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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Jack in the Box, Manchester
Manchester
M4 5BU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Jack in the Box
Smithfield Meat Market has been converted into an area of food stalls around the perimeter with bench seating below the impressive glass roof suspended by huge iron columns the length of building know as Mackie Mayor.
It was in this context that Blackjack Brewery set up a bar ,with seating around the side entrance opposite the Smithfield pub.The mission was to showcase some of the highest quality real ales alongside the multitude of street food vendors trying to do the same with their food offerings.It's all very hip and trendy ,quite hectic but there is an upstairs verandah overlooking the crowd below,plus the seating by the bar entrance is calm enough.
Choose your ale and wander around,the choice from the bar was from 8 handpumps their own Jack in the Box Pale (very fine),Five Points Railway Porter,Six O Clock Split Shift,Siren Yulu,Anarchy Brew Boot Boys,DDH Pale,Blue Sky Plateau,Wild Weather Cry of the Upstarts and Harbour Cornish Bitter.
Given the range,worth including on a real ale crawl but don't expect a real pub experience,this is bar life.
On 13th October 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2936 recommendations about 2936 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about Jack in the Box
Ooer! This place is all things to all people. What looks like a small pub is actually a large pub/restaurant/street food/wine bar/you name it it wants to be it place. Once inside you are greeted with an interesting bar with 8 handpulls. After this promising start it all goes downhill rapidly. Walk past this first bar you suddenly hit a huge open area with a wine bar/cocktail bar and several 'street food' counters. It looks good and if money isn't a problem then its great. For me, lots of or lack of money, its just an overblown load of nonsense. Impressive on first visit but better and cheaper places nearby, including the Marble.
On 12th August 2018
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about Jack in the Box
This is a bar owned by Blackjack brewery in the Mackie Mayor building which used to be Smithfield meat market and houses a variety of food outlets, this bar and a wine merchants. It's all very nicely done and the upstairs balcony can be hired for private and corporate functions. It's all quite shabby chic and atmospheric and it's great to see another classic building back in use. The bar itself usually stocks two or threes beers from Blackjack and several guest ales.
On 1st June 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3286 recommendations about 3196 pubs]