The Alchemist

Wow i loved this place! I visited with a group of friends and my partner for a birthday celebration and for Valentines evening. The whole place was really buzzing and had a great atmosphere, they have just made this place bigger and now have an extended well sized restaurant adjacent to the great bar, The Alchemist is famous for its great innovative cocktails. We all had a great meal and we all had some great cocktails. The whole evening was great and service was spot on plus they have some really good looking waiters!!!

Wide variety of very fun and exciting drinks on the menu. The place is very hipster and I didn’t feel particularly welcomed. The staff was mostly rude but we were there on a busy night. If we find ourselves back in manchester, there’s a good chance we’d stop by again to see if the service was better because the drinks were great and the environment was fun. Probably worth checking out if you are in the area but the service would need to improve before I’d recommend it.

Nice cocktails and definitely entertaining watching the bartenders create them. A little pricey and we struggled for a seat and ended up perched on the bar so was a little disappointed. Was far too busy and noisy — it was a Saturday afternoon though.

Wide variety of dishes on the menu to choose from. I’ve been here many times and have worked my way through most of the menu and am yet to have a bad meal here.
Staff are very helpful — always serving with some banter and a helpful insight into the variety of flavours on offer on the cocktail menu.
Great place for a nice but casual catch up with friends.

This is a nice spot, very cool atmosphere. They had a variety of dishes, I had the fish and chips and the people I was with really enjoyed their meals too. They’ve got a great drink menu and the service was very quick.

Absolutely loved the Alchemist. Ive been here before the extension and this time round was so much better. Load more space.
I had friends come from London fir the weekend and thought i would take them here as the food was tasty and simple. We didnt want a big meal before we went out.
I booked on line about a week before. It was so easy. When we arrived we were shown straight out table. We got a spacious booth. Before the extension the tables were small and cramped.
The girls really enjoyed it. I ordered the steak sandwich with chips. It just melted in my mouth. The other got wraps and salad. They enjoyed theres to. We each got a porn star martini and a screwball. Both were winners. All 5 of us agreed.
The staff were really friendly and helpful. Service was quick we didnt wait long for our food or drinks

Alchemist is a great place to drink after work. It usually busy between 5pm-​8pm most nights, hosting after work drinks and obviously so busy at the weekends. Personally I avoid going on the weekends but since it was friends we decided to go.
They offer a tasteful food menu, the highlight for me was the BBQ Chicken Wings. Now you must be thinking there is nothing big or special about Chicken Wings but the guys at this place do the Chicken Wings spot on.
Would recommend this bar to anyone.

The newly revamped Alchemist is a great place to go for after work drinks and cocktails. The place has been extended meaning it’s more spacious and they have a lovely outdoor area with heaters. The cocktails are very good. I highly recommend the french martini which comes with a tasty foam on top. The service is also good and the bar stylish.

Describe the Alchemist in 3 words you say? Quirky, fun, as-​tasty-​as-​it-​looks (that’s one word right?)
From my first few visits, I had gained a certain perception of this place only being good for cocktails, now albeit they were cocktails I enjoyed and regularly came back for, but cocktails on their own none-​the-​less. Upon further inspection, this may have been down to me only visiting the establishment on the darker side of the watershed but we’ll save that story for another time.
Back to the plot — …I was blind and now I see! Unbeknown to my foolish self, they offer an extensive and extremely tasty food menu, the highlight of which for me was the Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings. Now you may be thinking there’s nothing special or highlightable about Chicken Wings, but when done right there is — and these guys most definitely do Chicken Wings right!
I am really struggling to find minus points despite my determination to not let my taste buds completely sway the vote. I give in, you win Alchemist and you win in style.

Absolutely incredible. Dropped in for a few drinks while visiting friends and was blown away. They had two rounds of the very exciting looking Smokey Old Fashioned — served with actual smoke to create a very smooth whiskey cocktail. I don’t even like whiskey and I enjoyed my sip immensely.
I asked the bartender to suggest something with gin, but not too sweet. The menu was overwhelming, so I put my trust in him and he didn’t steer me wrong! He made me a rosebud cocktail with actual rose petals, a light and flowery gin, and a lovely citrus bite. It was delicious. We had a table outside, with warming lamps on to keep the breezey chill at bay, and while there were a few parties of hens and stags about, they weren’t too rowdy.
We will absolutely return when we’re back in Manchester.

