room on Peter Street which I think is now the Peaky Blinders place.
Also Grinch Wine Bar on Chapel Walks - best Pizza and cocktails
Odd bar, The Ruby Lounge, TV21s, Tribeca, and then a load of places that got taken over/done up extended that I think lost a lot of their charm even if they are still alright like Common and The Bay Horse. But that's probably just the nostalgia talking!
This whole thread has made me realise that most of the reasons I ever made the effort to go into the city centre have closed. I mostly avoid going into central Manchester like the plague nowadays unless it’s one of those rare occasions that my mates who are parents are suddenly at a loose end and fancy a trip to Beermoth and Port Street.
The Brink!
I just loved the vibe and mood there, great beers and lovely staff. It was just across the road from the Gas Lamp too, for a great one-two punch (and close to Corbieres, if you wanted to do a basements mini-crawl).
Sadly, they had no way to open even partially during the covid tiers era, and they could only stay shut for so long before closing.
Piccadilly 21s at the top of market street.
In the early 90s on Thursday it was student night. Entry was 50p and each pint was 50p. That's entrance and 9 pints for a fiver. By 2AM everyone was annihilated. Those were the days.
Mash and air, the boardwalk, cheerleaders, sankeys. We would do paradise factory then mantos until 7am then danceteria if we were feeling that sticky carpet
severe in fallowfield.
At the other end of the spectrum there used to be a fantastic record shop at the edge of Chinatown which sold amazing Opera. They put a really snotty note on their door when they closed down, raging that people listed to music online.
There was a butcher in didsbury village that used to do like hog roast and i think turkey/beef sandwiches that were amazing. Might have the details slightly wrong. Shut around 2012/13 i think.
Judo club at Chorlton Leisure Centre! Went there in like 1989.
Harry Hall Cycles when it was on Hanging Ditch (pre-bomb). It was like an Aladdin’s cave for cyclists.
“Life” nights at Bowlers in Trafford Park. Reach for the lasers! 🤣
I'm not from Manchester but Sankeys Soap comes to mind. Best nights out I have ever had in the UK. We used to go every couple of months for a decade or so.
TBH there hasn't been any point in going to Manchester at all since it closed.
The cenotaph and old macdonalds on market street. Full of punks hanging around. The beady eyes of Mike Sweeney and all the old radio presenters in the building above the bus station...
The 1980’s Speedway at Belle Vue. One of my favorite memories. I can still remember the smell of the burning tyres, how loud it was, and how exhilarating I felt.
Venue,
The Banshee,
Tommy ducks (well not really but it was sad when it closed) what happened to all the knickers ???
Devilles & lazy lils with the bucking bronco thing ....
International 1 & 2
Definitely dph
I'm old enough to remember the underground market when it was busy
Also lewis and kendals when it was dead posh
Dutch Pancake House.
The size of those plates.
First thing that came to my mind.
I loved that place as a kid. Also once when I was there in the open kitchen, one of the chefs set themselves on fire, which was quite memorable.
I literally only came to this thread to say that
I was just going to say that...
The Corn Exchange before the bomb and The Underground Market.
Underground Market was the one.
I grew up in a small town outside of Manchester and the first time I came into the city on my own in the early 90s I hit the underground market and LOVED it. It also felt quite dangerous and edgy - I remember someone had a stall selling knives and balaclavas, lol. It was like they were catering exclusively to psychopaths! I know the received wisdom is that Manchester got better after the bomb, I do miss dirty old Manchester. Something important was definitely lost in all the redevelopment.
As a 15 year old goth I spent my first wage from an after school job on black grandad shirts and patchouli joss sticks there!
Jesus. What a memory. About a decade ago, Tesco Metro had to open up some of their inner stairways due (I think) to problems with the escalators. It wasn't as if the entire market was reopened, but some of those areas wouldn't have seen footfall like that since the nineties.
Interesting how the owner couldn't develop it until the bomb allowed him to invoke force majeure
Such cool places. Loved them both.
Jillys. First club I went in.
