The Beagle, Manchester

The bar in the right front corner of the Beagle supports 15 craft keg products, three on the bar and twelve on the back bar, as well as three hand pumps. During a recent Wednesday evening visit one of these was unused which left Thornbridge’s Jaipur and an offering from Squawk Brewery as the cask ale options. The glass frontage opens up when the weather permits. There is seating throughout at street level and up the stairs found at the rear. There was some background music playing. I found the service to be polite, but I didn’t really click with this place so do not plan to return.

Visited on Saturday evening. This is bigger than many of the Chorlton bars and appears to have a wrap-around conservatory extension to enhance that space. At the bar I noted five cask ales (one cider) ranging from £4.00 to £5.20 a pint, and 12 keg beers ranging from £4.30 to £6.40 a pint. Food is served. It looked like they had just had a Hawkshead tap takeover so their beers did dominate on cask. Both the ones I sampled were good. We managed to get a seat, which was most welcome after the previous few bars being standing room only. I'd happily go back to this one.

Interesting mis-match of a place that is a little different from the cafe bar culture of most venues in Chorlton. Various quirky areas for seating. Nice real ale choice but a little expensive & perhaps too hip.

Official site of the Beagle - www.beaglesabout.com

This bar has an L shaped room at the front and a further room at the rear. There's a very large veranda at the front for alfreso drinking & dining when it's warm enough. There are a few comfy settees and chairs along with a couple of bar stools. I was made to feel instantly at home by the chatty, friendly barmaid. 5 cask ales available and a number of craft kegs taps on the rear wall. A blackboard behind the bar tells you what's available. I had a pint of First Chop AVA which was in top condition. The Beagle logo is called Jeremy which I found amusing. This is a cracking little bar and I could have spent ages here, but the rest of the crawl beckoned. I will definitely be back here, probably with Ms CAMRA.

Official site of the Beagle - www.beaglesabout.com

Went to the new Scotts Hill bar and restaurant over the opening weekend. The menu offers small, medium and large plates so for a formal sit down meal i had a medium plate and a large plate. The medium plate was an amazingly different and tasty dish of tandoori paneer - so delicious i asked everyone on my table to try it to see what they thought. It was a very generous portion for what i considered a starter. I then had the seabass with herb risotto as the large plate or main dish, this was again a good portion size and really well cooked. The risotto wasn't gloopy or over done and the fish was cooked to perfection. Great sav blanc to go with the meal. Although i was part of a larger group the atmposphere was spot on and well balanced for both couples and groups. Living locally in Chorlton its great to see a brand new option with well cooked and different offerings. Would recommend all to give it a try!