I haven’t tried the food. Drinks: They’re quite good. Really unique cocktails that provide for some flair entertainment from the bartenders as well. Place is semi-​pretentious, and full of dudes trying to impress girls with their cocktail «knowledge». It’s not really a place for mixologists, but still worth a visit.

Very cool space, interesting and unique décor/​ambiance, and OMG their cocktails are, well, OMG! I’m pretty sure their food was great too, but I don’t remember much after having appetizers and a couple or couple of couple of drinks — it was a fun night though, or at least from what I could tell by looking at pictures the next day. HA!

So I do like the Alchemist generally. I think they have a modern quirkiness that is stylish and pitched just right without being Mega chic or pretentious however when it’s a sunny, busy Saturday afternoon in Manchester they could make some micro improvements that would have some macro benefits.
For example maybe not being able to book outside seating in advance is ok but I am sure a manager or front of house person could have some better coordination to avoid the scrabbling people who are like Bulgars when you have seats, trampling over you to get a table is not my idea of a chilled drink in the sun.
Secondly I really think they should consider the table service outside even if there was a minimum charge or an additional charge for table service. The fact the bar is ten deep and all the staff looked frazzled is not a good experience for anyone concerned.
Finally not being able to eat outside is a complete nonsense. Why? Why? Why? So one of our party who hadn’t eaten had to sit inside. Alone. He also received an undercooked burger and spent the next morning on the toilet.
It was very busy and we had a lovely time. Once got served. And got a table. And were all together again.
The pornstar martini are delicious so I would recommend that drink. And some kettle pitcher. That was served in a kettle. Lol. Little tip. Ice in the drink. Not in the kettle. It’s rocket fuel though so dot start too early on them.

Stopped in for dinner after having a drink the day prior. The bartender’s here are great and even in the packed place they were quick to get me the Manhattan I ordered. For dinner, I opted for the Japanese ramen bowl with chicken. When the food was brought out the broth was served separately in a small lab flask with a chunk of dry ice dropped in to create the smoke out of the glass. When the waiter poured in the broth, the whole dish looked smoky, yet hat was very enjoyable!
The dish itself tasted delicious, very fresh tasting, and the broth had a very rich/​full flavor, not at all bland.
Alchemist offers a fun environment, creative drinks, fast and excellent bartenders, and I thought reasonable pricing.

I try my best to avoid this place. I’ll order food but I just end up drinking way too much before my food arrives. Awesome cocktails

I’m a fan of a good cocktail and I found this place to be very impressive indeed. Smallish but very nice décor and great outdoor space for warmer weather. It seems swish and is mildly pouncy given the clientele but has great character. The cocktail range was extensive and the wine was very nice too. I’m adding this to my ‘regular’ list of places to go for a drink in Manchester.

The usual 50% deal in January and always a pleasure to visit this restaurant /​bar. Favourite of mine for some years, but been around a year since my last visit. Can recommend the BBQ Chicken Wings, Steak Frites and Waffles ! Was a Thursday evening so very busy, but this did not have an effect on the service — and have always found the staff attentive and friendly. People were still coming in for food around 9pm, as our group was finishing. Still a popular place.

Compared to Alchemist on New York St, this Alchemist is tiny — but always, always busy.
It’s busy around 5−8pm most nights, hosting after work drinks and so busy at the weekends. Personally, I avoid this bar on Saturday nights. They can only let a certain amount of people in, so you have a good chance of being told to come back in half an hour — which I would never do.
On Tuesday, it wasn’t too busy — and a good place to go out with friends.
The cocktails are always great here, and the bartender gave me extra fizzy cola bottles in my Cola Bottle Libre — which was the highlight of my night! Tequila shots followed. Just an all round fun place to be.
Good bar, Great Drinks.

I’ve never come in here for food but I have visited when bar hopping through Spinningfields on a night out. Great for cocktails and the bartenders know what they’re doing. I order the espresso martinis every time. Can be really busy with the after-​work-​drinks crowd in the early evening but sometimes I find it tapers off later on. Definitely a place where mega heels and skimpy dresses are the norm.

From initial walk in was impressed chilled and laid back. Heard good things just after two pre lunch drinks and wasn’t too expensive £5 ish. Bar staff nice and knowledgable. Would be nice to see names on the beer taps though was quite hard to try and remember them
All when ordering a pint!