Salt Dog Slims Manchester

“Steins, brines, and good times” – that’s how the saying goes at American-inspired Salt Dog Slims, new over from Liverpool, although tbh it’s probably more of the former and mostly the latter, but then who wants to get in the way of a fine rhyme as we all just try and rub along in this world?

Mostly, the social media message is about things getting messy, so we don’t think the focus here is really on the food. Eating just gets in the way of drinking time, right? And dancing. It’s quite hard to eat and dance at the same time, we’ve always found. Terrible hiccoughs. That said, we’re told “Salt Dog Slims is an emporium of world beers, bespoke cocktails, and American style chilli dogs”, and we definitely don’t dispute the importance of lining one’s stomach on a big night out. We’re just flagging up that this might not be the place to go if you’re looking for a three-courser with your folks, discussing the quality of chef’s knife skills or the provenance of the ingredients. But if it’s a stop-gap hot dog you fancy, fill your boots. Classic wiener in a classic white bun sliced lengthways; choice of sauces. Personally, we’re going tomato ketchup and glow-in-the-dark mustard for full-on IKEA authenticity, but you do what you like. You’re only here for the drinks, after all.

And that’s where you’re in luck. This, after all, is “a bar built by bartenders”, and there’s certainly much in the way of beers, not least with draught Dortmunder Vier poured into schooners or steins. There’s also plenty in the way of bottles and cans, from around the world, and “brewsky” (ciders and wotnot); there are also cocktails and more cocktails, from the classic to the SDS concocted: “kung fu, blindfolded archery, old man’s pocketwatch” are the flavours of one. Party on, dawgs.

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