Cornerhouse

Pre-​theatre food here is fab — just across the road from the Palace theatre means you can eat till almost curtain up & then nip across into the theatre. Food is really fresh & tasty with good choice. Cajun chicken tonight which is hot & spicy & delicious

My favourite cinema going experience since the regal in Lancaster way back when ;)
It’s just one of those staples of Manchester that will be sorely missed! (Before you point out that it is moving, I already know, but any new place will never be THIS place… This was the corner house, the quirky place with the old fashioned sign and underground mini screens)
I have seen many a film here, mostly my go-​to venue when I wanna be a pretentious sod and show off my love of euro-​cinema, I’m a very cultured soul, after all.
This building holds so many great memories for me, I’ll miss it all, from the cramped quiz nights in the ill fitting bar to the odd movies that I watched just because they were what was on offer in screen 3 that day.
Go to this wonderful venue before you miss your chance, it is beautiful and worth having a memory or two from.

Cornerhouse is an icon, an institution that has been the home of art house and parallel cinema in Manchester for a good few years. I started going to cornerhouse sometime in 2009 and have seen some fantastic films here. They also host the annual Spanish and Latin American film festival, called Viva!
What I like, and have liked about Cornerhouse is, they take your movie experience back to the basics. Pay money, buy ticket, get to the screen, take your seat and enjoy the experience. Simple. They don’t muck about with relentless advertisements or pop corn and soft drinks at inflated prices. You want to watch a movie, you watch a movie. Add to this, the fact that the staff are very courteous and helpful, which is always an asset.
When Cornerhouse does leave these premises, this is what I will miss. The sincere attempt to give you a movie experience that is simple and fulfilling.

Had fantastic service last night grabbing an early dinner with a friend. The coffee here is always great, I’ve never had a bad cup, and is a good size for the price. We shared a Persian sharing board with lamb koftas and a side order of sweet potato fries.
The sharing board was full to the brim with olives, thin flatbread wedges, stuffed vine leaves, falafel, hummus, tzatzikiand baba ganoush — plenty to share between two as a starter or light lunch. The sweet potato fries are a meal on their own! Big and chunky with a good sprinkling of paprika and cayenne pepper, with a cooling yoghurt dip on the side. Sadly they defeated us and we couldn’t manage the last one.
As always the dining area started to get really busy from 5pm, and we had to wait a little while to get the bill, but overall the level of service was very good.
Hoping they’ll keep sweet potato wedges on the menu when they move to Home.

Good sturdy food– nothing spectacular, but consistent and reasonably priced with good service and a good atmosphere. I have had lunch here often in the last year and would recommend.

I had always wanted to watch a movie at the Cornerhouse. I have walked past it hundreds of times and i’ve always glanced in to see which films are showing, but had never had the chance to go. Now that i’ve been, i can say it’s my favourite cinema experience!
The Cornerhouse isn’t just a cinema, there’s a lovely book shop, gallery and café too — i have been to the café once a few years back whilst waiting for a train and from what i can remember it was a great cup of coffee. There is a restaurant here, but i haven’t been — although i’d like to if i manage to go before it closes soon!
On this occassion I was taken here to watch The Philadelphia Story — a 1940’s black and white american romantic comedy that i hadn’t seen before. It was the perfect setting to watch such a movie! The cinema screens are small, comfy and intimate. There’s no popcorn or pick and mix stand — although you can take these things in with you if you wish — which seperates this experience from that of the usual multiplex cinemas and i liked it.
This place really is fantastic. I’d much rather watch films here now.

Best buffalo chicken wings I’ve had in a looong time! House salad was good too. Ambience of the café is very cozy. A really good place to sit, read and chill

It is a lovely place to chill down in Oxford road. Lovely décor and environment. But, the food on the other hand is sub-​par, have been here a few times due to good reviews, just can’t figure out what the fuss is all about. I would definitely come back to have a chilled afternoon in the café/​bar though!

I like the concept: a cinema, a double storey café, a shop with a great selection of cards and art magazines. A place where it is nice to slouch about, you’ll be surprised by the free exhibitions, sometimes understandable, sometimes completely strange, but the place is really pleasant !

Cheeky weekday brunch!
I hadn’t had time for breakfast in the morning and I needed something with an egg.
They didn’t have a breakfast menu out but they did have a croque madame on there lunch menu. It didi take long to come and hit the spot. The lady who brought to me asked if I wanted brown sauce with becuase that what she always does. So I tried it with brown sauce, good call Cornerhouse lady!
My coffee was lovely and they were happy to give me a pint of tap water.
The loos are nice but a little bit small.

