Empire

On Saturday night my friend from back home in Manchester was playing in the final of a Battle of the Bands so I got myself down there to offer up my support. Despite getting completely soaked through on the way there, I got in and grabbed a pint (Amstel I think it was). The barman was pleasant and the pint was decent, so no complaints there. With this I was ready to sit down and relax. Looking around, the bar area is pretty small, although it’s a nice little area so good to sit and have a quiet drink before heading downstairs for the bands.
Downstairs there’s another bar, which didn’t get massively busy at any point, so drinks are available. Then when the bands started I was genuinely impressed. The sound was really good, which I don’t actually find myself saying too often! All 3 bands sounded fantastic, and you could hear all the instruments well without any of them being drowned out. Unfortunately my friend’s band didn’t win, but on the plus side I have now found another place to go and see bands, and there seems to be lots playing regularly (although the board downstairs with the listings was still from June.).

not a place i frequent often, i only discovered it when rock of ages moved from the met, my 4* is for the rock nights, the 1^st sat in the month, it seems well organised and ill try and call when its not a rock of ages night.

Went here for rock of ages on saturday night and I was quite impressed, immediately as you walk in you could tell they look after this place and don’t let it get wrecked as the floor wasn’t sticky or anything ok so down stairs there were a few broken bottles but what do you expect when you’ve got a load of metal heads rocking out? at least everyone tried to clear it all into 1 corner where it wouldn’t do any harm, as with the rest of peoples empties end up in the same corner which makes it easier for the staff to clean up and nobody is kicking it around the room.
For me there wasn’t a great selection of drink as I normally prefer Newcastle brown or Kopperberg but they did have something similar, Rekorderlig, which to me tasted more like out of date yoghurt, but I had had a few drinks in other places earlier that night so wasn’t too fussed bout a drink.
There are booths just to the side for anybody wanting to sit down for a rest but looking at them I don’t think you would be able to see the stage very well so wouldn’t be good on a gig night.
Overall it feels like a mini version of the cockpit but cleaner and I would recommend giving it a visit.

Having just enjoyed a few hours geeking up at the new GetIntoGaming event at the Adelphi my compadres and I decided to stay out for one more beer. We would have happily supped away at the Adelphi, but the quiz was in full swing by then and the upstairs room was to be closed. Hmm. Where to go on and drink? Well, it was getting reasonably late, and the Old Red Lion was inexplicably closed (much to our dismay) so we popped into Empire, being as it was right there, new and open.
From the front it looks ma-​hoo-​sive, but once we entered into the fold a really cosy little surround greeted us. It’s all done up in a rustic grey, so it’s pretty cool, and the bar is super miniature. We chose the sofa seat to the back of the room and, although I didn’t explore, I figure there must be a bigger venue space downstairs as I’m aware these guys hold regular live music gigs. (Which surely can’t be upstairs…)
I ended up quizzing the bar man about their beers, who had only been working there for two days bless him, so decided to take the plunge and try something new. They had an array of Belgian fruit beers, which I’m told the owners discovered on their travels, but being as they were only halves, reasonably high percentage and a touch on the pricey side I opted for a Saltaire Brewery bottle of Pale Blond. (Or something along those lines.) I think on another night I’ll have to give the others a go, as I don’t mind paying a bit more for a nice drink, but on this occasion I wasn’t feeling thrifty. Only one real ale on tap, Deuchars, which was off sadly. But, there are plenty of intriguing bottles and a number of lagers to choose from.
The Saltaire blond was lovely, and just under a pint from the bottle for about £3.50. My friend commented that it tasted similar to lager, but I really enjoyed it regardless. It was sort of mid-​way between lager and ale, a bit like a Sierra Nevada pale ale in my opinion. His Saltaire Hazelnut Porter was just as delicious. The atmosphere wasn’t booming, but to be fair it was a Tuesday night, and if I’m honest I loved that you could sit and hear your conversation. The staff were lovely and friendly and the music was great — not a pop tune in sight — so all in all this bar is one to watch.
I’ll have to come back for a gig sometime soon, as I’m sure that is where the personality of the place will kick in. All in all, it’s worth a visit, so pop in and check it out!