Sams Chop House, Manchester

Worth experiencing - an old school opulent restaurant/pub. Drop down the steps to a round bar and drinking area with a full on windowless restaurant at the rear. JW Lees house, with some guests. I went for a Summit Iconic on cask. Decent. Also worth eating here - the corned beef hash is much celebrated. Was it worth the £19.95? Probably not.

An atmospheric cellar bar and a Manchester institution,this JW Lees house has a drinking section arranged around the semi circular servery and then a rear restaurant down a step .There is a dishevelled life size seated statue of Lowry propping up the bar,nooks and crannies and many original features. The ales are dotted about the bar ,on my trip all from JW Lees with a house Sam's Special Bitter,Manchester Pale Ale,Founders and from their Boilerhouse brand Twin Fire masquerading as a "guest". I'm no fan of JW Lees ale so wouldn't target the pub for that reason,but it's worth a quick squint for the histotical interest.

Steps from the entrance lead past a snug down to Sam’s Chop House bar where a life size statue of Lowry sits. I was one of two customers during a recent Tuesday evening visit, the other customer was facing Lowry which I found a little odd. Premium keg and Carlsberg were available alongside three hand pumps that were drawing JW Lees MPA, Sam’s Special Bitter and Boiler House Golden Mild. On the right wall opposite the bar is a fireplace and up the right is split-level seating. In the left rear is a dining area. On most walls are interesting caricatures that are worth a look. The lack of customers meant there was no atmosphere so maybe I’ll revisit at a busier time.

this is a rather classy historic pub down a back alley with a nice atmosphere, full of smartly dressed couples. it’s a little more spacious and less stuffy than Mr Thomas but it still does feel a little up its own arse with ridiculous jazz coming out of the speakers and a menu that looks more fine dining than pub. the Lees bitter was on form though and I liked the pub despite everything.

One of three 'Chop House' venues in Manchester, this is a historic old bar and restaurant dating back to 1872. The venue is slightly sunken from street level, with steps leading down to a flagstone floored bar area which sees a lovely curved dark wood servery on the back wall with a fine pillared bar back which bears the pub's name on an end plate. The room has a smart vaulted ceiling which was unfortunately obscured by various Six Nations flags on this visit. There is a nice seating area to the left of the bar under etched glass windows with some comfy looking furniture available and walls decorated with a series of caricatures which can be viewed at various points throughout the pub. There is standing room only opposite the bar but a large seating space appears to the right where a few tables have been arranged in front of a large fireplace and many more in a raised dining space at the far end of the room. Here you can admire the decorative ceiling in full, unimpeded by any flags, whilst there is a nice frieze running around this part of the room. The space has dimmed lighting, which makes it quite atmospheric and a traditional feel is enhanced by the presence of a number of old oil paintings. Moving towards the rear from the bar area, you will find a smart back room with some top quality panelling and a great tiled floor. There are mainly standard dining tables in this room, but some smart booths behind the bar area offer nice secluded spots for a bite to eat. The pub was famously a regular haunt for the artist LS Lowry and in a nice nod to this, there is a life size statue of him sat on a stool at the bar. The pub seems to have links to the JW Lees brewery, with their beers dominating the handpulls. On this occasion the options were MPA, Bitter, Rhys' Remedy and Sam's Special plus a Marco Pierre White beer. The MPA was £3.30 a pint and in decent shape. I certainly enjoyed supping this beer on a stool next to Lowry. This is a nice characterful bar that perhaps leans a little more to the dining side but still provides a smart bar area and some comfortable seating options in which to enjoy well kept local beer. The tribute to Lowry is a fun and a good draw for tourists and I thought there was a nice atmosphere within which would encourage me to return and to check out their other venues.