Oh Reel deal why have I not found you sooner?!
Ventured here the other Monday to check out what is called the «reel deal» for £15 of your English pounds you get a choice of pizza (all variants excluding the gourmet ones) a drink (wine, pint of lager or a soft drink) and a ticket to your fave film of the eve! Result I say!
I opted for the pulled pork pizza which was v tasty and a lager (coz I’m classy like that ;)) our waiter was helpful and efficient and we were finished with enough time for a quick coffee before our film of choice
Box office opens at 12pm and I defo recommend booking in advance especially now the stoodents are back as it does tend to get busy. I another top tip allow plenty of time before your film as booking the tickets in advance doesn’t reserve you a table (or if you don’t work on a Monday you could have an early dinner and go for n earlier showing). Only a few screens so not a massive choice of films but they do tend to show more niche films which is great.
Rounded my first day of the working week off a treat!
I’m generally a fan of this place and can also recommend the Monday night Pub Quiz if you don’t fancy any of the films on the Reel deal.

Cornerhouse is my favourite spot in Manchester. It includes the café/​bar, a book store, a restaurant, galleries and cinemas as well.
The book store has the best card selection and some nice books and magazines, which have been tastefully selected. I went to the book store every two weeks and make sure don’t miss the most hit publication in the art world.
The gallery on Floor 2 – 4 offers the best contemporary art exhibitions in town and it renews every few months. It has launch parties for the major exhibitions sometimes. It also invites the audiences to interact with the artists and even to become part of the exhibition. Like the Clifford Owen exhibition, a great number of the work is participated by the audiences from Manchester.
The Café/​Bar on ground floor is a relaxing and comfortable area. It serves hot and cold beverages. It offers different styles of sitting areas. It’s a great place to sit on a bar stool facing the glass wall to read a paper in a raining day, or a stopping place for a quick drink after a day shopping or waiting for the cinema/​theatre. The art works hanging on the walls updated every so often and they bring artistic atmosphere to this area.
The restaurant on the first floor is casual and spontaneous. They don’t take reservation and you could just pop in and sit anywhere you prefer while it’s available. It’s always busy at dinner time. We always have lunch or dinner at Cornerhouse when it has seats. The food is OK with reasonable selection on the menu. If there is nothing you love on the menu, just choose the butternut lasagne and it wouldn’t disappoint you.
The cinema in Cornerhouse is amazing because it has the best selection of indie films. It almost covers the nominations of next years’s Cane/​Berlin/​Venice film festivals thanks to the great taste of the cinema. It also have broad selection of the films from
different cultures and languages.

Personally I don’t see why this is rated so highly… I have been here a couple of times and yes… the attention you receive from the waiters is great but the actual value of the food isn’t…
The location itself is nice as it offers a nice view to people watch. but I ordered one of their most expensive fish dishes and it was mhe… if were not for the bottle of chilled sparkling rose I would have probably remembered a lot more.
My overall impression its ok… but for the price you pay you receive average.

This place is fantastic. I love the eclectic cinema. Good food. Good range of beer. Magazine/​gift shop is great (if you go when its open)
The coffee shop is also a great place to just pop in and relax with friends for a while — or on your own with your kindle :)
The corner house gets it’s marks from the atmosphere and the environment more than the food and coffee themselves. Food is good tasty fare, coffee is OK (but I’m a coffee snob).
In the evening, this is my go-​to place when the other pubs and bars are just a bit too loud and hectic — often a much nicer vibe.

The Cornerhous is a lovely little spot on Oxford Road that marks the beginning of the City Centre for me.
I’ve only been in their screens once at a première (did I mention I’m an actor, narf), but often pop in to see friends for coffee (which is excellent) and the odd beer.
They’ve got a really good, varied menu that doesn’t disappoint, and a comfortable environment for social chat or a meeting. It’s not necessarily a place you’d spend a long while, but a great place for a first drink or a quick lunch rendezvous. The upper floor restaurant is bright and airy and both floors have great spots to sit and watch the world go by while you’re writing your reviews.

I like the Cornerhouse. There’s something about it that just makes me smile. It is relaxed, the food is decent and the staff are generally quite friendly. Plus who doesn’t love a place where you can get food, drinks, movies AND art in one go? Two thumbs up.
I came here on Tuesday night to make the most of their Reel Deal — a pizza, a glass of wine (or beer or soft drink) and a movie for £15. You can choose from a wide range of pizzas which is much better than some places that will only let you have their very average Margherita. I went for the La Reine pizza — olives, serrano ham, parmesan, mozzarella and rocket. The toppings weren’t relatively plentiful and tasty, although the ham was starting to taste a little old. The pizza base was also better than others I have had in Manchester although quite tough. It could definitely have done with more parmesan but then, in my world, everything can.
I am always disappointed by the tables in the Cornerhouse. They’re just not cozy. There’s something very angular and sharp about them that ruins the ambience of the restaurant. It isn’t a romantic place, that’s for sure. Luckily I was here with my cousin so that didn’t matter.
Overall I think the Reel Deal is a good offer and worth going for, although you could probably spend an extra pound or two and select something from their extensive menu.
The movie theatres in the Cornerhouse are great though — I like small theatres and think independent cinemas need to be supported. Plus you can take in whatever chocolate/​lollies/​food/​drinks you want as you can’t buy any from the Cornerhouse. Although if you do, please be less annoying than the couple who appeared to bring in the entire contents of Sainsbury’s and proceeded to open loud packets throughout the film.

