Affleck & Brown is a bar in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Housed in the Smithfield building which was once the location of the Victorian department store of the same name. Enjoy cocktails, beers, wines and coffee.
An insanely committed seven-nights-a-week, Creatures of the Night Comedy Club opens its doors (20.30-22.30 typically, though please check) for evening after evening of side-splitting comedy.
from £5.00
Every Monday night upstairs at Fierce Bar, The Comedy Vault hosts an outrageously funny open-mic night. Come and try your hand or just to watch and laugh.
free entry
Join in the celebration of creative communities in the heart of Manchester with MCDC’s new exhibition ‘Connecting Spaces’.
free entry
Beat the Frog is a legendary amateur comedy night, taking place each and every Monday. Many famous names prove it’s the real deal.
free entry
Rock-informed, techno-adjacent musical collagists Moin perform at Band on the Wall this spring.
from £16.50
Band on the Wall bring people together to make, as well as watch, music. Join them to learn folk tunes from all over the world.
Dance a Céilí with Altogether Otherwise as part of their singing and dancing months in May and June.
free entry
Get hands on with the decks in this funk and soul superstar DJ workshop from BBC Radio 6’s Ailsa.
free entry
Located on Manchester’s Hilton Street, in the heart of the Northern Quarter, Vinyl Revival is a piece of Mancunian music history.
Comic book and pop culture superstore in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Somehow the only tapas bar in the Northern Quarter, Evuna is where it’s at for traditional Spanish grub and damn fine drinks.
This small shop has “Northern Quarter” stamped all over it, from its “potting shed”-feel to its bunting for sale and unusual selection of potted-up plants.
A Northern Quarter tea room with a vintage flavour. Dining out in Manchester? One of our fave places for afternoon tea is the retro-styled Sugar Junction
The UK’s first grilled cheese restaurant and already something of a Mancunian icon.
Barbarella is a barber shop and part of the long-standing Pop Boutique vintage shop.
Independent cafe in Manchester’s bustling Northern Quarter. Perfect if you’re looking for high-quality homemade produce.
One of the oldest vintage shops in the Northern Quarter (opened here in 1994), Pop is set out across two floors and racks up a cafe, barber’s and basement furniture section, as well as its own label and good-as-new originals – all for very reasonable prices.
Charming diner featuring a range of international dishes, based in the heart of the Northern Quarter. The place to go for brunch on Tib Street.
Primely located on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter, Cass Art Manchester offers a vast selection of high-quality art materials at affordable prices.
Selina NQ1 is a creative and charming yet sophisticated hotel in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.
We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.
We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.
With these lighter, brighter days and warmer temperatures, it's really starting to feel like summer here in the North West!
Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring.
Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.
Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month
Live scores, midnight movies and the latest from Wes Anderson are just some of our upcoming film highlights.
