Britons Protection

Well its got a great interior several rooms around a central bar with good selection of real ales .

Other feedback I have seen on this attractive pub tells me that there a few different rooms here, all worth a look.

Shows how lazy I was. I was very happy with the main bar and couldn't be bothered to wander around. Especially as those in front of and behind the bar seemed a friendly lot.

Had a pint of Ostara. Ostara is the Queen of fertility and spring, so as you would expect the beer was lively and lovely. There were a few other interesting looking brews too.

Not been there for about 3 years now :( but I have heard good reports recently about it coming back to be as it used to be.  I was worried it was on the slippery downward path as it hadn't been the best over recent years. Even Really pleased about new owners going in, it is still a fantastic atmospheric place to go.

This is a delightful heritage pub, and one that Manchester is rightly proud of. It has original features (or original seeming features) aplenty. Each of it’s several rooms is decorated individually, with different colour schemes. The rooms give that feel of being in someone’s smart parlour, circa 1950s. I felt as though I should be wearing a nice circle skirt, a (fake) fur and a jaunty little hat, rather than my scruffy jeans! Saying this, the pub is much older than mid-twentieth century. The glass work around the central bar gives this away, as do the fabulous doors to the toilets and tiled hallways. There were a good few beers on tap as well as my beloved proper scrumpy. Wish I’d been able to visit on a buzzing evening, but it was quiet during my fleeting afternoon refreshment stop. No idea if they still do music events upstairs, but if they did I’d go along for sure!

The Britons Protection is arguably the pride of Manchester, it being a pub which looks as though it's survived wars, bombs and countless bouts of urban regeneration. It's full of a rare and unique charm, has the best selection of whiskeys in the city, and looks as though it was built with the sole purpose of being a big booze-filled rabbit warren. For all these reasons (and many many more) it's undeniably the best pub in the whole of Manchester.

OK - so that's a bit of a bold claim, but walk up to The Britons on any given night, and you'll see why so many Mancunians have fallen for this proud old boozer's charms. It's full of atmosphere - and some seriously fine real ale. Indeed, it puts me in mind of what all pubs used to be like once upon a time, before the advent of soulless chain bars and overpriced lagers.

If that wasn't enough to wet your appetite, walk into the snug and you're always sure to find a roaring fire in the grate during the cold dark Winter months. They also do a rather cracking blend of mulled wine throughout December too.

I've spent many, many hours sat in front of its fire with friends, sipping large measures of its excellent whiskeys. I also love sitting in its humongous beer garden on warm Summer evenings, which is a great place to sit and shoot the breeze with all the filthy smokers.

I'm not the first to say it and I'm sure I won't be the last, but this is a truly wonderful pub, and certainly one of the gems in Manchester's boozy crown.

As the homogenisation of Manchester continues apace, it's really great to see a real trad. arr. pub sat there like a stubborn mule.

The Britons Protection is a pub that looks like it has just been hoiked out of a time forgotten, complete with proper pints of ale, cigarette stained walls, a roaring fire, a spectacular array of whisky and many places to develop your ass groove.

Yep, if you were to take a WAG in the BP, she'd probably cry all the water out of her body... however, for those yearning for an experience that more closely resembles the drinking of yesteryear, this place is the best boozer in Manchester.

I've spent many, many hours knocking back pints, going through each ale (just to see what they were like, obviously) and chatting the ears off anyone who'll listen in there... and not to mention the fact that there's a ruddy great beer garden out the back for smokers which is great in summer.

The beer won't cost you the earth and the craic is good.

A really brilliant pub.

I have been meaning to visit this long established pub for quite some time. I was hoping for a CAMRA type pub in beautiful suroundings. Service was ok but this place needs a subtle refurb. Lots of great original features, but the smell from the carpets reminded me of when my Grandma would try and French kiss me as a young boy after she had spent 24 hours on Guinness and and chain smoking Woodbines.
Went out to the beer garden at the back with its high walls and nondescript surrounding….I could have almost been sharing a cell with Peter Sutcliffe in Wakefield prison. Had a glass of white house wine as it was a nice sunny day, I took one sip and after it removed a layer of skin from the back of my throat, I quickly decanted it into a sprite bottle I had in my bag and took it home, using it to descale the kettle.
I left hopping on one leg like a whilst making a sound like a goose trapped inside a cement mixer.
Won’t be going back in a hurry.

Proper old-fashioned pub, good range of ales (2 Cottage Brewing guests plus 3 others), friendly bar staff, a fab place to have a decent quiet pint. And you can choose between the narrow front bar area or further into the pub for where to sit. A must for the dedicated beer-follower or visitor to Manchester seeking a good ale. Just across from the Bridgewater Hall for those musical amongst us.

Proper pub, almost definitely hasn’t changed since, well since forever. Back room is seating - and you can see through from the bar which is cool. Wine not wonderful but this is a beer/ale place really. Usually do food but not on the Saturday when we went. Definitely a dressdown, hole yourself in place.

Have to agree with the previous review. All a bit staid and and shabby on the outside, but it should be soooo much better

Stuffy service, pricey ale, limited opening and menu let down what should be one of the best boozers in the City. Could do better.

This is my favourite pub in Manchester. It’s always busy so you have to get there early. Have a massive range of drinks and you can get a bottle of wine for under a tenner! Amazing. There’s an open fire in one of the rooms to while away winters evenings. Never eaten here but the pies looked pretty interesting and I’m sure they’ll be good! