Now that the mayhem of Freshers Week has finally come to a close and the appeal of continuous boozing has begun to wear out, an alternative soirée could be the key to truly bonding with any new amigos you may have made. Manchester, otherwise known as little London, is brimming with alternative nights out to cater for the many hipsters that reside here. As a result, we can, for once, thank these edgy beings for the variety that their presence has inspired.
Funnily enough, the Northern Quarter is home to my favourite out of these hidden gems—Twenty Twenty Two. Although it has some similarities to London’s Ping, this bar and ping pong/beer pong hall serves reasonably priced beverages in a relaxed and charming Mancunian basement. With comfortable leather sofas and table-side bar stools, you can get a great view of the match or just let the relentless ping-ponging fade into the background.
Dog Bowl is yet another popular haunt. If you are not yet familiar with Black Dog Ballroom’s bowling alley, then change that fact immediately. Admittedly, this is a slightly more upmarket venue than Twenty Twenty Two, catering generally to young professionals rather than cash strapped students. However, they do offer a student-friendly price of £4 per game on presentation of a valid NUS card.
Their Tex Mex menu is reasonably priced, however I cannot yet vouch for its quality as I have not had the opportunity to try! Although,with a weekday lunch menu at £5 you can’t go too wrong.
Last but not least, and with the best cure to a hangover allegedly being laughter, make the most of Frog and Bucket’s Monday amateur comedy night Beat The Frog, with free admission for students (a concession price is available on other nights).
You’ll have plenty of inside jokes provided without much brain power on your part! The venue offers basic food such as pizza and burgers. The club boasts performers like Steve Coogan and John Bishop, so who knows what you could discover—sometimes a renowned pro even turns up unannounced at the amateur night.
Voted ‘Best Club in the North’ by the Chortle Awards this year, the worst thing that could happen is that you have a great time heckling some poor soul off of the stage.
