On Bar Manchester

On Bar Manchester

A versatile venue offering everything from up to the minute sounds to bespoke cocktail menu & fantastic food

Average Reviews

About

ONBAR is our first venue venture outside of London, this site launched in May 2015 on Manchester's World Famous Canal Street.

We believe in constant re-invention which is why we have been world leaders in Gay Venues & Clubbing for decades and this ethos is continuing in Manchester's ONBAR, our all day venue from lunch food and drinks to early hours of the morning we are the perfect setting.

A versatile venue offering everything from up to the minute sounds to bespoke cocktail menu & fantastic food.

ONBAR is a family owned business with a dedicated Manchester team - we look forward to seeing you!

Reviews

On Bar Manchester
3.8
Based on 498 reviews
Callum McKernan
08:42 28 Aug 23
Yesterday I had an awful experience at on bar. During the day, me and my partner were frequently coming in and out of the bar to purchase drinks/use the toilet whilst enjoying the pride street party. Suddenly, as it turned 8pm, the bouncers began to claim that you could only be let into the bar with a wristband. Baring in mind, 5 minutes earlier, they had let me and my partner enter the bar to use the toilet/purchase drinks. I was very confused about the sudden change in attitude as to who could/couldn't enter the club, especially as they hadn't asked to see anybody else's wristband as we were entering. I questioned the bouncers as to why they had a sudden shift in attitude as to who could enter, then, out of no where, a female bouncer wearing sunglasses who was working yesterday, grabbed me and shoved me towards the street. Her attitude was awful. I have honestly never met a more disrespectful bouncer in my life. She had no right to handle me like that, especially since they were being so inconsistent with their rules. If you are the manager of on bar, then please do properly vet the people you hire as not only was she intimidating, she was extremely rude and caused a lot of distress and upset to me and my partner yesterday.
Mic
16:59 13 Aug 23
Nice venue with some interesting history with good seating inside, on a balcony upstairs or outside.
Hedoth Rimtech
20:48 25 Jul 23
Been coming to the gay village for over 15 years and this place lied about it being a ticketed event they also breached pavement licensing and glass was thrown from the balcony. And before the manager wants to make a sarcastic comeback, I have a video it. This place is gentrified it's gay friendly only it's not a gay bar anymore.
Chlo
17:00 10 Apr 23
The place is okay, but got attacked by one of the bouncers, who was barging into me all night, then just as I was about to leave she grabbed my hair and threw me out onto the floor outside, then ran back in, the other bouncers were laughing at me and refused to give me her name to make a complaint
James Smith
18:55 14 Feb 23
AVOID security are constanly picking fights with punters. They'll walk up behind them, deck them and then drag them out. They're currently being investigated by the police for assault, battery and false imprisonment. They also haven't registered their CCTV with the ICO so if you've been in, the've violated your data protection rights.
Ian
09:25 13 Feb 23
Avoid! Extremely rude male bald barman. Went there for the first time in years on Saturday, and we will never return. I can see from other reviews that people have had similar issues with with this guy before. Spend your money elsewhere
YAFEA ALYAFEI
19:30 15 Jan 23
Amazing bar in Manchester canal Street and the gay village. Great atmosphere and vibes. The staff were amazing. Great drinks and music. And the drag queens were amazing.
Happy Camper
18:23 28 Dec 22
My favourite bar along canal street. love the balcony on the 1st floor. always have a good time here. Friendly atmosphere
Theo Obasuyi
02:31 02 Oct 22
A racist club. I was going to enter with my friends white and black. All the white getting in the place but us black they said not. It’s funny because we all dressing well. They had nothing to say because we have never been there. They try to say is not about color because it’s a "gay bar". Shameless
William Burgio
22:23 24 Sep 22
I wish I could give 0stars. The service is so bad, they don’t serve you, they just stare at you . Impolite and unprofessional!!!!!I asked for a Vodka and Red Bull and she gave me just Red Bull!Thanks god the other guy ( long black hair and blue eyes) was so nice and understood her mistake and kindly got me the right drink
