Cane & Grain

Don’t mind getting your hands dirty in the name of filling your belly? There’s plenty to pick up and run with at Northern Quarter hangout Cane & Grain – its slogan is ‘rib joint & tap room’, after all.

Spare ribs of pork, big hunks of beef  ‘for the truly hungry’ and jumbo chicken wings shown the smoke for three hours, these dry rubbed bones are the star of the show and you get a choice of what to slather on them table-side, from the likes of Dr Pepper sauce to bourbon gravy. The menu also caters for the dirty burger crew and there’s everything else faux Americana, from flame-grilled corn cobs and house slaw to poutine and mac’n’cheese.

Decor wise, ground-floor Cane & Grain riffs on its previous incarnation as a skate shop, retaining the old posters and mocking up its logo in rad Thrasher magazine fashion. The bar stocks a pretty extensive selection of rum, bourbon and craft beer, including its own lager on tap. There are also cocktails, with names like Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy – the least macho might be Feel Good Hit Of The Summer. Head upstairs and on the second floor you’ll find The Liars Lounge, a tiki-inspired gaff serving up Caribbean rum, more beer and a reggae soundtrack.

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