Fourteen Manchester pubs and taprooms, starting with Britain’s best

A pint of Holt’s Bitter at the Hare and Hounds on Shudehill cost £3.40 this spring, poured in a tiled room that has barely changed since 1925. Manchester still has a run of old pubs like that, and a newer cluster of brewery bars in the arches and sheds behind Piccadilly station. The Peveril of the Peak comes first because Time Out named it Britain’s best pub in July. The rest follow roughly in walking order, a loop that ends at the Piccadilly arches.

How we chose: Time Out’s 2026 list of Britain’s best pubs, CAMRA’s heritage ratings and pub pages, the 2026 Manchester Food and Drink Awards, and Manchester Wire’s August taproom guide.

Peveril of the Peak

Look for the green tiles on Great Bridgewater Street: the late-Victorian ceramic front stands out among the towers, and inside are four small rooms, a lobby bar, a public bar with an old table-football game, a snug and a back lounge. CAMRA rates the interior three stars, its top grade. Four casks are always on, Timothy Taylor Landlord and Titanic Plum Porter among them. Go on a Tuesday, when there’s an Irish folk session at 7.30pm.

Great Bridgewater Street, by the Bridgewater Hall · four regular casks · walk-in

The Briton’s Protection

A few doors along the same street, the Briton’s Protection rebuilt its cellar in April and now runs eight changing casks, recently Draught Bass and St Austell Tribute. The 1930s fit-out survives, terrazzo corridor, serving hatch and bell pushes included, and there are 30 whiskies behind the bar. It’s family-friendly until 7pm.

Great Bridgewater Street · eight changing casks · walk-in, dogs welcome

The Circus Tavern

Two tiny rooms and a servery under the stairs with space for one person to pull pints: that is the whole of the Circus Tavern, and it fills up at about 40 people. Manchester United photographs from the 1950s cover the walls. Ask for the Boddingtons Bitter, one of two cask beers. There’s no food, and drinks come to the table.

Portland Street, by Chinatown · no food · walk-in, dogs welcome

The Old Monkey

Joseph Holt opened the Old Monkey further up Portland Street in 1993, and it went into the Good Beer Guide for the first time in the 2026 edition. Order Holt’s Mild, a 3.2% dark beer few pubs in the centre still pour. Meals stop at 7pm, and a comedy club runs once a month.

Portland Street · food until 7pm · walk-in

Sinclair’s Oyster Bar

Samuel Smith’s only pub in central Manchester stands on the square by the cathedral, a timber-framed building that has been moved twice and was rebuilt brick by brick in 1989. Drink the Old Brewery Bitter, the only cask beer, and order oysters: Taste of Manchester puts it in its five best places for them this year.

Cathedral Gates, by the Corn Exchange · food 12–9pm · walk-in, beer garden

Hare and Hounds

Opposite Shudehill interchange, this Grade II-listed pub keeps the blue, green and grey tilework of its 1925 remodelling. Holt’s Bitter is the order, at the price in the opening line; Ossett’s White Rat is the other regular. Karaoke takes over the back room on Wednesdays, so go another night if you want the front room quiet.

Shudehill · Holt’s Bitter £3.40 (Mar 2026) · walk-in, dogs welcome

Smithfield Market Tavern

Blackjack Brew Co’s pub on Swan Street has a bar-billiards table, six cask lines (four of them Blackjack’s own) and ten keg. The regular to try is Irk Street Pale at 3.8%. CAMRA’s Central Manchester branch made it Pub of the Year in 2016 and again in 2022.

Swan Street, Northern Quarter · six casks, ten keg · walk-in, families until 9pm

The Crown and Kettle

Where Oldham Road meets Great Ancoats Street, the Crown and Kettle has stood since about 1800, under names including the Iron Dish and Cob of Coal. It closed in 1989 and came back in 2005, and the panelling in its snug has long been said to come from the R100 or R101 airship. Ask about the pint-only offers.

Oldham Road, Ancoats · walk-in

The Marble Arch

Up Rochdale Road, the Marble Arch was built in 1888, and its mosaic floor slopes so noticeably downhill from the Rochdale Road end that you feel it after a couple. Drink Manchester Bitter (4.2%) in the pub where Marble began; the brewing moved out in 2019. It was Pub of the Year at the 2026 Manchester Food and Drink Awards, came 15th on Time Out’s list and has been in the Good Beer Guide 25 years in a row.

Rochdale Road · two Marble regulars, four rotating · walk-in, dogs and families welcome

North Westward Ho

Back in the centre, on Chapel Walks, Pomona Island’s own pub has 18 keg lines and five cask. Start with Blume, a 4% pilsner from the Salford brewery at £5.80 a pint, the cheapest full pint on its board.

Chapel Walks, off Cross Street · pints from £5.80 · walk-in

Northern Monk Refectory

The Leeds brewery’s Manchester outpost on Tariff Street pours 20 keg lines and four cask in a former industrial space. Weekend brunch runs 11am–4pm, and Cardinal Rule cooks Southern-style fried chicken and biscuits.

Tariff Street, Piccadilly Basin · 20 keg, four cask · walk-in

Track Brewing Co

Behind Piccadilly station, Unit 18 of the trading estate is Track’s taproom: 20 keg lines and three cask, mostly its own beer. It was Independent Drink Producer of the Year at the Manchester Food and Drink Awards in January. Slice Culture sells pizza from Wednesday to Sunday.

Piccadilly Trading Estate · opens 2pm Mon–Thu, noon Fri–Sun · walk-in, dogs and children welcome

Cloudwater Unit 9 Taproom

Cloudwater sold its first beers in February 2015, and its taproom, on the same estate as Track, draws 20 draught lines and two cask from a cold store kept at 3°C. Street-food traders cook Friday to Sunday, and you can bring your own food on the other days.

Piccadilly Trading Estate · open daily · walk-in

Sureshot Brewing

Under a station arch on Sheffield Street, Sureshot pours its beers from the brewery next door. Order Milson, the house pale, and a Nell’s pizza through click-and-collect. There are DJs, sport on a big screen and no need to book.

Sheffield Street, under Piccadilly · walk-in

Checked October 2026.