Lili Grosserová
10:32 09 Sep 22
Had a good time there, prices are ok, but jeez so many straight men, it was unbearable! I went with my friend and we had to keep telling men off because they were hitting on us. Made me feel very uncomfortable when over 80% of gay village that night was straight men just starring at us. It's not the bar's fault of course, but it definitely ruined our night.
Chris Mason
20:37 28 Aug 22
The worst fckin welcome Eva! Got denied coz they thought I was 2 drunk.. Wot rly annoyed me is that these lickle boys judged me. I was rockin in ere bk in the 90s wen it was Breakfast Club. Rude disrespectful boys on the door not Men, BABIES!
Mollie Moffatt
22:36 17 Jul 22
Came early on - wasn’t very busy, bald white bar staff member serving all the men before us, no matter how many females at the bar. Had to correct the order he made me 3 times due to him not listening correctly (it wasn’t loud) and was incredibly rude the entire time, rolling his eyes etc. Floors incredibly sticky, it’s a shame as I’ve always had a great time coming here. Although, DJ on fire as always.
Nancy Pelosi
14:52 10 Jul 22
Went here for a meal with the state legislator Cindy we decided to have a few cocktails it was very bad quality stuff... The staff were very unfriendly and nasty to me and Cindy.. we won't be bad again
EPTAS Photography
02:07 09 Jul 22
9/7/2022: Disgusting place. No regard for anyone. The staff is ridiculous and the staff misbehave with customers including misbehaving with girls. Very racist staff. Not to forget stinking toilets and sticky floors and tables. The staff just throw the drinks from customers hands and get physically abusive.Utterly shameful place. Please dont go if you are not white.The people in the picture below just come to you, say no reason and take you by your collar and hit and scratch you if they are bored on duty and need attention. (With no proof of identity or manners)
santosh naik
01:53 09 Jul 22
Can’t even give 1* . My humble request if you aren’t white never go there it’s not for you. They will throw away with no reason and kick you out m. Nobody is gonna listen to you. Same thing you are gonna expect from me in the future
Raminta DiaMay
16:02 24 Jun 22
Great cocktails, very rude staff!! Sticky tables!!! Free shot voucher is only for sour’s
Maria P
20:20 07 Jun 22
Came here on Friday and had a fab time 🤗 Absolute tunes all night, everyone was up dancing and the bouncers were lovely!
becc !
07:31 07 Jun 22
always have such a blast here! love the vibes and staff are super friendly too. music isn’t too loud and the bouncers are really nice. probably the safest place i’ve felt at canal street / gay village.
Sol Nicolaou
01:22 05 Jun 22
Mature 40+ couple told we couldn’t go in as they were full (after enquiring why we were not allowed entry). As LGBTQ venue owners we are more than aware of relevant licensing laws & criteria involving health & safety & capacity. The venue was definitely not full & people entering around us. Obviously our faces didn’t fit!! We’d literally had 1 drink before arriving. Happy to have spent our money at all the other accommodating venues on Canal Street. Needless to say we won’t be returning or recommending. Think management need to get a grip of security staff.
Ebony Connell
12:25 28 May 22
Went in with my girlfriend last night had an amazing experience so far and was a lovely night so far. We left for another place and decided to come back later as we enjoyed it that much. As soon as we went in we went to the toilet (unisex) we both went in the same cubicle as we always do and had done earlier that night in the bar. A guy staff then told us to come out so I came out straight away and stood outside where he then radioed for security and when security came up he asked them to escort us out of the bar. I was utterly confused and disgusted as we’d already been in earlier in the night and had no problems and I came out the toilet when asked but still got security on us! Will not be going back in a hurry
nikholas006
20:54 27 May 22
I can say one Star is to muchDefinitely not recommended 👎
Chris Wong
11:57 16 Apr 22