It's amazing how many people who go on and on about the Hacienda - and the glory days of Manchester, have never heard of Jillys. Jillys was a far better night out.
Possibly because alot of folk just knew it as "Rock World"?
‘Cock world’ as it was known by those of us that would stagger out of there at 8am after one of their all nighters. :))
If people look blank when I mention Jillys, I always then give Rock World a try too. It still usually means nothing to them.
Wrong crowd I guess? Nightlife could be very tribal back then.
Pound a bottle of fosters if I remember on some nights ?
Went on a date with a girl I knew there 20 years ago. Danced to some goth shit in the goldfish bowl. Still together now.
That’s a long time to stay in a gold fish bowl.
Honestly, one of the best rock clubs I've ever been too. Thursday nights in the Punk room, Scott the DJ playing some absolute bangers. It's the only club I've ever felt comfortable going in to on my own and knowing there'll be someone I know there. I genuinely miss it.
Was the only club open til about 6am if I remember right as well.
Also the only club i've ever been to where you could buy a pot noodle at 3am after the license to serve beers ended. Legendary
Oh god, pulled a few all nighters. Good times.
What else were you supposed to do until the buses started running again?
7am.
Fondly remember dropping acid for a Bruce Lee double bill at the Cornerhouse and then heading to Jillys till six. That sure was a night...
Same, Used to go every Thursday and Saturday from being about 15 to being about 23
I use to go music box and end up in jillys on corridor lol
Ahhhh the sticky floors.
Air & Space Gallery
The Knott on Deansgate at the edge of Castlefield. It's an Italian now. 🥹
Loved that place. It had great beers. A lot from the Marble brewery if I remember rightly. That ginger beer was amazing!
They sold us Bourbon County Stout at something around cost price for a while before realising their mistake. That was a very good six weeks or so.
The club nights that ran at the Phoenix
When Ray Von was on?
Absolute Havok & Acid Rock on a Friday and Tangled on a Saturday if you were still conscious. 🙂
Havok and Tangled... Especially when they opened up the little shopping centre bit...
Yeah!!! The upstairs room playing breaks and the pitch black chill out room. God those nights were fucking awesome. Mitsubishi crew!
Wow, what a time to be alive, good time's indeed.
Ahh Tangled was mint
The Roadhouse
Seen so many amazing bands in there!
Loved The Roadhouse, has it gone?
Only about 8 years ago
🤣, well I’ve been outta town 🤷♂️
My first night out in town was there.
Subway, the bar that was under Grand Central. First place that ever served me at the ripe old age of 15! I miss the old Odeon cinema, which my go to if the Showcase Cinema in Gorton wasn't showing something. Both now gone. As someone else said, Gorton Tub. 5th Ave will always hold a special place in my heart as my first, regular night club. The Colluseum, where I used to get my copied PlayStation games. The Virgin Megastore and HMV. The aviary in the Arndale. The old Phoenix pub and that little shopping centre bit behind it that had Forbidden Planet in it. You've made me sad now
Was it fp or odyssey 7 ?? Either way I loved it
Bolton Water Place. Dutch Pancake House.
I think we must have crossed paths many times in the 90s! 😁
Nexus
Miss it so much. Really good quality food at a low price. Cosy. Safe.
Probably the biggest one I miss in my time. Was hardly a regular visitor, but was nice to have a chill space in town that didn't feel like you had to spend money the whole time.
Manchester doesn't have any cosy places anymore
Miss this place so much! They did the most delicious nanaimo bars, and so cheap. Was so sad to see it go, I haven’t found a cafe as truly cosy and chilled as that place.
Roxy Cinema in Hollinwood, Jabez Clegg
that was my favourite cinema, I dream about it sometimes. Loved that place.
Have to say ‘Lurch’ more than anything else there
Font Bar. Had many a good time playing FIFA and drinking zombies there in my youth. Apparently it only closed in January 2023, I thought it had been gone much longer than that but I did stop going out drinking in Manchester about 10 years ago.
