Best Speakeasy Bars in Manchester

Cane and Grain is a typical Northern Quarter bar, but it hides a secret speakeasy upstairs. The hidden door leads you to Science & Industry, an experimental speakeasy bar with table service and elaborate cocktails.

The cocktails here are made by proper mixologists, choose from the menu or have them create something to your liking.

There are large elegant leather booths and a candlelit ambiance, just as you’d expect from a speakeasy.

Once you manage to find the entrance of Behind Closed Doors through an unmarked basement door in the Norther Quarter, you’ll be greeted with a throwback to the 1970’s.

Expect velvet seating, old-style TVs, and classic 70’s porno on the walls and throughout the menu. There are vintage phones located on each table where you can call the bartender to place an order.

The bar plays funky music and on the weekends they have a DJ playing from a booth made of shopping trollies.

The neon glow from the Red Bull and Taco signs could have you fooled in to thinking this was your typical convenience store where you could pick up a box of cereal, but you’d be wrong.

The only cereal you’ll find here is in their speciality cheeri-f**kin-o cocktail mixed with cinnamon and vodka.

This northern quarter speakeasy has gone all out on the inside too, the bar is themed like a cashier you’d find in your local shop and you can even pick up some retro chocolate bars and a slush puppie (with added alcohol, of course!).

This unassuming book shop on King Street is the work of fiction, once you step inside you’ll be greeted with a prohibition-style speakeasy bar serving up some of Manchester’s finest cocktails.

Alongside the usual classics, the artisans behind the bar have specialty cocktails including Pisco Espresso Martini and a White Walker Sour with  Tiki Bitters, Winter Spice Syrup and red label whiskey.

The bars exposed brick Victorian-esque vibe makes the perfect environment for a bit of light reading (drinking). Hurry, before it gets booked up.

Discretely tucked away in one of Manchester’s unassuming side streets, look for the white tiled wall and the goods entrance sign to find your way in. We hope you find the right one and don’t end up in an old warehouse.

Once you’ve reached the basement bar, you’ll be served at the table by friendly and knowledgable waiters who can talk you through their reasonably priced cocktail menu starting from just £7.

The dreary looking laundrette on Shudehill doesn’t scrub up too bad once your inside. You’ll usually need to book an appointment to visit the city’s most popular speakeasy bar.

Once you arrive, there’s a phone to call up and see if your laundry is ready, then the hidden door behind the washing machine will open to welcome you in.

At the bar you’ll find original cocktails as well as some signature recipes made by excellent mixologists, enjoy them in one of the booths to the soundtrack of deep house.

Don’t bring your old jewellery here! With the neon glow of the ‘pawn shop’ sign, from the outside you may be fooled in to thinking this is a place to exchange old watches for cash, but this is one of Manchester’s best speakeasy bars and a highlight of the Northern Quarter.

Choose from a Pawn-star Martini or a Rolex in the Deep amongst other menu items in-keeping with the pawn shop theme. Perhaps you’ll find your perfect soundtrack to your evening on their free to use retro jukebox.