O'Connell's

You'll find yourself in a no-nonsense Irish pub that actually feels like it belongs in Dublin rather than Manchester's city centre. O'Connell's sits on New Wakefield Street in a neighbourhood that's quietly become brilliant for proper drinking—the kind of place where regulars prop up the bar and you're genuinely welcome to join them. There's real ale on tap, genuinely good Guinness, and the kind of unfussy food that makes sense when you're three pints in. It's the antidote to the craft beer temples and Instagrammable cocktail bars clogging up the Northern Quarter. The crowd here actually talks to each other rather than their phones.