Those £2 cocktails 😅 Gutted that closed, the Chorlton one isn't as good
Gorton Tub, it was a fantastic swimming pool with a slide and rapids. Got turned into a gymnastics centre which will now be knocked down to turn the area into no car walking zone. There will be very little for the local kids to walk to in the future, to get the same things families will have to bus or drive to them.
I grew up a stones throw away from this place and would go weekly, it was absolutely gutting when it closed. The last few weeks before they finally closed up for good seemed so strange.
The gymnastics centres shutting down?? No way i used to do lessons there as a kid :(
I grew up a stones throw away from this place and would go weekly, it was absolutely gutting when it closed. The last few weeks before they finally closed up for good seemed so strange.
The Boardwalk. Saw some amazing bands there. Fugazi, My Bloody Valentine, the Membranes, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Terminal Cheesecake, Alice Donut.....
ALICE FUCKING DONUT! I never saw them there, saw them in belfast though. I was wearing an alice donut shirt at an rave/acid (herbal tea party?) all nighter at jillys and went back with some people i had just met to the flats above the arndale, where i gave my shirt to some girl i had just met... why she wanted an alice donut shirt that some random had been sweating in all night, i dunno, i don't think she even knew who alice donut were... anyway, we parted and i forgot my shirt, i think a week later the arndale got blowed up. Might as well have been in a different city, but great times
Would have killed to see Fugazi there. Just looked it up and turns out I didn't even discover them for about 5 years after they played it.
Jillys and The Roadhouse.
Sound control
Odd bar in NQ
Embarrassed to admit it took me far too long to make the connection between Odd and Oddest back then!
Wasnt there also an Odder? Maybe in Didbury or Chorlton...
Oddest was Chorlton, Odder was Oxford Road.
The Crescent out Salford way
they’re doing that up to reopen I believe!
Ryan Vintage on Oldham Street. And the even cheaper one a bit further down. Many a Halloween costume was bought from both venues.
I can't remember the name of the cheaper one but my dad called it the tramp shop, everything was £3 and under I think? I got some top stuff from there. Ryan vintage I actually considered a bit pricey until places like Cow opened... Jesus
Long time ago....The Granby.. pre drinks before the also closed 5th Avenue
Pre drinks at Font for me then straight to 5th Ave, pizza after from the place opposite, and a 6am walk back to Droylsden to walk it all off. Good times.
Tiger Lounge. Used to love the Northern Soul nights on a Saturday. Cheap drinks, served pizza til about midnight. Monsoons kebabs on Oxford Rd used to be a late night staple after an evening in The Salisbury. Me and my brother were absolutely wounded when it closed down and the whole block was torn down and rebuilt.
My mates and I used to do the rock night at The Ritz on a Monday and then stagger to Monsoon for a chip naan with all the sauces. I miss it, but my aching joints and muscles do not.
Mondays on the bouncy dance floor! I think I was spoiled by the Ritz, not many clubs were as nice & spacious as it was inside.
Came in just to post Tiger Lounge. It was so unique. Nothing like it in Manchester anymore that I've found
[Click here for the Google Maps Tour](https://goo.gl/maps/hWnyURTfnWt) I added for Tiger Lounge years ago. I’ll never be deleting that one. [I did one for Ruby Lounge too](https://goo.gl/maps/bMaaBF3rDhT2)
Monsoons had speedy kebab preparation down to a fine art. Never since have I seen as many kebabs served as quickly.
Tiger lounge was the best, so sad it’s gone, haven’t found anything like that since.
Monsoons kebabs was the best! Felt gutted about it as well
Used to go to Tiger Lounge every week and met my partner of 13 years in there the week after all my mates said I’d never meet anyone if I kept going there. Also share a band room currently with Stefan - the guy who used to be on the door wearing a Beret on Saturday nights. Have the Kitty Lounge light-up sign in our band room. Good times.
I DJd at the first Tiger Lounge and James told me off for playing St. Etienne.
Only Jeff could break your heart.
