Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Reviewing milestone with ETA
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Crown & Kettle, Manchester
Ancoats
Manchester
M4 5FE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Crown & Kettle
An impressive facade but inside the pseudo-gothic interior is a quite a dump with a high ceiling that's falling down (falling masonry is caught in a net hung underneath!), gloomy lighting and oppressive poo brown walls. There’s a rear room with a makeshift wood frame and plywood wall. Apparently there was also a third room that I didn’t discover that sounds less terrible. All-in-all, it was drinking in a squat. Still, there were a number of ales on, 8 in total. The two we tried - Mobberley Moari and Blackjack both smelt odd and tasted like they’d been aspirated beyond their normal shelf-life. Had to dodge a group of powdered locals on our way out. Really bad, there’s no way I’d go back while it’s in this state. I know it re-opened after a long period of closure after a fire but that was 12 years ago, so I’m not going to give it the sympathy vote that some others do. Reminded me a bit of the Bree Louise in that many ales at the bar does not necessarily equate to a good pub.
On 1st February 2017
- rating: 4
[User has posted 5107 recommendations about 5090 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Crown & Kettle
Built around the turn of the 19th Century, this Grade II listed building was remarkably lost to the pub-going world for sixteen years following a fire, before eventually reopening in October 2005 after some major restoration work by English Heritage. The pub has a slightly unusual layout, with a large open main bar to one side and two smaller, darker rooms on the other side of the bar. The main bar area has dark floorboards, a dark wood servery and half panelled walls with both the top and bottom half painted in the same dark shades, all of which creates a bit of a gloomy appearance. The pub is rightly famed for its magnificent, ornate ceiling, which was sadly a victim of the aforementioned blaze and now has a safety net suspended beneath it to protect customers from falling masonry. There are two fabulous period chandeliers on show as well, but sadly they are flanked by the empty sockets which two more of their kind would have previously occupied. The room has lots of vertical drinking space, but standard tables and chairs have been arranged around the perimeter of the room, under the modern, stained glass windows with crown motif that provide some much needed light. An old pub sign hangs inside, to the left of the entrance and next to it was one of several TV screens showing live football. The walls have been decorated with lots of interesting bits of historical information and elsewhere there are blackboards detailing some of the beers available. Of the two side rooms, the front one was similarly styled to the main bar and also had access to the servery, with a few more standard tables and chairs dotted around. The rear room was marginally nicer and had a nice fireplace at one end.
The ale range on arrival looked pretty impressive, with the pump clips giving the choice between Tickety Brew Table IPA, Tweed Black Shire Stout, Wadworth Henry's IPA, Lincoln Imperial Ale, Ossett Silver King, Thornbridge Jaipur and Axholme Spiced Pumpkin Mild. However, in the time it took me to drink an excellent pint of the Stout, this range had remarkably depleted to just the two ales, despite only a modest crowd in attendance. One poor old boy trying to order a round for three people found that all of the beers they were drinking had since been taken off and having then asked his companions to pick an alternative, returned to find that this had gone off as well! Having recently been named CAMRA Greater Manchester Pub of the Year 2015, this seemed like bad timing, with customers adding the pub to their itineraries based on the award, expectations are bound to be high and failure to provide a good selection of ales won't go down well. The bar staff coped well with a lot of inevitable grumbling and were very personable and happy to chat with the barfly's in between serving customers.
I wasn't that impressed with this place and thought it was a strange set-up with limited seating and drab décor. The good beer certainly helped make up for things, but I'm glad I didn't arrive 30 minutes later, otherwise I would have been even more disappointed. It would be nice to think that the extra business the pub gets in the wake of the CAMRA award might allow them to finish restoring the ceiling and perhaps sort out the gloomy paint job. I'd give this place another try and it works well as part of a crawl, but with other superior pubs a short walk away, you have to wonder how they scooped the big prize this year.
On 26th November 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about Crown & Kettle
The pub occupies a prominent corner site a couple of doors down from the iconic former Daily Express building. The ground floor has gothic looking double storey height windows which are matched in line upstairs by smaller versions. Inside there are three rooms, you enter to the main bar, to the right is a smaller room labelled as the cider vault. Both rooms link through to the rear via a snug which has a shelf of books and whisky bottles.
