R' New Northern Quarter Bar & Restaurant R House, the long-awaited new bar and restaurant in the Northern Quarter has finally applied for its license. With a play on the Manchester dialect, it's located on the ground floor of Hilton House in the Northern Quarter next to two of the owner's other bars, Lammars and The Crown & Anchor. The premises were briefly used as the canteen for the film crew working on Captain America. ~ click here for R House Manchester ~ 28th February 2011

The Modern "Temporarily" Closes For Good? The stunning cocktail bar on the top of URBIS closed its doors without notice on Monday 21st February as the Millennium Quarter Trust, which funds the building, decides on its future. In preparation for the arrival of the National Football Museum, construction work is currently taking place on the floors below however rumours are abound that the The Modern will be replaced by a more museum-orientated offering instead come the launch in Autumn. ~ click here for The Modern Manchester ~ 21st February 2011

Odd Increases The Odds in the Northern Quarter Odd Bar in the Northern Quarter, the former Pride of Manchester Awards winning "Best Bar In Manchester" is to become even bigger. Plans to expand into the first floor of the building on Thomas Street should allow them to cater for a further 60 drinkers (40% more than at present) and extend their kitchen. ~ click here for Odd Bar Manchester ~ 21st February 2011

Money's Too Tight To Mention in Castlefield It's all change in Castlefield as the re-opening of Barca from the team behind Lammars was short lived. Despite an expensive stunning makeover, it's now been completely stripped amid rumours it's set to become a nightclub. Lava Cafe Bar has also closed down and is being refurbished, whilst the controversial decision on whether to demolish Jacksons Wharf to make way for apartments has been delayed until March. ~ click here for Barca Manchester ~ 10th February 2011

Opus Closes Down Opus, the huge entertainment venue inside The Printworks has closed down after 10 years. Consisting of a nightclub, restaurant, bar and comedy lounge, it was a great concept and was especially popular for its student club nights. ~ click here for The Printworks Manchester ~ 10th February 2011

Bar Closures Galore 2011 looks to be an awful year for Manchester's bar trade with a whole host of closures. The beautiful Bar De Reve and excellent Jacksons Warehouse in Piccadilly Basin have both bitten the dust, as has Spirit on Canal Street, where View remains open but in administration. Brannigans joins its boarded up neighbours, leaving Peter Street with just a handful of operating bars. Dulcimer and Charango in Chorlton have also folded. With rumours of more to follow, we're hoping the number of new openings outweighs the closures. 10th January 2011

Bijou is Back The Bijou Club at the end of Deansgate, opposite the MEN Arena, has been recreated for 2011 following a decadent refurbishment. The exclusive nightclub, which is only open on Saturday nights or for private parties, has had a complete facelift which is as stunning as the people who normally party there. It reopened on February 5th with an amazing VIP re-opening party, which also showcased their new food menu. ~ click here for Bijou Manchester ~ 5th February 2011

Other Manchester Bar News

Punch Taverns has said that it will split its business in the UK and will sell over 3,000 of its leased pub estate over the next six years. Punch Taverns in Manchester include The Britons Protection. ~ 22nd Mar 2011

Following the success of The Alchemist, since its launch in December 2010, it's been announced that a second branch is set to follow on New York Street, near to sister restaurant Grado, which is also set to rebranded The Grill On New York Street. ~ 27th Feb 2011

Whitworth Street Indie nightclub The Brickhouse has closed down to make way for Club HD, a gay nightclub which opens until 6am. ~ 22nd Feb 2011

JD Wetherspoons have opened The Mardi Gras, a jazz themed bar at The Trafford Centre. They've spent £1million pound developing the former Dexter’s Bar & Grill outlet. ~ 22nd Feb 2011

Beetham Hotels Manchester Ltd, who own the franchise for the Hilton on Deansgate have gone into administration. The Hilton Hotel Group will continue to manage the hotel and its bar Cloud 23 as normal for the time being. ~ 21st Feb 2011

Buckingham Bingo at Parrs Wood in Didsbury is set to become a Grosvenor Casino consisting of a gaming area, slots lounge, poker room, restaurant, bar area and a sports lounge. ~ 17th Feb 2011

Opus has closed down inside The Printworks. ~ 10th Feb 2011

Ithaca, the spectacular multi-million pound failure on John Dalton Street, is set to re-open in March as Vertigo bar and restaurant, keeping many of the expensive original features. ~ 10th Feb 2011

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