CityLife

PLANNING a night out in the Northern Quarter? The Bay Horse, if not on your go to list, will probably still end up with a visit.<br /> <br /> It’s a friendly venue that occupies a position half way between pub and club, the upstairs feeling like the latter, the downstairs basement the former.<br /> <br /> Its interior combines tongue in cheek traditionalism (wood panelling, gilt framed pictures) with deliberate decadence (pink and beige floral chaise longes) and more practical features, like the slate-fronted bar-come-DJ booth and perma-popular pool table downstairs.<br /> <br /> Well imagined (we particularly like the floor-to-ceiling wallprints of bay horses, amongst the general eclectic chic) it’s grown comfortably tatty in its middle age as its floors and furniture take a beating from hoardes of happy customers.<br /> <br /> Fun top of list<br /> <br /> It would no longer fight for the title of most stylish venue, or even the one with the best drinks, but it does appeal to a lot of people.<br /> <br /> Maybe it’s because it manages to avoid the self consciousness that affects other bars in the area. In here people watching isn’t much of a past time. Instead having fun comes top of the list.<br /> <br /> The Bay Horse peddles a range of wines and spirits but the main drink of choice in here is lager, predominantly of a continental variety (Staropramen, Beck’s Vier, Stella), and often served in suitably continental glassware.<br /> <br /> The traditional pub choice of real ale is relegated to the fridge, which at least keeps the Black Sheep and Bombadier (plus the Kriek, Budvar and Framboise) brewery fresh.<br /> <br /> Quality food<br /> <br /> More interestingly, a partnership with the allied Soup Kitchen (the fashionable NQ eaterie, not the charitable community outreach centre) secures quality food for its day time and early evening customers, elevating the offer above the usual pub grub.<br /> <br /> The entertainment too makes it worth a visit. Downstairs plays host to intimate club nights (the Civil Action Disco Club, Fiction Non Fiction, Distortion), or more leftfield/low tempo DJ sets during relaxed mid-week sessions.<br /> <br /> The result is a fun filled smorgasbord of conversation, drinking, dancing and pool playing under one Georgian roof.<br /> <br /> The Bay Horse, 35-37 Thomas Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester M4 1NA (0161 661 1041).<br />