The Angel, Manchester

The new builds looming over the pub only highlight the peeling external plaster and down at heel external appearance. Inside, its fine - all traditional pub seating and wooden floors. Good beer guide 2019 entry and you can pop in on the way to the more celebrated Marble Arch. On a Sunday Tea Time, the number of hand pulls outnumbered punters 3-1. 10 ales on. None heard of. Samples provided. Acceptable condition.

This area of Manchester on the edge of the Northern quarter has undergone a lot of change since I was last in the Angel many years ago so it was very good to still find it hanging on in area that has been completely remodelled in recent years. It still looks a bit tatty from the outside, but inside is a fine Ale house with a fine selection of ales of differing styles as can be seen as reported by Moby below on the recent PuG crawl. I went for the Stout Keith and very good it was too.

Looks a bit tatty on the outside, inside as BF describes below, it was quite busy on a Friday early pm so a good sign for a pub There was actually 13 handpumps with a good range of beers, just a couple of pumps being vacant,the house beer was Angel Ale brewed by Howard Town,Hawkshead Windermere Pale,Farm Yard Haybob, Howard Town Super Fortress,Prospect Gold Rush, Mallisons Barbe Rouge,Fell Tinderbox IPA,from the Keith Brewery were Hungry Keith, Pale Keith and Stout Keith, there was also Angel Cider on hand pump but no Idea who by. It is certainly an OK pub and although I didn't Warm to it as much as Mr Fastard seemed to Its well worth a look.

As others have said, from the outside it doesn't look much but it is much better inside. Fairly open plan, with what feels like two distinct sections to me - a more comfortable arrangement of tables and chairs in front of the bar leading down to a nice fireplace, then the area to the side of the bar leading to the patio doors which feels more basic and a little run down with evidence of leaks and damp that could probably do with some attention. The real ale selection is a very pleasant surprise for such an unassuming looking pub, with 11 pumps for real ale and 2 for real cider, and only one of each being off at the time of my visit a couple of weekends ago. Normally the place is pretty busy and getting a seat can be a struggle, in fact even making your way through the crowd to the bar can be tricky, but worth the effort. For some reason Manchester seemed pretty quiet on bank holiday weekend so we managed to get a seat in the better area in front of the bar on Saturday night. As ever a good selection of real ale to choose from with a variety of styles meaning something for everyone.

Funny one this. Located down a less-than-lovely road and looks a bit battered from the outside. Inside is a pub of two halves – a straightforward locals pub in terms of clientele but with a baby grand piano in situ. The interior is L shaped with a varnished floor and boxed wood ceiling. Main reason for visiting was the ale - 13 pumps with (perhaps sensibly) seven on which were a mix from Liverpool Organic, Howard Town, Kelham Island and Plain. No complaints about my Howard Town Shining Clough. A decent, if odd, place with a tidy ale range. Worth a visit but as stated by PSM below, it’s got too much of an identity crisis to make for an essential experience.

A very unassuming pub from the outside but once in you are presented with 13 handpumps serving both real ale and cider. The interior is described elsewhere. Inside the pub is sort of zig zag. A very good pub.