Cord Bar
WINTER is drawing in so thoughts naturally turn to Cord, which emerged blinking – as if from the back of a wardrobe – after a shake down and substantial brush off this month.
With a big crowd of regulars, all of whom have accrued a sense of ownership over the place during years of pint sinking and pie eating, a new look would always be controversial.
But with the trademark booths passing from well worn to worn out, few could argue it was time for change. Cord of old was a small bar; Cord the second feels bigger.
Inside, the booths at the front have been ripped out, as has the bar at the back; the latter being repositioned to the wall opposite with three booths now taking up space where it once stood.
The most striking change has seen the back wall of the bar blasted through and a bright white bricked stairwell installed leading down to the basement.
Down it, the first door you pass is the gents, making a trip to the toilet much less traumatic for half of Cord’s customers – cutting out the wrestle across the basement dancefloor it used to entail.
Inevitable
Less impressive is the inevitable new paint smell that, with the heat, and the musty damp pong in the basement, can get a bit overwhelming.
Post-renovation hangovers, we hope, for which a slug or two of the premium spirits from the spanking new back bar is the best hair of the dog.
Some will think it’s a shame to see the character of an old favourite change so dramatically.
Upstairs with the flash new look there’s little of the local hangout left – if Cord was once definitively Northern Quarter, could Cord 2.0 in fact be anywhere?
But then the Northern Quarter isn’t a beardies ghetto anymore: catering, whether you like it or not, for a broader set of socialites.
Cord is moving with the times. Shouldn’t you?
What do you think of the new Cord? Have your say.
Cord, Dorsey House, 8 Dorsey Street, M4 1LU (0161 832 9494).
Reviewed: Thu, 23 October, 2008
Your Ratings (Rollover to rate)
You must be logged in to rate this venue listing
Register Now to rate this
