Image may contain: Lemonade, Restaurant, Cafe, Milkshake, Milk, Juice, Drink, Dairy, Beverage, Cup, Person, People, Human

The best cocktail bars in Manchester that won’t break your student overdraft

2 for 1 Pornstar Martini yes pls x


Sick of your nights out in frumpy jumpers and baggy jeans? In desperate need of a dressy night out with the gals? If you're fed up of ruining your beige New Balances in Antwerp and recycling the same old jeans and nice top routine, look no further. The Manchester Tab have investigated the best cocktail bars in Manchester for a bougie but affordable night out.

Cane and Grain

Voted 2018 Best Bar of the Year in the food and drink awards, Cane and Grain is a New York style bar boasting some amazing cocktails as well as some great burgers, fries and other fast food. They offer a £5 lunch deal, great for those days when you want to congratulate yourself on finally making a 9am. You so deserve the rest of the day off!

The bartenders and servers here are so friendly and even took a drink off our tab as it was five minutes late. Our favourite was the massive skull sharer, getting two of us tipsy while only costing £15. Sweet.

Image may contain: Drink, Beverage, Wildlife, Mammal, Giraffe, Animal

Crazy Pedro's

You’ll find this bar down a side street in the Northern Quarter: behind the bar “fuck porn star martinis” is emblazoned on the wall. If you’re prepared to try something new then this is the place to be. Generally, cocktails are steep at £8, but after 5pm they become 2 for 1. They were pretty strong so you can easily get waved without breaking into your overdraft.

After all those cocktails you might be craving a gigantic pizza and they really excel here; with “crazy” pizzas ranging from “the mac daddy” basically a big mac pizza with blueberries on. The pizzas go down to £10 from 5pm – 9pm, and seeing as they're a whopping 16 inches, this is a pretty good deal.

They also sell Mezcal here, a tequila-like spirit from Mexico boasting 55% + alcohol content. Rumour has it, hallucinatory effects occur if too much is consumed so no worries about being sober here. Only the brave.

Image may contain: Cup, Pizza, Food

The Font

The Font is amazing for super cheap cocktails on a student friendly budget. Cocktails are priced £2 to £4, so cheap no matter what your posion is. The Font has bars in both Fallowfield and Oxford Road, making it accessible for University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan Students. These cocktails are cheap anyway so getting them on a Monday night when they are 2 for 1 is even better. You might want to slip a little bit more alcohol in them if you want any chance of you getting sloshed.

Dusk 'til Pawn

If you think you really know Manchester then you will know all about this bar. Although it's easily missed due to its misleading exterior as from outside it appears to be your usual, run-of the mill pawn shop. Step inside, however, and you will discover a dimly lit bar, full stocked with alcohol and a free jukebox. The cocktails are SO yummy, including a classic Pornstar Martini. This bar is sadly on the pricier side of this guide, £6.50 per cocktail. This isn't your typical student bar, so leave your shit trainers at home and get those stilettos on gal! Who knows, maybe you'll find a rich man to pay off all that student debt.

Image may contain: Shop