Manchester
You're flying out of Manchester Airport, you have 90 minutes to kill, and you'd like to do better than a Pret. Good news: airport drinking has improved more in the last five years than the previous fifty. Pre-flight drinks at Manchester Airport range from chain reliability to surprisingly polished hotel-style bars in the airport hotels. This is barsforKings's editor-curated guide to drinking better at Manchester's airports.
Deansgate · $$$
The Schofield brothers' flagship cocktail bar.
Ancoats · $$
Heritage pub turned cocktail-and-British-food destination.
Northern Quarter · $$$
Basement speakeasy with a long bar and a serious gin-and-mezcal list.
Northern Quarter · $$$
Japanese-influenced cocktail room with one of the strongest whisky lists outside London.
Want a real drink before flying? The fastest play is to get to airport hotels next door — most run polished bars that beat anything post-security. We list them at the bottom. If you've got 60 spare minutes pre-airport, see our shortlist of bars in Manchester proper at the end.
Plays for Manchester Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
Pre-flight drinks, hotel-bar reviews, and the openings we're watching across 176 cities. Friday mornings, no filler.
Looking beyond Manchester? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.