Gay Village
About
Centered around the Canal street area in Manchester is a thriving gay scene, which offers a plethora of bars, clubs, restaurants and other nighttime venues for gays and straights alike.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles1,190 reviews
Excellent
546
Very good
340
Average
132
Poor
64
Terrible
108

Keegab
7 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2021 • Couples
Absolutely disgusting that a place that does not discriminate actually does discriminate against people with disabilities. Me and my friend spent 2 days in Manchester Christmas shopping and decided to go clubbing on the night time. My friend is a 48-year-old man with cerebral palsy And due to this he suffers with low confidence in going to places. After convincing him to have a look around Canal Street with me I was absolutely shocked and disgusted with how he was treated by door staff in the following bars, Bar Pop, Thomson’s, Eagle, Centre stage refused us in full stop along with New York bar who told us members only but I know this is a way of stopping people from coming in that they don’t want in which is fair enough but when it’s down to the fact that the Doorman says my friend looked worse for wear and I explain to him that he had cerebral palsy he ignored this and refused us entry. My mates words was there’s no point me coming to Manchester again for a night out because this is all I’m going to get. I felt terrible that I brought him to a place that is all about promoting non-discrimination but in fact turned out to be full of discrimination.
Written December 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rachael
Blackburn, UK6 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Family
By treating a family like a family instead of something they have seen in a horror movie!!! We went with my daughter and son in law to meet my husband’s friend who is gay. Soon as we walked into canal street the people stopped talking and started giving us bad looks like we wasn’t meant to be there. The bar staff was extremely rude and I blame the fact because we wasn’t gay lesbian bi or tran. I have always supported the lgbt community I have many lovely friends who are gay and trans. I was really disappointed how we was treat it was mainly the men, I won’t be visiting again and I will be telling all my friends about our experience. Maybe if you want to be accepted in to the community treat everyone the same kindness matters. Anyway to the few that smiled happy pride month
Written June 14, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

becsb
Derbyshire30 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022 • Friends
Where to start… really shocked by the whole place to be honest. Everyone used to rave about going down to Canal street and the gay village but I have no idea why.
I was out shopping with friends and we decided to go for a drink and some food. It was busy outside very bar as it was such a nice day. We found a table that was free only to be getting dirty looks from some men. Next thing the bouncer comes over and said these men were waiting for that table….
They came out of nowhere they hadn’t been waiting at all. Very discriminatory against women obviously, and after reading a few of the reviews it’s very prevalent this is the case.
We went to a bar down the street, still in the gay village but it wasn’t the cleanest. We had a bottle of Prosecco and every glass was sticky and dirty, we ended up cleaning them with alcohol wipes.
Needless to say I won’t be going back, the whole “village” is a dive and has a lot of discrimination issues that they need to sort out.
Written April 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GK91
Liverpool, UK185 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Friends
This place is a good laugh and super safe to visit, so ideal for small to medium groups who aren’t too sure of the area. It is pricey so don’t except a night here to not damage your bank account but I do highly recommend it. Loads of bars with all different themes and offerings. Central Manchester so easy to get to and from places too.
Written July 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Simone M
9 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Friends
I have just got back from my cousin’s hen do in Manchester. We went to Churchill’s bar in the gay part of Manchester, what a terrible experience all 30 of us had! The drinks were flat and when we told the staff they all moaned at us and did not want to replace our drink’s. The supervisor, was so rude to us all, calling us abusive swear words, upsetting many of us on what was to be the start of a lovely evening. We have on video his behaviour. I asked for the manager to complain about they way we was all treated but he did not want to know!! Would i recommend this bar? Absolutely not!! Unless you want to pay for flat beer, flat gin and tonic and be rudely abused by staff!
Written July 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

C...
Victoria, Australia65,000 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Solo
Celebrating diversity is what this neighbourhood is about… it embraces the freedom of choice.

When I walked here I found the area subtly beautiful with lights adorning the businesses and flags along the canal.

I really enjoyed my visit to the neighbourhood- it really is something special.
Written April 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Keith F
5 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022
These three bars refuse entry to anyone who is single. As a tourist to Manchester I went down to Canal Street only to find these three bars refuse entry on a quite Sunday night. Thank you to The Goose Bar, New Union, central Stage and Eva Bar who were all welcoming and don’t apply this stupid rule as it’s a lone tourist who are not trouble makers.
Written September 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Plamsky
Manchester, UK76 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023 • Couples
Going I’ve previous comments I’m getting the impression that the Village was a real LGBTQIA+ Mecca long ago. Nowadays is a just business and of questionable quality. If you go two different weeks you will see the same program (let’s not overreact calling it ‘show’). One and the same people ‘running the business’ and no outsiders allowed. It’s obvious that the idea of the place long ago was replaced with greed for profits. And to pump their bank accounts, they are closing it during the Pride days as asking for entry - like the Pride and the Village are their registered trade mark products that has to be sold at any occasion.
Written July 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mr W
Beaumaris, UK7 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Solo
Overpriced and unprofessional.

Ordered a £45 bottle of champagne. Didn’t see the bottle and we were served a liquid of some sort in dirty plastic glasses because “no glass is allowed outside”, despite this not being the case elsewhere on Canal Street.

Despite being assured by security that he “definitely heard a pop” we refused to pay and left.

Pretentious bar with absolutely no atmosphere on a Sunday afternoon, and a place we certainly will not be visiting again.
Written August 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Off their P
Manchester, UK4,293 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022 • Couples
This is an area of Manchester that we have been coming to for decades now and it certainly has changed. Without meaning to be nostalgic it isn’t as good as it was in my opinion but it’s still definitely worth going there.

The appeal to us was that there were loads of great outside bars and they still are. On this latest visit though we realised a few of these have become quite rough and definitely rundown.

Choose your places, or better still choose a nice day and you will still have a nice time sitting by the canal and there’s always loads to watch as people go about their business.
Written November 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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