Piccadilly Tap, Manchester

Handy for Piccadilly station either when arriving or waiting to depart Manchester.The frontage of the bar doesn't leap out at you being in the middle of a number of shopping experiences, indeed I initially walked straight past it. Inside it's a rather charmless open space with a long two sided counter to the rear. There was plenty of craft options in keg up on the wall board, with just 3 available on cask, I had a perfectly fine Shindigger West Coast Pale. The toilets are upstairs as is another seating area, however this was even more bland than the downstairs area. A functional and convenient place with some decent beer, but I couldn't warm to it.

Bloomsbury Leisure ale and craft beer outlet in the parade of small shops under the 'Lazy S' office blocks on the main approach to Piccadilly station, so very handy if waiting for a train. Features a 'U'-shaped counter, an impressive row of taps on the bar-back and a chalkboard beer menu on a side wall. Not a lot of seating in the bar, but there is also an upstairs room and a little pavement space outside. On my first visit I found six cask beers (including the Great Heck Voodoo Mild, £3.60) and 16 keg offerings.