Crown & Anchor, Manchester

This is a pub I'd been in before just over 6 years ago, but hadn't yet reviewed on this site. It's a Holt's house with quite a bit of a nod to food. Quite a few were eating on my Friday lunchtime visit. The bar is split over a couple of levels. I chose a table in the lower level this time around. There are handpulls on both levels, but confusingly they were different. As the lower bar doesn't seem to attract any service, I suspect they hadn't changed the clips for a while. As such, only the 3 regular Holt's beers were on - Bitter, IPA & Two Hoots.

Another decent pub in a good little area. A few Holts beers on so I went for the IPA which was fine. Glad to have called in.

The bar along the rear wall of the Crown & Anchor faces high tables in the centre of the pub and standard tables and chairs under the front windows. This bar extends down into a sunken seating area along the left hand wall. To the right of the entrance is a small seating area. This is a Holts pub so the four hand pumps were drawing Bitter, Two Hoots, IPA and Fools Gold. Standard and premium keg are also available, I decided to have half a lager. For some reason the barmaid also charged me for a splash of cordial adding an extra 10 pence to the cost. Yes it’s only 10p but it’s not really on to be honest. Food is available, I didn’t see any menus, but the kitchen area to the right of the bar has a couple of pizza ovens. During my visit on Wednesday evening last week there was some background music playing whilst Champions League football was muted on the televisions found throughout the pub. There was a bouncer on the door. This isn’t a pub I will be rushing back to.

not bad but not quite as I expected either. serves good Holts Bitter in pleasant modern surroundings but feels like the kind of pub you get in a retail park on the outskirts. and with so many better pubs nearby there's little reason to linger here unless you want to eat.

A decent Holts pub. Large with what amounts to 2 areas. The servery is in the centre of the pub and 6 cask ales can be found on some new fangled pumps which aren't anything like your traditional handpumps. 6 different ales on though not all are Holts beers. A nice pub and arguably the best of the 4 pubs next to each other.