Mort Subite

Mort Subite followed me on twitter a few months back and when I took a look at their website I was very intrigued, so whilst in Altrincham at the weekend on a foodie tour of the market we decided to pop by.
Heading down a back alley close to the market itself, you see a sign pointing toward a small door and another sign leading you down a steep step of stairs. Past a draping velvet curtain, upon entering the bar… ‘MY EYES!!!’ — slight overreaction maybe, but it is very dark! Even Bugs Bunny would have issues being able to see down there. Granted, it was an usually sunny day so heading inside always takes a toll on your eyesight, but it really is incredibly dark until the first 10 minutes have passed and your eyes can adjust. It is only then that you can appreciate the true beauty of this bar.
Only very dim light bulbs and candles light this place, making it very mysterious and kind of creepy (in a good way) but it is the unusuality of this European bar that makes it such a hidden gem. The décor is fantastic, and for a moment you completely forget that you’re in south Manchester!
One lady approached us, Neil C. asked ‘What do you have on draft?’ 10 minutes later… the lady had been through such an extensive list of beers and ales! She really knows her stuff!
Neil was driving so it was only 1 small beer for us, plus I’d already had a cheeky glass of Prosecco earlier and didn’t want to end up snoozing on the way home due to the mid-​day booze up and subsequent food coma that followed from the market!
I went for ½ a pint of De Koninck beer from Belgium. A soft and light 5% pale ale that was actually very refreshing! Neil C. ordered ½ a pint of Timmermans Peche, also from Belgium which is a champagne-​like beer with a peach flavouring — I’m going to have this next time as it was lovely.
This is a weird place that scores highly for its originality and highly for its European beer selection! If only I drank more beer!

Interesting place/​décor. Bit dark inside though.
Had beer called Grisette Fruits des Bois which was refreshing. Only 3.5% and tasted like Ribena. And who doesn’t like Ribena!
You could drink a lot of it and not realise you are drinking anything with alcohol in it. Dangerous!

This is such a weird place — especially if you’ve already had a few cheeky ones before you get there and things are starting to look a bit blurry. I was a little suspicious of the dark, seedy-​looking staircase leading down to the bar, not to mention the strange décor (heavy velvet curtains, garish furniture, flickering candles etc). Was I about to pop my ‘massage parlour’ cherry? Thankfully, no. But I have just read on a fellow Unilocaler’s review that it was once a morgue, so that explains a few things *shudders*.
However! This is a bar specialising in Belgian beer and as some of you will know already, I am a HUGE fan of Belgian cherry, raspberry and strawberry flavoured beers — win! The bar is named after one of my favourite cherry beers, ‘Mort Subite’, which translates as ‘sudden death’ — go figure — so as you can imagine, the drinks menu was something of beauty to me, even if it was a bit tatty.
The staff were friendly but as it was a Friday night and the bar was packed to the rafters, service wasn’t as swift as we’d have liked. None of us were hungry at this point in the evening but we thought it best to order something like olives just to keep the stomach lined. Alas, there were no olives and instead we had to make do with two small tubs of Pringles — classy! I’m not sure I would have wanted to eat a more substantial meal here though — and especially now I know why it felt so damn creepy.
Mort Subite is definitely worth a visit but to be honest, I enjoyed some of the other ‘Alty’ bars more than this one. I suppose it would be the perfect venue for a Halloween party though!

Only half a review as I do not feel I have fully experienced the place yet.
We sat down on the chairs on the pavement as it was the end of a beautiful afternoon, had a couple of gorgeous beers from the huge selection, the waitress was very nice and clearly keen for us to try many beers.
We had a peak downstairs and coming from the sunny outside, it will take time for your eyes to adjust to the dark, cosy atmosphere in there.
Considering we’re talking about mainly Belgium beers along with a few other craft beers from other countries, the prices are reasonable and the place looks well maintained. I’ll definitely be back for more to have the full experience.

Mysterious, dark, candlelit — add an Argos-​catalogue-​long-​list of brilliant beers and you’ve got Mort Subite.
I’ve been here a couple of times. It’s tucked away off a main street with only a little sign to identify it by — but it’s well worth searching for. By the time you’ve descended the stairs you feel like you’re in a different country — definitely not what you’d expect to find in a basement in Altrincham.
There only ever seems to be one person serving, but that’s all you need in this place. And she certainly knows her stuff! It’s table service, so you get plenty of time to study the extensive menu. Although sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed by choice and can sense the impatience growing in the waitress — so I often go for whatever she recommends on tap.
It can be expensive, but if you like beer and you’re not afraid of choice — then you should definitely give it a visit.

‘Difficult to find but perhaps more difficult to leave.’ Never has a strapline about a place been more spot on.
After starting in Belgian Bar (see review
) it was thanks to the trusty Unilocal bookmark app… and the small wooden A-​board outside, that we found the Impasse de la Fidélité where the unassuming entrance is and headed down below street level.
At the bottom of the stairs you duck under a thick velvety curtain and into the darkened bar (I’m not joking, it’s really dark in there). You’d expect to be greeted by Morticia Addams or Elvira, Mistress of the Dark such is the creepy, yet inviting atmosphere. I was hoping Thing would scuttle out from behind the bar.
After several minutes your eyes get used to the low light levels and it actually becomes fairly visible down here, so you can check out the quirky paraphenalia.
And so to the beers. With a small number on draught (mostly Belgian), the bulk of their offerings comes bottled. You’ll be spoilt for choice with beers from Belgium, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Scandinavia and the UK.
We lost two, possibly three hours in this place and had some truly gorgeous choices (the highlight was ‘Cuvée Van De Keizer Blauw (Blue)’ from Brouwerij Het Anker in Belgium). So much so that after we left we bought some bottles to take home from Bier Cell (
), which is also owned by the owners of MS.
This place is now firmly in my Top Three all time favourite drinkeries in the country.

Extremely atmospheric but welcoming and lacking pretensions too, this was a lovely beer drinking experience. Friendly & knowledgeable waitresses, a very hospitable owner who took time to introduce himself to us and, of course, a quite amazing selection of beers. We really liked the ambience, the beer menu, and the fantastic beers themselves. Try the Kwak, served in a most unusual glass, and the Liefman’s Kriek.

This old converted morgue in South Manchester manages to retain it’s creepy yet calm atmosphere whilst serving hundreds of different beers to your candle lit table. Very dark and mysterious inside… nice décor and some extremely lethal beers. I’ve been in here for all sorts of occasions… it was even a hit with my parents.
A great place to go if you want to start your night in a bar with a bit of character… which is pretty hard to do in this neck of the woods.

Fantastically opulent belgian beer bar. It’s underground for a start, so that makes you feel like you’re visiting a special secret place. Inside its daed dark, everything is velvet and flock, with antique furniture. It’s table service only, which is a novelty and the beer is listed on an extensive menu with tasting notes — it’s great.