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Sandbar - quirky

THE poetic spirit (and no other) moving him, William Blake wrote:
‘To see a world in a grain of sand/And a heaven in a wild flower/Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/And eternity in an hour’.
 

That’s what it might feel like in Sand Bar after a couple of pints, when the ghosts that haunt this knocked-together pair of Georgian townhouses start quoting poetry or philosophy at you.

The quirky warren of ramshackle rooms, their deeply hued walls fragmented by individual art works, furniture rustic at best, can offer a disorienting haven. It’s a hard place to leave.

Maybe for me it was the effect of the Black Cat. Nay, not the witch’s familiar, but the delicate, chocolatey dark mild from Moorhouse’s.

Inoffensive felafel burger

This was terrific stuff, matched by my second pint, the light but assertive Hammeldon Ale from the Rossendale Brewery.

Sand, unlike so many of the bars in the student quarter around Oxford Road, has long been committed to an ever-changing roster of affordable cask ale (my pints cost £2.40 each) alongside an eclectic range of continental bottles. It’s even in the Good Beer Guide. 

They know their market. Food, chalked up on a large board, won’t break the bank, but is more of a mixed bag. My inoffensive felafel burger came with some succulent fat chips and sharp salad and cost just £4.95.

In contrast, my pal Poppy’s tomato soup (£3) seemed little more than a can of tomatoes pureed. Perhaps we missed some hidden subtlety. Herbs or spice would have been nice. 

Scruffy chic aesthetic

But his is just a minor cavil. Sand, opened in 1996, is of a piece with places like Knott Bar or Bar Fringe, which bridge the gap between bar and pub with a scruffy chic aesthetic that encompasses all age groups.

What a shame Big Hands can’t make the leap to cask ale and it would be on a par with this triumvirate.

Because of its situation in the middle of academe, Sand is a place you are more likely to encounter some dude in a duffle coat reading poetry and I am told there is toilet graffiti quoting philosophers. 

If you can’t make your own entertainment, Sand offers an eclectic juke box, jazz and club nights, drawing events and the mondo marveloso cabaret. Full details are collated on remotegoat.co.uk

Sandbar, 20 Grosvenor Street, off Oxford Road, Manchester M1 7HL (0161 273 1552) . Food served Mon-Fri noon-6.30.