Sinclairs Oyster Bar, Manchester

Full of proper red noses clambering for cheap booze .. Efficient bar staff though .. Beer’s a bit rubbish .. Good location ..

A real tradional pub, with low ceilings, creaking floorboards, and tiny doorways; that’s all part of its charm.
Very cheap drinks and a massive outside seating space. Takes a bit of time to get to the bar just because its teeny but once your served, nice staff and good for a chat with mates.

Classic venue, been around for ever. Only downside is its always busy:(

Great place for nice cocktails! Friday nigh can't keep me away!

Avoid, Gone downhill, lots of dodgy characters around, who seem to know the doorstaff, funny that isnt it. Avoid. The Wellington next door is ok though.

Almost as old as Manchester itself and serving Manchester's finest brew - Joseph Holt's, Sinclairs has survived being moved twice.

The Oyster Bar is a bit of a Manchester landmark, and like many others it's a place that should be fantastic, but just isn't.

Since it's a Sam Smith's pub, the beers and ales on offer here are great and pretty inexpensive. The building itself, too, is a little gem. Winding staircases into snug nooks and crannies mean an intimate and old-fashioned cosiness is found throughout the inside of the building. The massive beer garden out front, with picnic table style seating will be likely where you find yourself, thanks to the pub's popularity with all and sundry, and it does the trick just fine too.

The real shame about this place is, thanks to its central location and cheap prices, the fact that it's almost always rammed full of people. There's rarely space to move, especially on sunny days, and the punters can sometimes be a bit rowdier than you'd really like. In the end up, I've often left feeling that there's nothing really special about this pub, other than a particularly long line at the ladies.

Sinclair's Oyster Bar is a strange ol' place. I mean, it's got a great outdoor seating area which you'd argue is great for summer. However, as it's mostly in the shadow and Manchester has a habit of tipping rain on you, then it's a bit pointless. If we're lucky enough to get some sunshine, then the flies that have been hanging around the nearby water feature of the Exchange Square come and buzz round your head, presumably to try and make off with one of the Sam Smith's ales you've bought.

Maybe that's why commentators have referred to the place as 'buzzing with activity'.

That all said and done, if you're over 5ft tall and more than a centimetre wide, once you've squeezed through the front door, there's a great little Olde Worlde pub inside, with rickety floor and snugs to get drunk in. It's very charming and a tourist would swoon at the whole thing for sure.

As for the oysters... well... I'm not even sure they make them. Have you had them? Leave a comment because I've yet to see anyone slurping down mucousy fishness whilst glugging a pint.

Sinclairs Oster bar is a Manchester institution and has been a feature of the area since the turn of the 19th century. It has a very colourful history and has been moved, raised or rebuilt many times in the last 100 years. the good news is that non of this upheavle has affected the beer or the local to much and you will always find it to be a very pleasant and enjoyable night out, so give it a try if you can.

Every single time I go to Sinclair's for a drink, something crazy happens - be it a drunk woman rubbing my (bald) Dad's head for good luck, to a naked man running around the outdoor drinking area with a traffic cone on this head (yes, this really happened), it seems that Sam Smith's selection of fine ales, combined with the finest Central Mancunian oxygen, makes people do...strange things.

Still, if you're hanging around the Exchange Square area and are looking for a halfway decent tasting pint of Nut Brown Ale, there are many many worse places that you could direct your attentions to. Sinclairs is particularly buzzing on a Friday night, and it can often feel as though everyone in Manchester gravitates there as soon as the offices close. Sadly, despite it being called an Oyster bar, I've yet to meet anyone who's actually tried its Oyster-filled foodie delights!

The pub itself also is packed full of charm, filled with secret little rooms, oak panelling, bumpy floors and winding staircases. All in all, this is a true beer flavoured oasis situated amidst a sea of chain-store-filled mediocrity.

Ok, I’ll admit it: I’m completely obsessed with Sam Smith’s pubs! Why? Well, their Alpine lager, cherry beer and wheat beer is too good to resist. Their prices are great too, particularly as many of their pubs are such gorgeous old places. The Oyster Bar is no exception. A small-ish mock tudor building, it has beautiful wooden fittings, lots of nooks and crannies to hide in and a wonky old staircase that leads up to a second floor.

However, despite having two floors and a huge beer garden, this pub is nearly always rammed. It’s probably a combination of it being so cheap and so close to the city centre! Because it’s always so packed, I don’t really visit it very often. It’s a shame though, as it’s a lovely little pub!

Sinclairs is the definitive summer pub. Cheap as chips (because it only serves Samuel Smiths drinks) and just perfect for a balmy evening as the sun sets behind the city skyline.

The only bad point? It gets busy. Like, supremely busy. The after work crowd, the afternoon drinking crowd, students and shoppers alike manage to more than fill the ample outside seating area and it can be rather difficult to get a seat if there's even the merest hint of sun!

I've never actually sampled the oysters though.

Eating and drinking is always a pleasure here.

Great pub when the sun is shinning as you can sit outside, serves its own brand of beers,ales, wines so its cheap compared to many pubs in Manchester.

Give it a try one sunny weekend.

Been here a fair few times for a few drinks before a night out. Based in the city centre just opposite Selfidges, this Tudor-esque pub is always busy.

Its a Sam Smith’s pub which means it doesn’t really serve anything other than its own brand beers and spirits. This makes it quite cheap, if not always the best quality (The wine, I’m told, is vile).

I’ve only eaten here once but it was excellent pub grub

I love it here! I lvoe the histroy, the beer and the decor , one of my fave places in manch

always busy but great especially if the weather means you can sit outside. Nice atmosphere in the centre of town, and the beer is cheap plus the building is historic - mind your head if you’re tall though

great ramshackle feeling to this pub- mainly because its got uneven floors and low ceilings. The fact it has been moved is impressive and it makes you feel like your back in time, which is a lovely contrasting juxtaposition with manchester eye wheel and the modern department store. Cheap as chips ale mmmm tasty and good pies and pub grub at a reasonable price. We were served our meal within 10mins the other day and it was niiice :)

i love this plae, dead center on manchester, great history, cosy, extremely cheap and lovely ale. great atmosphere and outdoor seating area. what more could you wish for?

Service is varied dependant on which person serves you. Very cheap beer, that is also pretty good. Good central location