The Gateway

Quite a bizarre choice of pub for the CAMRA Manchester Beer & Cider fest awards — basically not city centre, slightly hidden down in Didsbury and being a Wetherspoons it’s fairly bog standard — but this one also does feel pretty rough around the edges and in need of some TLC and some paint!
Being a Wetherspoons it does have a great selection of beers at low low prices as well as being a place for all sorts of people to hang out in, loads of people were watching the rugby when I was there too.
I was driving so wasn’t drinking bus I was disappointed by their selection of non-​alco beers. They sell all sorts of Brewdog’s so why not the Nanny State? That would be a great addition

I visited The Gateway recently with colleagues from work for an impromptu Christmas lunch.
The Gateway is a large pub with plenty of seating, and they’re able to accommodate even large groups of people — we had 6 but the table would have easily seated 8 – 10. They also take reservations if you definitely wanted a table, and for groups you can also order ahead for food if you want. I’m not sure whether this is just the staff at The Gateway being helpful, or whether it’s a Wetherspoons policy, but this was a nice bonus.
The drinks range is fairly standard, though they did have a couple of craft ales on draught — I went for the Devils Backbone, which was a decent enough pint. One thing to note, though, is that Wetherspoons «Craft on Draught» ales aren’t imports — they’re brewed in the UK specifically for the chain to match their US counterparts.
The food menu is pretty extensive, with everything ranging from burgers and hot dogs to classics like fish and chips. There’s also the daily «clubs» which provide either discounts or extra options — Friday being «Fish Friday» for instance. I went for the chilli dog, which came with chips and some onion rings as well as a choice of a drink, so I got the food with my pint for around £7.50.
The chilli dog was nice, and a good portion of food. The hot dog was a large frankfurter type sausage, so for those who don’t like the firmer skin on bratwurst sausages for instance this should be agreeable. The chilli was tasty, if not overly spicy, and the onion rings were well cooked.
All in all, everyone in our party was satisfied with their food and for the price I have no complaints. I’ve given The Gateway an A-​OK ³⁄₅ which, in all honesty, shouldn’t be taken as a negative because it’s a wholly agreeable pub with friendly staff and the service we received was excellent, but it is at the end of the day a Wetherspoons pub and I think a «pub-​by-​numbers» type chain generally tends to get noticed for the sub-​par ones than the good ones.
The Gateway is, then, one of the better Wetherspoons I’ve been to and I could see myself returning if I needed somewhere to get a cheap filling meal and a beer, but not necessarily over an indy venue in Manchester.

One of the nicer Weatherspoons. Plenty of bar staff, good helpful manager if you ever need to escalate any issues. Great offers Sunday roast including a drink for less then £8. food is of a good standard for this type of fayre. If you like a bargain and decent surroundings this fits the bill

The Gateway is a wetherspoons pub and therefore does what it says on the tin.
Pleasant surroundings, cheap drinks and affordable food.
I’ve visited The Gateway on a few occasions as its across the road from my place of work. The staff are always friendly and helpful and the pub itself is clean and nice and there is a large outside dining area (albeit next to a major road).
In the last year they have introduced craft beers and more ciders to their offerings which can only be a good thing. And they offer food deals on different days, friday fish, thursday curry club etc…
The food is ok, it fills a hole, but is never overly enjoyable.
The Caesar salad ordered had the correct components, but there was very little to it. Its a fairly simple dish anyway, but the lack of much chicken meant the dish only really consisted of lettuce. The lettuce was badly prepared also as the chef had left all the browning ends on, which they could have very easily have chopped off to instantly make it a much more presentable dish. My friend who ordered the same thing had an even worse batch of lettuce and when he asked for it to be changed they said they hadn’t any more lettuce as the order hadn’t arrived this morning. So surely the answer would have been to go to tesco across the road, or simply take the option off the menu, rather than serve badly presented, sub standard dishes.
The fish and chips have been pleasant enough and the burger and chips ok, but there’s always that underlining feel of cardboard. But again, if you eat in a wetherspoons you know what you’re getting.
its ok, but no culinary delight