Cord Bar

It’s telling that the majority of the reviews for Cord are four or five years old. Since that time, and even in the year I have been in Manchester, numerous other bars have opened in the NQ that have overshadowed it. The interior isn’t particularly appealing and the way that basement was set up for the Carefully Planned Festival essentially meant most of the audience were in a tunnel by the men’s toilets.
Having said that, I like the position/​design of the bar upstairs and there’s a solid range of drinks (potentially good cocktails) and the music is decent/​not too loud. It’s just not somewhere I would prioritise for a return visit, especially now on reading Shrimoyee C’s review from 18 months ago I realised the cool check in offer (bottle of wine for £8) is obviously massively out of date and not honoured in her case.

Cord is one of the original NQ bars and in my opinion has lost none of it’s quirky independent feel. It has been smartened up with more contemporary décor but it still feels less mainstream than some of the other bars nearby such as Bluu and the Tib Street Tavern. I went here on a Saturday night and the place was busy but not heaving. The music was loud enough to add some atmosphere but not so loud you couldn’t hear yourself speak. The service was friendly and the bar staff were able to advise on the drinks menu. The crowd was a mix of all ages which I like now that I’m not as young as I used to be. Cord is a very pleasant bar if you fancy a civilised drink in the NQ.

This bar is adorable and tooked away in the NQ. They have a brilliant cocktail menu which I believe all the staff contribute too. The Jungle Boogie is delicious, essentially a mojito but a very well made one (I have serious issues with mint enthusiast, so easy to over do). They do two cocktails for £9-£10 sun-​thurs, I can’t recall the times but its a great offer. Lots of wood furnishings and a little outside area. I love downstairs, a great venue for gigs or a party. They even have air-​con. I love air-​con, sweaty basements are not good. The bar downstairs could do with having more on offer but other than that its a cute little haunt.

Wooden décor was very intriguing — seemed very fresh! Recently decorated? Drinks were mid-​expensive but there were cushions and champagne buckets built in to the tables! They have a great selection of cider, ales and lager — on the price end that most places in Manchester are, i.e. £4.50 for a bottle of Koppaberg.
It’s small with dingy lighting, but that’s the atmosphere of the place! It works well and everything looks fresh, not grimey as you’d expect with a dingy lighted atmosphere. The downstairs part looks like a morgue — apparently it was an old fish monger place.
So enough of the dingy talk! Nice little hidden away place to go. Not tried the food yet!

The beauty of Northern Quarter lies in the fact that there are so many places to discover that it is pretty much impossible to get bored of the same place. There is a new place that crops up every other day and most of them are fairly decent.
Cord is a bar located in the back alley of Northern Quarter, I discovered it some time back and since then I have been here on several occasions. It is great for having a chilled out evening with casual drinks (they don’t serve cocktails here so stick to the basics) with friends. The noise level is moderate so you an actually have a conversation and the couches are comfortable. They also serve free chip butties in the afternoon, which is great if you are starving and want a quick snack for FREE anything free always tastes better. They have a downstairs section too which is very grungy looking with brick walls and old school couches, as much as it has a certain appeal its not very well heated and also doesn’t have any network coverage. Upstairs have booths which is always good for groups who would like some private time.
I was a bit disappointed that I could not use my Unilocal Check-​in deal (A bottle of wine for 8 pounds) because the bar man seemed to have no idea about it (boohoo).
Verdict: Good place to chill and have a few drinks on a weekday or pre-​drinks before hitting a party on a weekend!

One of the Northern Quarter’s most distinctive drinking dens, Cord has a friendly atmosphere, a well stocked bar and cool credentials. Finders Keepers /​Twisted Nerve boss Andy Votel used to deejay here on a regular basis and they now have a series of resident deejays spinning everything from psyche-​folk and free jazz to Guilty Pleasures style pop and rock.
Originally decorated with awesome booths decorated in chocolate and dark green cord, it was refurbished last year and the owners decided to move the bar around, add new chairs and tables and lots of cool arm-​chairs and chaise longues. The basement also got new furniture and art-​work though regulars shouldn’t worry, the distinctive white tiles are still there!
The icing on the cake is that they’ve added a new menu including deli boards, door-​stop sandwiches and tapas style snacks. In true Northern spirit, they also offer a Cord Hangover Cure — which consists of a pint and sausage or bacon butty for £5!