22 June 2012

Neil Sowerby rounds up the pick of recent indie bars in the city. A Black Dog and a Brew Dog, a Gorilla and an Eagle, plus a Whale (well, a Wähl) and imminently a Blue Pig – a whole menagerie of bars has sprung up around Manchester of late. But which is the pick?

Obviously not the Blue Pig - yet. This latest venture from the excellent Odd stable is still at the conversion stage, but we are promised the old audio store opposite Walrus on High Street will have the feel of a Parisian wine bar and restaurant. We wish it better luck than the nearby Sole, which is momentarily closed to adjust its food and drink offering.

Among Northern Quarter bars the Black Dog Ballroom obviously has the secret of success, judging by the queues round the block. Expect the same from the new ‘Southern Quarter’ cousin Black Dog Ballroom NWS in New Wakefield Street. It’s a stylish makeover for the old Space with the obvious advantage of the roof terrace and a basement club called Underdog. Pity all around seems to be one big building site at the moment.

I can’t quite warm to its food and drink offering. The wine and beer list is dull and the food doesn’t live up to the New York theme – cheesecake too sweet, a mojito jerk chicken salad just sickly. Like the flame-grilled burgers and excellent pastrami, though, and cocktails are affordable. From 10am enjoy a full English breakfast for £5.95.

Full English

Breakfasts feature heavily on the menu at Gorilla, the Trof group’s conversion of the old Green Room, but the presence of an in-house bakery signals an altogether heavier commitment to food. It’s all-day casual, so expect milkshakes, sandwiches and burgers, but also a 32-day dry aged Cheshire rib-eye steak (9oz for £17.50) with garlic and rosemary potatoes and bearnaise. Pick of the wine list are New World reds McHohnen-Henry Shiraz (£30) and the Kotare Pinot Noir (£29). All wines are also available in 500cc carafes.

Gorilla’s decor is all white tiles – and reclaimed timber, which gives a ship’s cabin feel to the mezzanine Gin Parlour with a rare selection of botanicals and some innovative cocktails. The Gin Flip features their own hickory-smoked benedictine. A 600-capacity gig space under construction at the back promises much.

Brewdog on Peter Street is much more of a boozer with lots of standing room and a complete range of the maverick Scottish brewery’s craft beers, including 40 per cent Sink the Bismark! (£6 a shot) and the deceptively powerful Anarchist Alchemist (14 per cent). There are lots of American hop monsters in bottle plus Scandinavian cult beers from Nøgne Ø and Mikkeller. The latter’s “special hop” offerings are quite wonderful, but at £6, a 33cl bottle, ouch. This isn’t a cheap place to sup in.

Beer-matched food

What surprised me, though, was the food – designed by Masterchef winner Tim Anderson. The burgers are splendid, particularly the Milwaukee Danish, but I was specially taken by the pizza I chose – a fiery jalapeno-laden Santa Ana pizza (£9.95p).

The brick and glass-fronted stripped down look of Brewdog was obviously done with a big budget. I don’t sense the same at Wählbar a classy addition to the main drag in Fallowfield. It’s from the folk who brought you Gaslamp in city centre Bridge Street, but a world away from that slightly chilly former ragged school basement premises.

Wählbar is airy and light with a homespun log-pile look behind the bar. Two handpumps feature house beers from Bury’s Brightside Brewery. Spinning Top is a tropical pale ale and Rocking Horse is a malty bitter.

On my visit their respective pumps were being cleaned, so from the third handpump I settled for Thornbridge Galaxia, a well-balanced single hop ale treat. Co-owner Nick Greenhalgh showed me the cellar room where a microbrewery is under construction next to the gig space.

Continental heritage

The name is German and means eminently selectable; despite the umlaut, everyone calls it Wollbar. It’s altogether more food-friendly and price-friendly (this is studentland, house lager is £2.50 a pint) than Gaslamp. The cafe bar food offering is not as ambitious, but the dearest main, chicken, chorizo and chickpea casserole, is only £6.20.

Pies are promised eventually at The Eagle, another classic boozer rescued by Jonny Booth and Rupert Hill from the Castle. For the moment sup some well-kept Holts (IPA and bitter were both on top form for my visit) and savour the atmosphere of its three unspoilt rooms with a piano (no TV) and a rare log end Manchester dartboard.

“Guest beers” are from a restricted range – the likes of Bombardier and Abbot Ale. Hopefully, as with The Castle, this will change. House wine’s cheap but I’d splash out on a bottle of Moko Black kiwi Sauvignon Blanc – an invigorating citrussy treat at £17 recommended by the Eagle’s bubbly fledgling landlady Esther Mayler.

The Eagle – nickname The Lamp Oil (I know not why) – is a fabulous gem, worth seeking out. Not an easy job. It’s beached in a new cross-Irwell world of apartments and indiustrial compounds. Make the trip.

Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 11-13 New Wakefield Street, Manchester M1 5NP; www. blackdogballroom.co.uk

The Eagle, 18 Collier Street, Salford, Manchester, M3 7DW