I thought I had reviewed Cornerhouse before… hm. I went for dinner a while back and the moules frites were fine but very average. The service was about the slowest I have ever experienced, I slightly suspect most of the staff were stoned. Last time I was there I had a really nice hot chocolate (even though they didn’t have the promised cream and marshmallows in stock which provoked my angry face which I then had to pretend was a joke even though it wasn’t). Overall it’s fine for food and drink but it’s not somewhere I would rush to visit again or recommend. The views are great but the interior I think is quite cold and unattractive. I do really want to try the cinema or some of the arts stuff programme, it looks like they have some very interesting stuff on.

I’ve been to the Cornerhouse many times over the years for food and drink and also to the cinema. I have a couple of friends who live up the road so go here quite regularly.
My most recent visit was yesterday afternoon for an afternoon tea and cake based catch up. We sat downstairs for a change. We had to go to the bar to order, whereas upstairs there is table service.
The guy behind the bar was very chatty and friendly and taught me a little bit about melanin levels in skin and burning and osteoperosis as he was a medical student. So not only did I leave feeling full, I also learnt something useful and interesting as an added bonus.
I ordered a chai tea and was offered the choice of having it made properly or just in the cup with a teabag. Being one of those philistines who doesn’t like milk in tea (yes, I know, I’m weird) I went for the latter option, but it is nice to get the choice. My friend and I shared the chocolate and orange brownie and it was tasty, a bit gooey in the middle and just the right size portion.
A couple of weeks ago I went with a different friend and had pizza and wine. I had the margarita pizza and my friend had the buffalo chicken. I had a glass of merlot, which was nice but nothing special — definitely drinkable though (well, isn’t all wine!). My friend had sauvignon blanc and said it was really good. It was all reasonably priced — from memory it came to about £15ish each.
Also, I am a big fan of the hot chocolate, although at this time of year not so much. I often go for the hot chocolate instead of tea on cold winter days (yes, I do drink something other than tea or wine, although you might not guess it from my reviews).
I really recommend going here, food and drink is great and the vibe is really chilled out!

The great thing about arty-​farty cinemas is you’re guaranteed a chav-​free experience.
The Cornerhouse might be smaller than your Odeons and your Vues and definitely your IMAXs but I believe this is what keeps out the scruffs and roughs, which is fine by me.
From the outside of the building, you wouldn’t know it was a cinema. Again, this means that only cultured, people-​in-​the-​know will have any idea of what’s housed inside.
My other half and I paid just £6 each to watch the brilliant Grand Budapest Hotel (highly recommended) and enjoyed a comfortable couple of hours in a friendly atmosphere. I noticed that popcorn isn’t sold at Cornerhouse, which means you can take in a film without it being accompanied by that annoying crunching sound the whole way through (one of my pet hates).
But the real beauty of the Cornerhouse is its selection of films, mainly indie with some old classics thrown in too (again, a great way to keep the riff-​raff at bay).
If you’re into design mags, there is a brilliant selection (Creative Review, Eye, Wallpaper* and the like) in the shop next to the ticket booth. They will probably set you back more than the price of your cinema ticket but the covers feel nice and the pages smell amazing.
So, the popping of my Cornerhouse cherry was a success, therefore I will most definitely make this my local when it comes to the moving picture.

The Cornerhouse is one of those Manchester gems that we’re all very proud to show off to out of town friends. Externally it’s got that old-​school charm, with rounded front and individually lettered signage, but it’s a bit of a trick as this building only houses screen one — the rest of the Cornerhouse is housed next door.
There are 3 floors of arty goodness for you to get your teeth stuck in to, with a lovely little bookshop, gallery, bar, more cinema screens, and restaurant. Eating here in the past has generally been a dissapointment for me; overpriced lunchtime and warm food that should have been served cold and vice versa. I wouldn’t come running back.
In terms of viewing, I have seen a few flicks here, but generally the more mainstream choices they show — I’m not one for reading subtitles. Oh, how uncultured of me! You quickly get this feeling from some individuals who are patrons of the Cornerhouse, but nevermind them, they still don’t know how rude it is to eat during films. Seriously. That is why I don’t go to the cinema.
Staff are always friendly and the box office system has never caused me any bother, including rarely finding myself in a queue, meaning it is a much more relaxed start to your movie viewing experience than other cinema venues. Pricing is… good — £15 for two general admission. Nothing to write home about, but they do some good offers such as the Reel Deal on a Monday and some cheaper matinée viewings of classic movies such as It’s A Wonderful Life and Roman Holiday.
Sadly, the Cornerhouse is moving venue and, soon enough, will be housed in a purpose-​built shiny new venue on First Street. What will become of these buildings? Who knows.
A great place to visit when you don’t feel like tackling mobs of people and sticky floors.

Tolles Programmkino mit nettem Café und prima Mittagsangebot, auch vegetarisch. Dazu gibt es einen kleinen Laden mit Büchern zum Thema Film.