Mint Lounge

When I came here for a Carefully Planned Festival I authoritatively told Ian M. it was my first time, only to have shortly afterwards a flashback to buying several misjudged JD & cokes at the bar. It’s an all right place for a dance and works well as a live music venue too — plenty of stage and standing space. I don’t particularly love the way it looks although as Ian M. pointed out the red strip light is pretty cool. Overall not bad in terms of the dancing options in the NQ, although I would probably choose Guilty by Association.

Haven’t been to Mint Lounge for ages and decided to give their Top of the Pops night a try. As a bit of an Indie fan I wasn’t blown away by the music which was a mixture of old and new pop classics. Although not sure Wham falls into the classic category. The club itself was good, people were friendly and not over pretentious. Drinks prices were also good with wine costing £3 a glass and cocktails £4. Just wish the DJ played a better selection of music, pop doesn’t have to mean cheesy. Would go to Mint Lounge again but on a different night. Maybe try Funkademia.

I’ve never been much of a lover of clubs, so have to admit I wasn’t chomping at the bit to end our night here after starting in ye olde The Old Grapes (see review
) and enjoying the acoustic music in The Oast House (see review
).
Fortunately it was free entry that night as we bumped into some guys giving out flyers on one of the neighbouring streets. Down the stairs we went and into the dimly-​lit bar and dancefloor with its strobe lights on full. Thankfully there were quite a few folk in there (free entry to places you’d normally think would charge send alarms bells ringing that it’d be dead when you get inside).
Cue a few hours of ‘wanton abandon’ (or should that be ‘Dad Dancing’) to some good playlists with a number of visits to the bar, you didn’t have to wait too long to be served and they have a decent selection of choices.
Though it stays open to the wee hours of the morning, by 2am we’d had our fill for one night — a good time was had by all but these places are just not my scene!

Running through my reviews, I felt the need to re-​review Mint Lounge as I had a fantastic night there a couple of weeks back. A group of six of us went down for a friend’s birthday for the Funkademia night again, and this time was much better than last.
It wasn’t as busy (probably because it was bitterly cold), the crowd was less posey and the playlist was amazing. Jackson 5, Amerie, Luther Vandross amazing.
This time we stuck to wine, sharing a £12 bottle which was pretty decent considering most of the drinks prices around the northern quarter. What made the night greater was the good atmosphere in the main room– usually you can get a lot of small groups sitting around tables until around 2 am before it picks up, but everyone was up dancing and it was fun.
I’d definitely go for the next Funkademia, and may even venture out and check out another of their nights…
What can I say, it was mint.

Drinks are overpriced, but the music on Friday night was good. The DJ’s couldn’t mix, but their song choices were pretty fantastic.
Lots of people got out on the dance floor and everybody was just having a good time. This club has a good vibe. Not a generic club at all.

I made my Mint Lounge debut a couple of weeks ago. It was a long-​awaited visit, on my part, and the opportunity finally presented itself with a free Saturday night beckoning me to Funkademia, a night of «hip shakin’ funk, eclectic disco and sweet soul music». And as far as that description goes, boy they produced the goods. I’m the kind of person who has to be restrained if you want to keep me off the dancefloor, but even those who are a bit shy or who secretly think themselves ‘too cool’ would find it difficult to resist shaking their hips to the funk. So far, so very good.
I like that it’s in a basement. What is it about being in a basement that gives a room atmosphere? If someone could explain, I would genuinely like to know, as it works on me pretty much every time! The venue is essentially divided into two rooms, a bar area with a couple of comfy chairs, and a dancefloor. I had to tip-​toe across a fair amount of broken glass on the floor, which didn’t bother me at all, but if you like your places to be prim and proper, this probably isn’t your scene.
Now for the major thumbs down. You know when you go to the till at a shop, and you’re shocked by how expensive something is, but you swallow your pride and just pay, trying not to pull a face at the same time? Well that was pretty much my reaction to the price of the drinks in this place. Maybe I’ve just been spending too much time at student nights, maybe I’ve not spent enough time in the Northern Quarter, whatever it was, my wallet was sorely wounded.
So that’s why this place only gets the three stars. Oh, that and the fact that the toilets are communal… I’ve never been a fan of men pulling a face while I do my lipstick. I’ll be back though, for sure. I’m really intrigued by Friday night’s ‘Clique’…

The Mint Lounge is a truly brilliant little independent venue situated in the bowels of the Northern Quarter. Positioned directly next to Ryan Vintage, the tiny façade opens up into a labyrinth of stairwells and corridors until you find yourself in the dark and wonderful basement. The bar is really good despite being a little pricey, if you arrive early they often have large orbs of potent cocktail on offer but these are quickly parched!
Before my workload truly kicked in this year, I used to regularly attend the Mint Lounge’s best clubnight, Clique. It’s a night with genuinely good music, mixed by one of the loveliest, friendliest DJs you could meet — Damien Johnstone. The night requests punters to ‘dress up for dancing’ and everyone seems more than happy to oblige! It does attract quite a hipster crowd but it is definitely not elitist and the music and atmosphere seem to draw crowds from all walks of life. It’s a great place to come for birthdays as it’s relatively small and so there’s little chance of losing people.
They also have visitations from guest DJs including Foals, CSS and Florence and the Machine. These nights draw in particularly large crowds but are definitely worth your while as the dance floor is always heaving and the atmosphere is buzzing. I have to warn you though that the bouncers are rather po-​faced — whatever you do don’t remove your shoes!

