A proper pub in the middle of Manchester.

Jobe took on the Bay Horse Tavern with a straightforward idea: take a Victorian pub on Thomas Street — all the original bones, the high ceilings, the ornate bar back — and make it somewhere worth walking past everywhere else for. The Northern Quarter was already busy with bars, but busy isn't the same as good. The Bay Horse was always going to do things on its own terms.

The building has the kind of character you can't manufacture. Two floors, two atmospheres — upstairs is open and sociable, the kind of room a whole table of friends fills naturally; downstairs is closer, cosier, and smells, on a Sunday, absolutely incredible. That's the roast. People come for it every week and it sells out every time, which is probably the most honest review we could offer.

The drinks list has grown from what a pub on this street should always have had — a serious selection of gins (over fifty at last count) and a rotating run of craft beers that changes with what's interesting, not what's convenient. If you want a pint of whatever's on, that's fine too. The bar team know what they're talking about without making a point of it.

Thomas Street sits at the heart of the Northern Quarter, a few minutes from Piccadilly and a few minutes from Ancoats — close enough to everything that people stop in before a gig, after work, or for no particular reason except that it's Thursday and the week has been long. The Bay Horse stays open late on Fridays and Saturdays, so there's no rush. Come when you like. Stay as long as you want.

Photo credits: The Bay Horse Tavern via Google Maps