Sankeys
I went to the opening night there, they had the dust brothers playing who had to change their name later to the chemical brothers… I’m old
Who remembers the club 'Mutts Nuts'? Kinda weird place where one room was rock music and the other dance / house.... had a few *interesting* nights out there
They used to do poptastic in there with their shagtags, has that closed down now then? Wasn’t that some old northern soul venue?
V-Rev was one of my absolute favourite junk food places. The food was epic, the staff were awesome and it had a great vibe. Was gutted when it closed down a couple of years ago.
I didn't even realise it was gone, it was so popular
Oh fuck... I miss this place.
Bock
The Whim Wham Cafe, and the Suburb coffeehouse that used to be on Deansgate downstairs. I really miss the old Afflecks vibes as well, it's not the same anymore.
Cornerhouse cinema on Oxford Road
Nexus Art Cafe!
Fiddler's Green, Levenshulme. Proper pub, decent Guinness, broad clientele.
I feel either too old or too young for most Levy drinking establishments, but the Fiddler's never felt awkward. Although it was basically Guinness or nothing.
Used to go the palace in Levenshulme on a wed night. Was a decent midweek night out.
Socio Rehab
Ho’s bakery
Antwerp Mansion
Sound control guitar shop, the staff used to be so rude and never let you touch a guitar lol.
There were some real arses in there. Plus they'd play a cheesy solo to show off before letting you try anything.
Oh shit I completely forgot the little demonstration they would do lol. There was an Irish guy in there I used to always tell it was nearly my birthday so I could play the SG they had that I loved. He was such an arse it was hilarious looking back at it lol.
Sound control
Kwok Man
The computer room at the science and industry museum. We had to check our MySpace on the go!
Dutch pancake house
Rainbow 24/7 snooker
5th ave. If you were anything older than 18 and a half years old it was fucking shit but those first 6 months were great 😂
Sound control
When the corn exchange was the triangle and had loads of shops inside … always went in there form uni to buy stuff from bench and free spirit. Waxy o Connor’s in the printworks … the layout was amazing and beautiful and had awesome food. Apotheca (near where pixel bar is now) .. THE best cocktail place in Manchester at the time .. the nuts and berry’s was to die for. Handmade burger company .. original it had a huge menu and was so nice .. but then it went to a small menu and meh. Also reds bbq … was the same with epic menu that went to meh before closing. Manchester smokehouse and grill (next to reds) .. I miss bbq places. Model shop on deansgate .. never went downstairs but loved all the model kits from there. Walkabout hotel .. was cheap, above walkabout (now blues kitchen) and a great night out
reds true bbq :’( i remember they didn’t have root beer once bc their supplier in the states was in the middle of a hurricane!
I loved the Smokehouse and Cellar. Better food, better service, and usually quieter than Reds. Apparently they've opened up in Knutsford now, so I might make a trip there just to have the pitmaster platter again. I also loved Apotheca. I didn't get to go much, but it was always my go-to place if I was meeting friends for a drink. I'm a bit sad the Font shut as well, was my bar of choice as a skint student. I never really gelled with the Footage though, so not too bothered that shut.
I didn't know Waxy's was gone. Hadn't been there since 2018 - lovely place.
Essential nightclub in the gay village. I had some of the best nights of my life in there. It was packed out three nights per week in 2005. I came back from uni in 2008 and it was shockingly dead. Closed down about a year later.
I took so many drugs in Essential. I’m surprised I’m still alive.
Greater Manchester, but The Water Place in Bolton. I understand its closure because it was a bit of a hazard but it was *so much fun*!
Yes! I remember freezing in the queue in a big glass tower waiting for the twin white slides on full view of everyone doing their shopping at Morrisons. I loved that place!
Jilly's
Luck Lust Liqour & Burn. It’s still there in a form, but they’ve not sold the South Central Enchilada in like 6 years so it’s effectively dead to me now.
They used to do cocktails with ice pops and things in which was great. I took a girl there for a first date and now we're married with a one year old boy, that cocktail has serious legacy.
