Simply put, the "Marble Arch Inn" is my favourite haunt and a must-visit stop whenever I'm in the Mancunian territory. This fantastic brewpub is situated in the Northern Quarter of the Manchester City, the area itself has a higher intensity of good quality freehouses than other areas as far as the whole City is concerned. Being within easy walking distance from several other brilliant pubs (details to be obtained from the author~~) - if you're a serious beer drinker (let alone a Real Ale drinker) and if you happen to be in Manchester - you'd simply HATE to miss this pub and this slightly remote corner full of construction sites at the first sight, as long as good ales/pubs rather than boutiques are on your list.

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This brew-pub is quite young, established in 1997, and brews a wide range of organic beers which are also vegan-friendly. It has even allegedly revived the old cask-conditioned "Boddingtons" to its original recipe! The brewery is situated at the rear of the building, where the customers in the non-smoking area could see the brewers at work through the glass-windows. For such a new-age brewery, it's quite amazing to see that it retains an atmosphere not in the fashion of a modern American-style brew-pub, but rather like an old-fashioned street-corner local pub. 

The building itself dates back to late 19th century. Inside the spacious and high-ceiling bar-area, the extensive green and light brown tiling, mosaic flooring, jack-arched ceiling, are all preserved so well and bring much to the nostalgic feel of the pub (but there's no telling if the interior indeed dates back to the late 19th century~~). For all its splendid interior and the elegant, polished red granite facade at the exterior, there's no accident that it's on CAMRA's National Inventory list.

The bar is located at the rear corner of the bar area, equipped with 10 handpumps, serving 5-6 house brews and 4-5 rotating guest ales mainly from north-west England. All information about the current beers and those coming up is notified at the upper board of the bar. On top of the regular house brews there's a different ale every several months as a seasonal brew, and in my recent visit I was lucky enough to taste their winter-special "Port Stout", a stout added with dashes of Port, not a bit less great than O'Hanlon's more famous interpretation, and was in perfect condition! Besides British ales, a nice small selection of smaller-brand German and Belgian bottled beers is also available. No non-sense over here.

The atmosphere owes everthing to the locals, who are almost all real ale lovers and make this no-music place rather relaxing and friendly. On a cold and damp Mancunian night, warmed by that lovely fire-place and accompanied by a pint of port stout, a cheerful chat with the delightful barstaff really made me forget about everything else in the world. If there ought to be an ideal local pub, I'd want it to be just like this one. Just superb!                                 

Yau (11/10/08)