AND you thought the pub was a dying institution. Maybe not – in the right hands. Hot on the heels of Steve Pilling and Angus Pride giving Didsbury’s moribund Dog and Partridge a stylish shot in the arm, now another set of Manchester’s canniest food and drink operators have reopened the Northern Quarter’s Bay Horse after a massive makeover.
Lyndon Higginson (Crazy Pedro’s, Liar’s Club, Cane and Grain) has quirkily redesigned the Thomas Street pub in a style trumpeted as ‘The Rovers Return meets Soho House’ in collaboration with long time business partners Ross Mackenzie and Jobe Ferguson of Black Dog Ballroom fame.
From the Beatles toby jugs to the snug darts board, it radiates boozy bonhomie. ‘We just want everyone to feel at home,” says Lyndon. “You see it in the news every week, another pub closes its doors! I hate that all these places are closing or getting turned into shit bars. We’re on a mission to bring back the local boozer.
“We’re so excited about The Horse. The place was pretty grim with no redeeming features, so we’ve ripped it apart and started from the ground up. It’s our modern take on the local.
“You can play darts or grab some amazing food, order a cask beer or get a fancy cocktail.”
This cosy haven is both a rescue act and a homage. The Bay Horse has been a Manchester institution since the Georgian era. It was once The Bay Horse Hotel and a common drinking ground for factory workers. The historic venue was burned to the ground in the 1990s, was rebuilt and became The Bay Horse Pub.
Now it’s the Bay Horse Tavern, offering a bottle/can selection of Manchester’s finest brews (and some exceptional gins). The four hand pumps on our early visit offered, less impressively, the likes of Lees MPA and St Austell Proper Job.
Foodwise, the basement kitchen is serving up small plates of classic British dishes, using locally sourced produce, including suckling pig, chicken and beef from the rotisserie served with fresh bread, baked in-house daily. A good place to share? The large oval dining table at the centre of the basement restaurant.
The Bay Horse Tavern, at 35-37 Thomas Street in the NQ is open daily from 11am to 1am Sunday to Wednesday and 2am Thursday to Saturday. review coming soon.