Despite obviously once being a place of grandeur the pub these days feels rather basic, the floorboards are well worn, brown walls, exposed brick at the back. A few bits of interest, a pair of old very faded maps, a nice hand written letter of appreciation from some old boy and lots of old pictures of the pub through the years. Seating is pretty basic too, old school style chairs at a number of small tables.
Much has been said about the high ceiling, the area over the main bar is in a right old state as are the chandeliers and arches over the bar, so much so that netting is provided to prevent chunks of it falling on the drinkers below. The ceiling over the cider room is better and looks to have had a bit of an attempt to restore and repaint it. The story I heard was that there was serious football disorder in here in 1989 resulting in a fire bomb, the consequences being the fire and subsequent water damage. It seems a shame that it cannot or will not be restored.
The pub nowadays is aimed squarely at the real ale and cider drinker. Nine handpumps of which eight were on, Brains IPA, Daleside Porter, Charnwood Salvation, Lincoln Imperial Blonde, Adnam's Lighthouse, Oakham JHB, Ossett Silver King and Temperence Street Body Snatcher. The chalkboard over the bar lists the bottles in the fridge, around 30 of them, an eclectic selection. I couldn't fathom the cider dispense, maybe there are boxes somewhere. This is not a food pub apart from snacks and pork pies but the barmaid was helpful in directing a couple of blokes to a recommended curry house.
It's many many years since I've been in here, part of me thinks it used to be one room but perhaps my memory is fuddled, a great beer pub which I wish could be fully restored to former glories.
On 18th November 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about Crown & Kettle
A very good pub beer wise. 9 handpumps deliver a varied style of beers. The other taps are used for interesting so-called craft stuff. 3 roomed though the bar area is basic. Sadly the piped music was deadly dull Pink Floyd rubbish for my visit this time. An interesting place if you're this part of Mancland.
On 4th November 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Crown & Kettle
A highly unusual looking pub both inside and out,reminiscent of a church with a very high ornate ceiling.The netting has caught a lot of loose plasterwork and once where there were four chandeliers,today only two remain.The layout is quirky too with a standard tap room to the front,wooden floor and standard furniture with a windowless snug to the left with it's own fireplace and bar access and around a corridor a vault bar ,again with it's own serving area.Continuing the church theme there is an electric organ housed in a booth near the vault.
The tap room has some interesting artifacts about the pub over the years,and the gothic feel was enhanced by a good crowd on my Friday evening visit generating a boozy local atmosphere.There is also a small courtyard for smokers.
The nine handpumps were drawing Pennine Brewery Hair of the Dog,Privateer Brews Red Duke,Ossett Silver King,Tickety Brew Pale,Jasmine Tea and Saffron Blonde,Bath Darkside an an Amerillo brew from a brewer I failed to note.An eclectic selection,a bit like the music that was playing.
Worth a visit if you are on a crawl,and want an wide choice of micro brewers output.Not sure if I would base myself here for a whole evening,but glad I popped in.
On 28th July 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2737 recommendations about 2737 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Crown & Kettle
The main bar in the Crown and Kettle is located to the left where there is conventional seating and wooden flooring throughout. I counted two plasma screens that were both off and I didn’t see Sky Sports advertised. The likes of ‘Ride Sally Ride’ and ‘Shaft’ were playing in the background on the recent Thursday afternoon I visited. There were only three other customers who looked like office workers having an extended lunch break. I found the barmaid to be very friendly and I enjoyed a decent pint of Osset’s British Pride. There are six hand pumps that were all drawing ales from different breweries and Hoegarden was available alongside a standard draught selection.
At the rear of the pub is a ‘snug’ area and to the right is the vault bar which is smaller than the main bar. The ceiling in the main bar is crumbling away so a net has been put across it to catch failing debris. There is also a net across the ceiling in the vault bar, although this has been restored to its former glory.
I thought that this was a decent pub and I would revisit.
