CityLife

Binary Bar

Binary Bar

Binary Bar
Castlefield
July 2010

Overall: 3/5

Binary Bar in Castlefield is one of those places that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but rather sticks to the known parameters of a formula that works.

Like some of the high street’s corporate brands, it places trust in sport, cheap drinks and commercial music. On an operational level, Binary Bar has similar values to Wetherspoons, with discount-led drinks and pub grub. Any two bottled lagers can be picked up for £3.50 (Corona, Peroni, Budweiser, San Miguel, Stella and Tiger Beer); any two cocktails for £6; or you can go double on selected spirits for an extra £1. Two pizzas for £10 or the Sunday roast for a fiver are also good deals.

From an aesthetic standpoint, Binary Bar has a Revolution feel to it, with leather seats, crushed velvet booths, red curtains and boutique wallpaper.

Licensed until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, the bar’s evening events include a quiz night every other week, occasional weekend DJs playing pop, dance and chart music, and the rest of the time there’s Sky Sports on a TV screen that fills an entire wall.

Along with quirky extras like the Wii, PlayStation and Singstar booth at the back of the venue, Binary Bar offers a number of reasons to visit for party groups and residents in the Moho building it occupies, the surrounding Urban Splash apartments and, of course, those from further afield.

5, Arundel Street, Castlefield, Manchester, M15 4JZ (0161 839 6343).