Bars & Pubs: Chapel Walks
DEEP in the heart of shopping district, the cluster of venues on Chapel Walks are set up as an obvious haven away from the madding, credit-card wielding crowds - as well as offering office workers somewhere decent to dive into at lunch.In the main these are bar/restaurant set ups, enticing shoppers in with the prospect of a cocktail or a glass of wine and a bite to eat. Quick turnarounds on food make them a viable outing on an hour's lunch break, to fuel up when the offices close.
Sam's Chophouse is the best known of the bunch: an award winning set up that out-punches its diminutive proportions to deliver top quality food and drink.
Long standing Grinch (pictured) also deserves a mention for its commitment to decent pizza and pasta in semi-swanky surroundings.
Thai-themed Chaophraya offers a variation on a theme, for people who like their libations with a little south asian spice.
Of these options, Baccanalia (Greek for 'a gathering of people eating, drinking and having a good time') might not be the best of the bunch, but it does have plenty to offer.
A dinky bar squidged into one of the road's beautiful (if architecturally challenging) Tudor houses, it features a small ground floor bar and first floor foodery serving a mostly Mediterranean inspired menu.
You can order a limited selection of beers from the bar (Stella, Becks Vier and Guinness are all the only draught options) but few customers seem to care: they're all on the cocktails.
The list is extensive and accessibly priced but not the most cutting edge: this is no temple to mixology. Still, a pleasant place to stop in for happy hour.
And if you don't fancy the leather booths inside the bar, the outdoor canopies, heating and seating make the roadside pavement a pleasant place to be.
Chapel Walks, Manchester, M2 1HN.
Reviewed: Thu, 19 June, 2008
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