On 22nd August 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5268 recommendations about 5236 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Simon Ward left this review about Crown & Kettle
This venue is much improved in the last few months, feels like an old fashioned city center pub should. My pint was in good condition and the crowd was lively and friendly. A good mix of people all getting along. I have visited this pub at quieter times and I find the staff very friendly, either happy to chat or leave you alone to read the paper. Busy on match days, like it's neighboring venues, this place has the added advantage of screens to watch the match on, or you can go to the vault if this is not your cup of tea. Well worth a visit.
On 3rd November 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 7 recommendations about 7 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about Crown & Kettle
Occupying a prominent street corner position at a busy road junction in the Northern Quarter is The Crown and Kettle, a pub that, after extensive restoration, reopened in 2005 after a long 16 year closure period, originally as a result of a serious fire. Outside the front door, we see a sandwich board telling us that the pub is “Manchester’s other hidden gem”. ( there’s no clue as to what they consider the first hidden gem to be )
Inside, we find a large main bar with a high arched ceiling, under which is a safety net, presumably to catch any falling plasterwork from the damaged ceiling. There’s some burgundy painted walls, but large areas of exposed brickwork higher up and tall narrow arched windows give off something of a feel of sitting in a church or chapel.
Furniture is basic wooden tables and chairs and, with the wooden floor, there’s little in the way of comfort or cosiness. Although the pub was quiet during my recent mid afternoon visit, I imagine it gets rather noisy and echoey when busy. The walls look rather bare, although a few framed “Interesting Facts” about the pub dotted about do add some interest. For instance, we learn that there has been a pub on this site since 1734 and that the pub was previously a stipendiary court. During World War 2, it was the preferred drinking hole for black GI’s, segregated from their white comrades. Hanging down from on high in this room, we see the old pub sign from when it was a Wilsons house, which obviously pre-dates the period of closure. Noticeably, there’s no hanging pub sign outside now.
There’s 2 other drinking areas – a rather modern and featureless carpeted snug with light coloured bare walls and a wood panelled vault with an ornately brightly coloured ceiling that contrasts quite markedly with the unrepaired ceiling in the main bar.
Real ales on were from local micros – Prospect Nutty Slack, Offbeat Odd Ball and Crown and Kettle Pale Ale from Empire Brewing Co. During my visit, a 4th beer came on – Endless from Willowbank in Macclesfield. 4 further beer pumps in the vault were unclipped.
In summary, this is a bit of an odd one to conclude on. It was very quiet on my visit, definitely lacking in atmosphere and there was nothing to indicate that there was any regular local trade or custom. Bar staff appeared noticeably disengaged and this was the only one of the 8 pubs in Manchester that I did where I saw a “no drugs” sign. I oought to add here that I am not intending in any way to imply that any unacceptable activity might or ever does take place on the premises.I might call in again if passing, but I wouldn’t make much of a detour to do this one again.
On 4th April 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Crown & Kettle
Called in as we were looking into a lot of pubs while attending the NWAF and found a lot more beers on than there had been earlier in the week. We enjoyed the Dark Star Old Chestnut, and there were also beers on from Salamander, Abbeydale, All Gates, Skinners, Copper Dragon, The pub has a few large rooms and there a screen showing a football match but the sound was not intrusive to conversation.
The above was on my visit in Jan 2010
Revisited 19.1.12. Really busy when I called on Thursday with a good beer list running through the handpulls. Plenty of folk around looking for real ales due to the Winter Ales fest nearby. Ales served in good condition. Still a good pub to visit when in the Northern quarter.
On 22nd January 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about Crown & Kettle
a two bar corner pub with the most magnificent ceiling in Manchester, sadly not renovated and still with a fishing net in place to protect the punters from falling plasterwork. Medieval in style above head height otherwise quite down at heel in décor and furnishing. There are non matching tables and chairs in various combinations, blank dark walls , some tongue and groove it's only enlivened by the bandit, big screen, and pump clip collection on the bar counter header. There are some framed interesting facts about the pub as well. There are four pulls in the left hand room, with three more next door but not in use, the beers were all from smaller breweries, two T Bars and a polypin of cider complete the line up. Just a sprinkling of older regulars and a couple of visitors in when I called early evening.
On 10th September 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3276 recommendations about 2982 pubs]