Pubs and bars showing the World Cup 2026 in Manchester

Get your game face on with an afternoon of pool, shuffleboard and table tennis at Pong & Puck in The Great Northern.

Manchester’s highest restaurant, bar and terrace 20 Stories was the opening of 2018 and still maintains its status as one of the city’s most popular place to eat, drink, be snapped and be seen.

The Blues Kitchen Manchester is the first opening outside the capital for Columbo Group, which also owns the Jazz Cafe chain. And while we always enjoy treating cut-and-paste transplants from London with a healthy dose of scepticism, this one serves Manchester’s food (and music) scene well.

BOX is all about big-screen sports, booze (including two-for-one cocktails) and blokes singing – ‘bandeoke’ is a thing and it exists here. The Manchester outpost of a popular Yorkshire concept, head here if you want a front-row seat at every match, game, fixture and fight on a high-definition wide screen. Whatever sports are being shown by Sky, BT and Box Office, you will find them on one of the 25 screens.

The Brotherhood of Pursuits and Pastimes has a more grown-up look than most sports bars, all muted greens rather than shouty neon. However, when it comes to atmosphere, it’s a great place to watch live events.

With basketball hire and live sports in the summer and ice skating in the winter, the only question we have about Courts Club is, what goes on in between?

The Crafty Pig is a sociable bar on the edge of Manchester’s Northern Quarter with a busy beer garden and a sports bar vibe.

The Deansgate is a bit of a landmark pub in Manchester, having been in this spot for 200 years.

Diecast is a party venue and ‘creative neighbourhood’ five-minutes’ walk from Manchester Piccadilly station.

Electric Shuffle is a fresh take on shuffleboard. Usually associated with the pubbier end of the bar spectrum or the subterranean neon of a gaming venue, this is something new.

Exhibition is one of Manchester’s cluster of exciting multi-kitchen concepts (read: food halls) that just seem to be multiplying. In the former home of the Natural History Museum, the location makes it perfect for visitors to Manchester Central, the Radisson Blu and the Midland Hotel.

The Fitzgerald, appropriately enough, channels those Great Gatsby vibes with its vintage stylings, and its 1920s glassware sets off the cocktails beautifully.

Flight Club is a hit in London, Birmingham and Manchester, with its primary aim (sorry) to offer a contemporary take on playing a round of arrows in the pub – you can book your own semi-private area with a dartboard where two to six of you can step up to the oche.

The Fountain House is the newest lodger of the Gothic-arched Memorial Hall sitting one corner of Albert Square, and its modern old-fashioned surrounds and plentiful portions of proper pub grub – mostly British but with a little European inspiration – do the imposing building proud.

Food hall meets music festival is how we’d describe Freight Island to anyone confused about what they’ll find at this regenerated rail depot beyond Piccadilly Station. 

King Pins Manchester Arndale is ten-pin bowling royalty, and not just for the good customer service, clean, fresh decor and 12 full-size lanes. It’s the whole package with almost too many activities to list. Whether you’re hanging out with mates or taking the kids, there is plenty to keep everyone entertained.

King Pins Trafford Palazzo markets itself as ‘the crown jewels of bowling’, but to be honest, they’re selling themselves short. It’s a right royal entertainment centre with bowling just one part of it.

Manchester classic the Lass O’Gowrie won Best Pub in Britain in 2012 but suffered a loss in income (and a change of landlord) when the BBC building opposite closed. It’s now very much a Greene King pub but it still retains much of its character and charm.

The Lawn Club is a summery Spinningfields paradise with lots of outdoor space and fantastic cocktails. It’s also a winter wonderland with a cosy yurt and an après-ski vibe. There’s a flexibility to this bar which gives it year round appeal and which also makes it a popular choice for events and parties.

Starting life as a fun little pop-up, Libero is a football-themed craft ale bar which encourages its customers to don vintage footie shirts and cosy up for a beery, amiable bit of bonding.

Manahatta is a New York-inspired cocktail bar on Deansgate. It’s well known for its party atmosphere, great drinks and bottomless brunches. The food menu focuses on American classics like burgers, dogs and BBQ chicken as well as healthier options like the superfood burger and the lean green powerbowl.

Motley is a bar and restaurant attached to Yotel on Deansgate. With its suntrap terrace, it’s definitely not just for hotel guests. Outdoor tables are screened by planters that always seem to be bursting with life. It’s a bit of a green oasis on Deansgate’s muddle of concrete, glass and imposing Victorian brickwork.

If you’re a fan of cosy pubs with good beer and great craic, Mulligans will be right up your alley. Located just off Deansgate, it’s full of character and is Manchester’s oldest authentic Irish pub.

Opened in the summer of 2022 after a hefty refurb which transformed the tired-looking New Century Hall of the mid-twentieth century into a newfangled music and dining destination in Manchester’s trendy NOMA district.

O’Sheas on Princess Street has become one of Manchester’s most popular Irish pubs since it opened in the nineties. And it’s recently been refurbished to get it looking as good as it did back then.

Refuge serves up winning small plate fusion in an iconic and glamorous setting. Housed in Manchester’s iconic The Refuge Assurance Company dating back to 1858, this DJ-run restaurant and bar is large and sassy.

This bar on Cutting Room Square from the Seven Bro7hers Brewery clan is perfectly placed to cater for the craft beer drinkers of Ancoats.

Located in between St Peter’s Square and The Bridgewater Hall, Society brings new life to the quiet yet elegant stretch of city between Oxford Street and First Street. The outside area is a sunspot bordered by a fountain and a garden, making it feel more like Madrid than Manchester (weather permitting of course).

The Trading Route, named for its location near the River Irwell and its ties to Manchester’s industrial heritage, is a collaboration between Manchester Union Brewery, Trof NQ, and the Wandering Palate in Monton. If you know any of that bunch, you know you’re in for a treat.

Twenty Twenty Two is a Northern Quarter hangout with a difference. It has the metro tiles, basement decor and late night action typical of other bars in the area, but it also has table tennis and other games.