Calico!, Manchester

Chatting with the barman I gleaned that Allotment became Herd Northern Quarter about six months ago. There is a small square central bar that supports eight premium keg. I went for half a Blue Moon and a massive slice of orange that set me back £3.10. I didn’t note the presence of any handpumps, but my visit was very late on a recent Wednesday evening so I may have missed them. The wooden décor is very comfortable with seating around the bar and exterior walls. I didn’t spot a television, but there was some disco music playing in the background. I found the service to be very friendly and this was one of the better places I visited during my crawl of the area, which isn’t saying much to be honest.

Facebook page of Herd Northern Quarter - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Herd Northern Quarter - www.facebook.com

Official site of Herd Northern Quarter - herdnq.co.uk

Official site of Herd Northern Quarter - herdnq.co.uk

Rather non-descript from outside, inside is a totally ball game, It's very quirky with a rustic, yet modern feel, the theme is that of a horticultural garden shed type thing,a multi area-ed room the furniture is of robust plain wood,there are trellis archways through an open garden gate leading to a couple seating areas, adourned with ivy and wisteria,other greenery and flowers are randomly scattered about the place, plastic but convincing,exposed brick walls and some distressed paintwork add to the overall feel.The fairy lit bar frontage is clad in corrugated iron roofing. Three pumps on the bar itself,Nightjar Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Blackjack The Pokies were keeping strange company with Greene King IPA, two out of three ain't bad. The music played at decent level was eclectic , from the 70's, 80's and 90's but to my general taste. A different but really good pub.