The Hare and Hounds

I love this spot.
Cheap but delicious cask ales.
Quiet, so you can chat with your mates.
Nice bartenders.
Great traditional décor.
Perfect.

How strange. In my third year of university I began writing a story inspired by university life, and the pub everyone went to was called The Hare and Hounds. In fact there’s been a real Hare and Hounds here in Shudehill all this time and I’d never realised it. Probably because I didn’t have much reason to go to Shudehill back then, but there we have it.
Well shame on me, because this is one of the oldest pubs in Manchester. It’s in the Northern Quarter, but think of it as something of an alternative to it, because while the majority of the NQ is dedicated to quirks and boho vibes and artsiness with just the right amount of scruff and a few airs and graces, pretension ends here. This is about as down to earth as you can get. You’ll find old men by the door (the front door of which is adjacent to both pawn and porn shops and apparently what is one of Manchester’s most famous and discreet brothels… mmm, local culture) smoking pipes and cigarettes, and if you can muster up the bravery to walk past them, it’s worth it. This place is soaked in character in the same way the likes of the King’s Arms in Salford is, with a legendary Karaōke night full of geriatrics crooning along to Frank Sinatra and cheap drinks aplenty.
The food is as down to earth as the place — decent, honest and simple. With friendly staff and live music upstairs sometimes, this pub is about as central as you can get and definitely worthy of a few visits. Practise your gruff voice and start whinging about ‘the youth of today’ and you’ll fit right in, squire.

The Hare and Hound is indeed a traditional English pub, and its location could not be any more peculiar, next to Rambo’s Tattoo Studio. Step inside, and you will find a whole wall covered with watercolour prints of hunting scenes, as befits the name of the pub. It gets busy on the weekends, and on an odd day it is possible to see someone walking in wearing a fancy dress.

The Hare and Hound is a traditional old fashioned pub located in the Northern Quarter just of Shudehill tram stop. Although it’s quite a popular pub it’s not as popular a pub as some of the others in the area. The Northern Quarter is quite trendy these days but this pub resembles a traditional English pub with a very nostalgic feeling, probably not the best place if you’re up for a lively night out in town. Its idea if you just want to relax with a few mates and have some drinks. The pub itself has a good atmosphere but you do get the feeling that lot of people that drink there a local and regulars, the décor is very football related and the walls are covered in Manchester memorabilia, I have never been at the weekend but it was reasonably quiet when I have been mid week, there were posters on the walls advertising live bands at the weekend so I’m guessing it might be quite popular. Definitely worth popping in for a drink if you are in the area