MC Joey Bones was on the mic, margaritas were in hand, and boy, were we ready to quiz. Back in January, The Blues Kitchen launched their weekly Tuesday night pub quiz with — wait for it — a whopping £500 bar tab for the winning team! With an array of levelled-up pub-grub, and the beauty of Tequila Tuesday making for £6 margaritas, The Blues Kitchen are offering a quiz like no other.
Rounds differ from the traditional ‘general knowledge, sports, music…’ rundown, with quirky (and some questionable) themes. Questions like “which of these three female celebrities had a sex tape leaked?” raised eyebrows at some tables but drew heated debate from others. Meanwhile, a round identifying headlines by The Sun was right up the street of our table of esteemed student journalists.
But of course, we couldn’t quiz on an empty stomach, so chicken burgers, cheeseburgers, fries, and popcorn squid filled our possibly too-small table, as we put pen to paper during the introductory picture round. Set with the task of naming famous duos masked by orange dreadlocks (we were just as confused as you), we confidently identified half of the sheet, docking the rest on the grounds of our unfortunate youth.
Unfortunately, service was on the slower side, as food began to arrive mid-quizzing, and so questions were answered between mouthfuls. This is however not to say that staff weren’t friendly and attentive, with a hand raising system, to order drinks, introduced before questions kicked off. Our deduction was that for this to run smoother, a few more people may need to be on shift for quiz night.
When the food did arrive, it was welcome, but a tad underwhelming. The chicken burger was juicy and well-seasoned, with a sweet, sticky sauce making for a pleasant blend of flavours, and sandwiched with a brioche bun. It was certainly on the higher end, as chicken burgers go, but for £14.50 we decided it may be worth eating at home, before heading out, in order to minimise the bill.
The cheeseburger followed a similar route, priced at a steep £15, with the general consensus being that it didn’t quite meet the usual standard of The Blues Kitchen’s food, and so was just okay. Overall, there was an underwhelming feeling, and while the sides of fries, as crispy and seasoned as they were, were an uplifting addition to the meal, they were not enough of a saving grace to justify having your dinner alongside the quiz.
If you are peckish, however, a small plate may not go amiss. Popcorn squid (£9.75), garnished with red chillies and shards of spring onion were a welcome snack, offering tender squid, encased with a crunchy, spicy batter. Paired with the sweet citric notes of the Tommy’s margaritas, the squid’s saltiness was a delightful savoury snack, and while still reaching prices that don’t particularly align with the student budget, it was a tasty treat.
As the evening continued on, comparisons were made to Millennial favourite, Bingo Lingo, as audience interaction and a slightly prolonged bit about a ‘creepy uncle’ peppered the quiz. Quickfire rounds involved random topics like travel agents and boob jobs, stimulating a resurgence of the eyebrow raises, but injecting moments of competitive energy amidst longer rounds.
Coming squarely in the middle amongst around 30 teams, having lost a larger than anticipated number of points during the ‘guess this song from the 80s that has been covered on panpipes, for an oddly Medieval feel’, margaritas were finished, and consoling cigarettes were lit as we agreed that it had been an “interesting night out”.
With some calling the SU’s own Dizzy Quiz “a bit too loud”, Withington’s Victoria pub quiz not quite shaping up to DJ Billy’s offerings, and The Great Central’s quiz meaning you have to set foot in a Wetherspoons, a perfect pub quiz is yet to be discovered in Manchester. So, give The Blues Kitchen a go, if you’re looking for something different, and who knows? Maybe that £500 bar tab could just be yours.
The Blues Kitchen’s pub quiz is every Tuesday at 7pm, with tickets available at £3 per person; book here to reserve your table.
