A dog friendly day out in the Northern Quarter

If you feel it’s time to spice up your life, look no further than this Northern Quarter indie, where the main offer is ‘kebabs worth sitting down for’. Yep, BAB by name, ‘babs by nature, but that’s not doing the menu full justice – there are also meze small plates to mix and match, skewers and shawarmas, and non-babs such as an epic surf & turf spread.

The Pen and Pencil is the Northern Quarter’s cool all-day hangout, modelled on the New York bar of the same name popular with the city’s journalists and ad men in the 1950s and 1960s. It has a reputation for great cocktails, quality food and an atmosphere that makes it stand out from nearby imitators.

Another Heart To Feed in Manchester’s NQ is one of our top brunch spots. It’s a coffee shop inspired by coffee culture capital of the world, Melbourne. There’s a tempting array of breakfasty-stuff where many dishes have a Middle Eastern slant. You’ll find ingredients like dukkah, labneh, hummus and halloumi sprinkled across a menu that has more than its fair share of Ottolenghi-style magic.

The Bay Horse Tavern, to give it its full moniker, describes itself as “a modern take on a Victorian Pub” and, with its dark hues and warm woods, puttering candles and kitschy knick-knacks, and range of gins, craft beers and “other libations”, it may well straddle the eras.

One of the Northern Quarter’s original hipster hangouts, Common – bar, eatery, coffee spot – has been at its Edge Street address since 2005. Having spearheaded the booths and booze with bright colours and bold murals trend, Common has since gone stripped back and muted, decor wise. The drinks menu has always been easy to navigate and carefully curated, and food now comes courtesy Nell’s Pizza.

If it’s a place in the sun you’re after, look no further than the Northern Quarter’s Flok, chilling out on the Lever Street corner of Stevenson Square. The large outside area here is a bit of a trap for the rays, and there are lots of options for the perfect alfresco pour.

Describing itself as a “hangout” and “creative space”, PLY is in the beating heart of hipster Northern Quarter, benefitting from a bit of outside space on the corner of Stevenson Square. Inside it’s all stripped walls and industrial-chic columns, with a mirror-tiled, woodfired pizza oven in prominent position.

With a very vintage vibe, homemade cake and cocktails, and tempting hot and cold plates dished up all day every day in the heart of the Northern Quarter, Sugar Junction is the perfect go-to for ladies who brunch.

Tariff & Dale is a Northern Quarter institution – one of the first to colonize the Rochdale Canal frontier, bringing craft ales, cocktails, pizza and small plates to a previously ignored part of the area.

It has industrial detailing that celebrates its location smack bang in the middle of former cotton warehouses – how about a hydraulic cotton press for character and a cosy romantic booth in the former lift shaft?

Terrace NQ has really grown into its name over the years. Instead of just one terrace up on the roof, it now has four outside seating areas: there’s a gorgeous courtyard at the side, seats at the back on Edge Street, and more at the front on Thomas Street. Plus that original, leafy rooftop garden which has its own bar. This is as well as their light and airy interior which you get to through ‘the prettiest ginnel in Manchester’.