Around the World Bar and Lounge - Manchester

Manchester was the world’s first industrial city, and the influence of the city on history is nothing short of spectacular. This is where Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels sat to write their manifesto that changed the course of world politics, where the world’s first vegetarians gathered in Salford, where the modern feminist movement first gained traction. Oh, and we’ve had a few decent bands and football teams as well. While Manchester has given so much to the world, it’s nice to see that the world has decided to give something back: head into the Printworks and Around the World Bar and Lounge and you can try delicacies from the whole of the globe from the rainy, cosy heart of Manchester city centre.

Manchester has always had an open-door policy to the rest of the world, and the face of the modern city centre bears that out. To the south we can find the legacy of a hundred years of migration from the Indian subcontinent in the form of the beloved Curry Mile, and in the heart of the city one can dine at Chinatown to taste the heritage of that community, while all over there are Irish pubs that reflect the closeness of the city to that country. If it’s an international drink that you’re wanting, however, then you need to set a course for Around the World Bar and Lounge in the Printworks, where they have a beer menu that doesn’t so much trot the globe as grab it by the shoulders and invite it out for a night on the tiles.

The emphasis is on the classics, and thus the old world beer experts are well represented behind Around the World’s bar. From Germany come Berliner, Krombacher, Paulaner and Erdinger beers, from Belgium there is Duvel, Hoegaarden, Leffe and Timmermans. From Italy comes Moretti and Peroni, from the Czech Republic Budvar and Pilsner Urquell. There’s plenty more unusual options too – Cuban Palma Cristal, Icelandic Einstok, Namibian Windhoek – but you’ll just have to head in for yourself to see what they have in. Book ahead, though, as The Printworks can get very busy on occasion.