Want to preface this by the fact the vast majority of people here were lovely - the experience was let down by one of the Drag Queens (Smiley Virus I think) kicking my friend in the back from stage for no reason.She was incredibly aggressive and tried to play it off as a joke, however it was a ridiculous thing to do and completely out of order. The female bouncer witnessed this happen and simply laughed - thought they were hired to keep people safe and ensure people are behaving themselves? As a club that prides itself on creating a safe and inviting space this experience was way off the mark.To make things worse the Drag Queen started shoving her competitors off stage during the lip sync battle - very immature and embarrassing.Shame the night was marred this way as the rest of the bar team were very nice & the music was great.
ROB Cutler
20:55 20 Mar 22
If you want to have fun don’t go here !!!
Curtis Whitty
01:19 15 Mar 22
Amazing bar ! Amazing door staff a shame the same can’t be said for “G A Y” next door and their discriminating door staff… will definitely return to “on bar” the same can’t be said for next door avoid at all costs and go to “on bar” it’s a million times better and they do not discriminate!!
Helen Walmsley
22:50 13 Mar 22
Really good pizza and drinks and lovely atmosphere, my girlfriend and I felt really welcome
Bex M
17:02 21 Feb 22
Came here on a Thursday early evening, ordered two cocktails on the deal and paid by card...then waited. Fifteen minutes later and still no drinks.There was nobody else waiting to be served and only one other couple in.After waiting a little longer I enquired where our drinks were, as we had to get a train shortly and didn't have time to wait twenty minutes for a drink.They said the WiFi was down.Which meant the machine they used couldn't work? I don't understand how we were about to pay via a card machine, but everything else wasn't working.I coils physically see the ingredients for the cocktails behind the bar, I'm not sure why they could not have just poured them into a shaker and made the drinks.So instead of apologising and asking if we'd like something else - I suggested if we have something else instead.I asked for a beer which also wasn't working when they tried to pull a pint.To be fair I picked a different beer and they gave us a half each while we waited for free, and then when we couldn't wait any longer as another ten minutes went by - a double rum and coke to try make up for the £12 worth of cocktails we had already paid for but not received.That should have just been fine, except the Cole was flat and tasted awful.If I hadn't been rushing to catch a train that night, I wouldn't have minded waiting as much - but yoo should not have to wait 20-30mins for a drink in a bar in which nobody else is waiting.Poor service, poor drinks, overall poor.Hopefully the problem for fixed and it got better the rest of the day.
Kai Keogh
17:40 20 Feb 22
Amie and Cheryl sorted my friend out she fell outside the venue they helped us made sure we was safe! Defo come back to this bar again lovely girls
Joe Charrot
06:47 22 Jan 22
Floor inside was sticky, the draft cola was flat (they have cans available) and the music was decent.The 2nd floor balcony is lovely.
Kev V.
23:52 19 Nov 21
Poor service from security. Control every movement where you dance. Always half empty due to lack of, or increase of fun police. You want to have good music but lack of movement. This is the place 🙂
John
11:53 05 Nov 21
Great bar. It wasn’t too busy on a Thursday night, and we got a couple of nice drinks. The staff are friendly, and the place is well decorated. They had a nice looking cocktail menu too. I’d definitely come back here.
Andy H.
02:11 05 Jun 16
This bar is on Canal Street This bar And there is plenty of seating and lots of outdoor seating as well. And they do food as well. staff was friendly.Nice...
James C.
10:41 19 May 15
My first visit to this newly opened bar, and what a massive disappointment! I had such great high hopes for the place. I'd walked past a few weeks ago to...
Matthew G.
10:36 09 May 15
Excellent bar made cocktails , and happy he 3-8pm bogof- great quality, quirky glasses. great venue. 3 floors. Outdoor waitress service on the lawned area!...

On Bar Manchester reviews from Google Maps, Yelp and WhereIsGay

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04:00 PM - 03:00 AM
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    04:00 PM - 03:00 AM
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    04:00 PM - 03:00 AM
  • Thursday
    04:00 PM - 03:00 AM
  • Friday
    04:00 PM - 05:00 AM
  • Saturday
    12:00 PM - 05:00 AM
  • Sunday
    12:00 PM - 02:00 AM

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