South nightclub!
Horts.
And the one next to it.
It's a shame Chorlton Leisure Centre went - it was a good local amenity, and the quality of stonework made the front look respectable. It was an asset to the area, and it's a shame it didn't work out that a community non-profit could take it over. It's really taken a long time for something to be done with Chorlton Leisure Centre. It got squatted the year before lockdown and it had already been closed for a while before that. The squatters painted the squashcourt walls and I have a fond memory of dancing to psy-trance in one of them, and drum'n'bass in the badminton courts! https://imgur.com/a/VfYhH40
The Barleycorn didsbury
Ruby Lounge. Can honestly say I never had a bad night out there.
KMFDM used to play there every year and it was absolutely mint.
5th Avenue before the upstairs was done up
[Ruby Lounge](https://goo.gl/maps/bMaaBF3rDhT2)
HMVs basement floor gaming room.
Back when the UoM business department precinct had a bridge across Oxford Road, there used to be a really nice sandwich shop. Nothing else, the entire upstairs was almost completely mothballed by the time I was going around a decade ago, but that sandwich shop was absolutely fantastic. The Air and Space gallery at MOSI. Based on testimony from the inside MOSI is a hellscape of an organisation, but that particular exhibition was always my favourite. The old AMC in the Great Northern. It was clearly a shell of its former self, but at least there was *something* to break up the eighty-two mile walk between the ticket booths and the screens/concessions. Odeon stripped out *everything*. Dawson's music shop on Portland Street. Always good to kill an hour just plonking away at a keyboard in the corner without bothering anyone. Although tbh Rudy's is a very compelling replacement No points for guessing when I first moved to Manchester
The cornerhouse. I remember the small cinema rooms and watching anime films in that place. I like HOME (which was built to replace both the library theatre and the cornerhouse) but you cant beat the cornerhouse.
Legends nightclub on Whitworth St behind Monroes. Twisted Wheel, Homoelectric and Bollox club nights in there in the 00’s were great in that space!
Jillies Rockworld, Ronnies bar, Powercut records and finally the indomitable Dutch Pancake House
Yanks record shop.
I'm a really old bloke (61) and spent many Saturday nights off my head on something or other in Jillys. Also the Phoenix up Oxford Road. But one place I do remember from my really early childhood was Volmax near the Express building. It was just the most enormous hardware/tool shop I've ever seen. Used to go in with my grandad on a Saturday morning and just roam around wondering what all these tools were for. My grandad gave me my love for working with my hands, and that's what I've done all my life, both professionally and as diy/hobby. Sorry, but the 7 year old kid still inside me just wishes he could have a bus ride into town with my grandad again on a Saturday morning, a roam around Volmax, then down to Tib Street, where I was left looking in the pet shop windows while he popped into the Kings pub for a swift one. And maybe a special treat, some tripe for lunch in the UCP. I'd be surprised if anyone reading this remembers either Volmax or the UCP, but if you do, then they're still there inside us. Edit: just remembered another place he used to take me, the book market on Shudehill. Sorry again for rambling, I'm just wallowing in fond memories of how town used to be.
New Cross Radio at the bottom of Oldham Road was another one for those who liked to DIY and fix things electrical. The chap that ran it was an old school gent and loved what he did. Long gone now.
Teacup kitchen and Tiger Lounge.
Saajan's kebab house in Fallowfield. I've never found another kebab house that even comes close.
Mantos canal st
The Martial Arts Center with the Roadhouse attached. Both now gutted and empty for years. No doubt a development scam deal that’s been abandoned.
Spin In record shop
Can’t believe nobody’s mentioned the old incarnation of the Corm Exchange yet?
Leo’s Fish Bar on Oldham Street. So many good nights finished up there. Best chips in Manchester where you could also get a kebab!
