It can never be said too often; Manchester is a great night out. Particularly when it starts in a £25 budget hotel in the “dodgy part of Eccles” (Source: Quosh) and includes a home win against the Hammers (sorry Mr Protz).
It must have been a glorious evening. Even the bit of Salford near Old Trafford looked spectacular at sunset.
And is there a better urban view as you leave from a station than this one at Deansgate ?
Manchester was heaving at 6pm on a Wednesday night in March, and you can’t put that down solely to the visit of Newham Stratford’s finest.
Nearly every pub and restaurant from Deansgate into town was packed.
Anyway, too much beer before the game is a bad idea, so I made do with curry at this little gem tucked down the alley known as Back Piccadilly which is where the murder scenes in “The Wire” were shot. It makes This’n’That looks posh.
A smartly-dressed young lady joined in expressing disappointment at the unavailability of the aubergine curry, so I settled for lamb and okra for £6. My tummy said “Thanks“.
As is traditional, you get one new bit of street art from the walk to the Etihad.
I’ll spare you the match details, bit of a nervy 1-0, and I was glad to just miss my Piccadilly tram back to Weaste as I could then justify a nerve settling pint at the Bulls Head, a Manc institution that deserves a bit more love. Anywhere north of here and it’s a GBG cert.
The quietest I’ve seen it; still bustling but at least you can see how gorgeous it is, and grab a table.
This is a simple pub but a class act, superbly run, and I don’t just say that because they’ve got the Pedi back on.
You’ll know how often I say “Great pub, dull beer“. The Pedi was marvellous, cool and sulphurous (NBSS 4). How could we doubt it ? Only by pouring it flat into a jug and then serving it could you improve the experience (try doing that with a hundred City fans at the bar though).
I saw young lads buying pints of Pedi, some of them had beards. Is the BBB comeback on ?
retiredmartin 
It’ll be back as they move on from their hop obsession. Just a matter of time. I still have not made it to the Bull’s Head. Big miss from the look of it. A fave of Simon’s if I recall correctly.
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I searched for Simon’s report on the Bull’s Head, he’s mentioned it favourably, but I couldn’t find it. It’s a BRAPA favourite.
Of course, pubs serving Pedi/Wainwright/Jennings will always find it hard to get in the Guide. I say no more.
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Yes, BBB will be back but the new lot will “do it correctly”
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In case you missed it, dear readers, I will attempt to attach a sarcasm emoji to that previous comment…
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Now there’s a coincidence.
I was at Piccadilly between trains from 4.31pm to 5.24pm yesterday and that gave me ample time for a lovely pint of Pedigree in the Bulls Head which was very busy.
I’m not sure about the “dodgy part of Eccles” but I was in Eccles earlier for 1½ pints of Holts Bitter in the 10am opening Old Bulls Head, a pint of Holts Mild in the Lamb, a pint of Holts Mild in the Stanley Arms, a pint of Holts Bitter in the Bird in Hand, a pint of Holts Bitter in the Grapes and a pint of Holts Bitter in the Bridgewater.
It’s disappointing that the White Lion and the Royal Oak have closed but there’s still a few proper pubs out that way. , ,
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Not your first visit, Paul. Glad it was as good as I found. Selling dozens of pints an hour must help.
Good work in Eccles.
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No, my first use of the Bulls Head was as a Burtonwood pub not long after the legendary Coach and Horses free house on London Road was demolished to make way for the trams.
Never mind the cakes, it’s t’ale in Eccles for me.
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Ah yes, Burtonwood. Believe you can just about gauge that from the livery. Top Hat was a top beer back in the ’90s.
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The Burtonwood pub we used most in Manchester was the Union which was memorable for
– the stained glass windows depicting commonwealth countries
– the customers
– the only pub, out of thousands I’ve known, that served beer through metered electric pumps into brim pint glasses.
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Pilsner Urquell on tap as well. What’s not to like??
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Is that good ? Genuinely no idea anymore. Did CAMRA types rate Stella Artois and Leffe back in the ’70s ?
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Pilsner Urquell knocks Stella and Leffe into a cocked hat. Not sure about their status with CAMRA back in the 70’s, but equally unsure about what is and what’s not on the campaign’s approval list anymore. Furthermore, I don’t actually care!
Keen to know what is considered the “dodgy part of Eccles”. I spent two terms there, in lodgings, during my first year at Salford Uni, and don’t recall any no-go areas.
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No, the proper members didn’t rate Stella Artois and they hadn’t heard of Leffe
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ps. Is Weaste a part of Eccles? Travelled through there on the bus a few times, but that was during the hours of daylight.
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Technically I guess it’s a separate part of Salford city, but it’s virtually contiguous with Eccles and on the Eccles branch. I’d never heard of it or Langworthy and never seen any Beer Guide entries on stretch between Broughton and Eccles.
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PS. I doubt Weaste is that bad. As long as you don’t ask for a topup in the Sam Smiths pub.
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“Not YET a pub”
But a very nice photo (and the two above it) all the same. 🙂
“Probably an advert for Puma, City’s new boot sponsors”
I was thinking Terry Pratchett’s ‘Discworld’ combined with ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’.
“and I don’t just say that because they’ve got the Pedi back on.”
You were having your feet done? 😉
“I saw young lads buying pints of Pedi, some of them had beards. Is the BBB comeback on ?”
Even though it’s over on this side of the pond, I shall ask my youngest (brewmaster for a small brewpub) if that’s the case when I see him in about two weeks. We are going to visit our first ever grandchild for the very first time. 🙂
Cheers
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Hello! Missed you. Though Scott has done a good impersonation.
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Have a great time meeting your grandchild. Ask his views on BBB.
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LOL 😁
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By the way, my LOL was me thinking you want me to ask my grandchild about BBB. 😊
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And why not ?
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I think I’ll have to plan my nights out in Machester later this year carefully. So many good pubs to cover.
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I can recommend the ones that are open. Ignore the ones with a “Closed” sign.
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MW,
So many good pubs that you’ll have to start well before your ‘nights out’!
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Ah memories!! The Bull’s Head was a regular haunt of mine as a student in the early eighties, when it was a much more traditional two-sided pub (We never ventured into the bar side!). I think it was a few hundred pints of always excellent Burtonwood Bitter in here that turned me into a real ale drinker.
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Cafe Marhaba ! My OH used to own that place in 1978 when it was the Posh Potato : Pizzas , Burgers, Chilli and of course Baked Spuds. She got a warning from the Weights and Measures for serving Cider in unmarked/measured stoneware jugs! Hope the cleaning regimes are on point as that fridge, those tiles and the extraction system are all 40+ years old!
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Well well well. Salubrious place for a potato eatery !
It didn’t have zero stars so that’s fine by me.
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If there is a BBB revival among the young beer fans over there, please send it across the Atlantic immediately! I keep hoping for British-style ales to become a mainstay at brewpubs here in the US, but have not seen any signs of it thus far, sadly– still wall to wall super-hoppy beers everywhere I go. 😦
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What a great looking pub! BBB is back in vogue… definitely in Derbyshire! Nowt wrong with a nervy 1-0 win he says through gritted teeth after a nervy 1-0 defeat!
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I feel your pain.
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Compounded by the cretin on the pitch 🙄
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😕
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