Jolly Carter, Manchester

I was met at the door of the Jolly Carter by a bloke who was dishing out pink wristbands, I imagine it had something to do with being FA Cup final day. The entrance is faced by an L-shaped bar counter that supports standard and premium keg. Seating runs across the front windows to the right of the entrance and there is some open plan seating in the right side of the pub. To the rear of the bar is a snug with a couple of large tables. Upbeat music was being supplied via Kiss FM which was on the multiple screens throughout. The crowd was a lot younger than me and I got the feeling that the doors probably close quite late. In the smaller left-hand side of the pub is a pool table, and rear exit that leads to a long half grass and half AstroTurf beer garden. The high fence that runs between the garden and the passing car and tram traffic offers no screening so it felt like we were all in a zoo for all passers-by to gawp at. This isn’t somewhere I’ll be rushing back to.

This is an old looking pub from the outside with mullioned windows, however inside it's been ripped out and is one large room with an island bar. I remember this pub from many years ago when it was two rooms, a taproom and a lounge and it served Chesters Dark Mild. These days there's just a sea of fizz on the bar. There's a pool table in the left hand side. There are a number of picture frames without pictures for some reason. There was also a large old dog wandering around, I don't know whether he's the pub dog or belongs to one of the regulars though. It's a pleasant enough pub that is far too big for the number of customers on my Friday evening visit.