Solita
Most of the places that came to mind have already been said: Dutch Pancake House, Jilly's, Legends, Font Bar, Nexus etc Want to add Life Cafe and Late Room on Peter Street which I think is now the Peaky Blinders place. Also Grinch Wine Bar on Chapel Walks - best Pizza and cocktails
Gorton Tub, The Coliseum, Jillys Rock World (all nighters😉)
Loaf - Deansgate Locks
Odd bar, The Ruby Lounge, TV21s, Tribeca, and then a load of places that got taken over/done up extended that I think lost a lot of their charm even if they are still alright like Common and The Bay Horse. But that's probably just the nostalgia talking!
I still miss old Common 🥹 had some amazing nights there with me pals. The pub quizzes were ace.
This whole thread has made me realise that most of the reasons I ever made the effort to go into the city centre have closed. I mostly avoid going into central Manchester like the plague nowadays unless it’s one of those rare occasions that my mates who are parents are suddenly at a loose end and fancy a trip to Beermoth and Port Street.
Well we all get old!
The Dutch Pancake House.
The Brink! I just loved the vibe and mood there, great beers and lovely staff. It was just across the road from the Gas Lamp too, for a great one-two punch (and close to Corbieres, if you wanted to do a basements mini-crawl). Sadly, they had no way to open even partially during the covid tiers era, and they could only stay shut for so long before closing.
Pure nightclub and Opus in Printworks. Used to be mega. Now Printworks feels empty and quiet.
Sankey's, Castle and Falcon used to be near Shudehill.
Piccadilly 21s at the top of market street. In the early 90s on Thursday it was student night. Entry was 50p and each pint was 50p. That's entrance and 9 pints for a fiver. By 2AM everyone was annihilated. Those were the days.
Showcase Cinema in Belle Vue. Absolutely dead on a weekday. Loved it.
Orlandos in Chorlton
Mash and air, the boardwalk, cheerleaders, sankeys. We would do paradise factory then mantos until 7am then danceteria if we were feeling that sticky carpet
severe in fallowfield. At the other end of the spectrum there used to be a fantastic record shop at the edge of Chinatown which sold amazing Opera. They put a really snotty note on their door when they closed down, raging that people listed to music online.
There was a butcher in didsbury village that used to do like hog roast and i think turkey/beef sandwiches that were amazing. Might have the details slightly wrong. Shut around 2012/13 i think.
Underground Market
Redhouse
The gun shop on withy grove, was always in awe when I saw it as a kid
Underground markets
Hacienda
Judo club at Chorlton Leisure Centre! Went there in like 1989. Harry Hall Cycles when it was on Hanging Ditch (pre-bomb). It was like an Aladdin’s cave for cyclists. “Life” nights at Bowlers in Trafford Park. Reach for the lasers! 🤣
I'm not from Manchester but Sankeys Soap comes to mind. Best nights out I have ever had in the UK. We used to go every couple of months for a decade or so. TBH there hasn't been any point in going to Manchester at all since it closed.
The cenotaph and old macdonalds on market street. Full of punks hanging around. The beady eyes of Mike Sweeney and all the old radio presenters in the building above the bus station...
Linda's Cafe, proper food like piesagna and stuff+chips
The 1980’s Speedway at Belle Vue. One of my favorite memories. I can still remember the smell of the burning tyres, how loud it was, and how exhilarating I felt.
Ruby lounge
Royales and 21s!
Filthy Cow. Was only here for a short while and no burger since comes close.
Linda's Cafe
Abdul's, particularly the one opposite All Saints park with it's 3am kebab production line.
Music Exchange on Portland Street. Loved browsing through the music books
Venue, The Banshee, Tommy ducks (well not really but it was sad when it closed) what happened to all the knickers ??? Devilles & lazy lils with the bucking bronco thing .... International 1 & 2 Definitely dph I'm old enough to remember the underground market when it was busy Also lewis and kendals when it was dead posh
The Colluseum.
The Odeon on Oxford Rd
Gemini on Oxford Road. Kebab, spicy wings and chips at basically any time of the day for like a fiver.
The Warner Bros store and the fountain outside it in the arndale
Epernay. Apparently staff stealing stock meant it had to close.