Mint Lounge has been home to many of my recent nights out. It just doesn’t attract those annoying student types I’m just not in the mood for anymore. Expect a mix of the glamorous, fun loving, music loving cool kids in this place. Those who I seem to be able to always knock back a bit of random conversation with.
The two club nights are Clique on a Friday and Funkademia on a Saturday both come recommended. Clique has been described as «Manchester’s 21^st Century disotheque playing alternative dance, electropop and digital disco» and has been voted Manchester’s best club night many a times by the MEN. Funkademia, as you can probably guess, is more about the soul, funk and grooves.
Mint Lounge has been accredited by Mix Mag as one of the COUNTRY’s top ten clubs (2007). Not even just in Manchester. I’m not sure about that, for purely the bathroom situation. I’m just not a fan of checking out my shine in front of the bloke I had my eye on, or coming out of a loo along with a trail of toilet paper to find a mass of men and women trying not to smirk at me. It’s bad enough in the girl’s only toilets.
I quickly get over this slight glitch and frequent the place more often than any other of Manchester’s offerings I must admit. Watch out for special nights and guest djs, Hot Chip recently made an appearance, was tres bon to say the least.

It’s almost hard for me to take the name ‘Mint Lounge’ seriously considering we Mancunians describe cool things as ‘mint’. ‘Ah reet, that’s a mint lounge that is.’ I very much doubt that’s where the name came from but one can only dream.
Situated, and typically quite hidden on Oldham Street, it can be difficult to find but it’s not alone. Nearby The Northern, Night and Day and Dry Bar complement it and since Thomas Street is getting so crowded and prettier by the day, it makes sense to branch out a little in this rough n’ ready stretch of road.
Heading down into a basement it feels both cool, underground and kind of sleazy at the same time, and rather like the porridges and beds Goldilocks tried, it’s not too big, it’s not too small, it’s just right. A capacity of 500 means decent events but an intimate enough vibe not to feel like you’re in a gargantuan warehouse club. Some chairs and tables are dotted around near the bar to add an atmosphere of comfort — in some other clubs you’d feel odd sitting down but not here.
There’s a huge variety of nights here. Music sets the Mint Lounge apart and the club showcases the likes of hip hop, electro, house, drum and bass, dubstep and funk. My friends always talk about how much they love Hit and Run and the clubnights here are some of the most popular in Manchester. DJs guest here, and there are live gigs aplenty. It’s relaxed, and people don’t tend to get dressed up to the nines to come here — it just ain’t that kinda place.
And it happens to be one of the few places in Manchester, especially the city centre, that you can get Caribbean soul food. Rice and peas, jerk chicken, curry goat, all the classics in big portions served from 5−11pm on a Sunday. Drink wise it’s not the cheapest place in Manchester and the drink deals are likely to be during the week, but beers are bottled and you can get the likes of Fruhli, Peroni, Corona, Modello, and cocktails between £3 and £6 which vary as widely as the clientele; some classics, some creative.
It’s definitely for the more discerning clubber, and it is mint in the Mancunian sense of the word.

Mint Lounge is definitely for revellers in the know. Head here for Funkademia on Saturdays and, especially, the crazy dressed up to the nines in a fabulous indie way Clique on Fridays. Its their electro disco and feels really exciting when you’re there. They’ve had loads of cool musicians DJ just to add to this vibe and the music is always cracking.
If you want to be part of a scene and rub shoulders with a few lesser known celebs (the ones your friends will have heard of though), get down to Mint Lounge on a weekend. It isn’t too expensive but you don’t come here to count pennies put it that way.

By day, Mint Lounge is a small unassuming doorway, and judging by its tacky signage, you might think twice about spending your night there. Not all books should be judged by their covers though, and this is especially true for Mint Lounge.
You’ll often find a queue outside Mint Lounge on the weekends, revellers eagerly anticipating a night of soul, funk, jazz and electric disco. There’s a couple of bar rooms and a main dance floor which gives off an underground vibe. They also have live bands playing here and the entry prices are reasonable — from £4−7 depending on the night and how early you arrive. Although I have to agree with James that ‘Nish Nash Nosh’ was a tragic loss, I do love Funkademia equally.

I don’t think this place was really my crowd – at least the night I went was all drum and bass and it costs like 8 pounds to get in.
I got kicked out of here at like 4 in the morning though, and it was hilarious.

The Mint Lounge is a great venue hidden beneath the pavement of Oldham Street.
It has a big ol’ dancefloor with added cool little snugs and the like, with a big unisex toilet. How achingly modern and progressive.
Thankfully, Mint Lounge isn’t frequented by oddballs and nutters and generally has a friendly crowd in tow. There’s clubnights and gigs on offer, although not so much with the latter. The sound is great and the staff are friendly enough if I little fashionably disaffected.
Alas, one drawback is that sometimes, they seem to have a policy of nixing very popular (and good) nights in favour of less popular ones. Maybe there’s a little of that famous Mancunian nepotism creeping in… sticking your mate’s night on at the expense of a good one?
Of course, that’s pure conjecture. It’s a fine little place to spend an evening. Try it if you haven’t already.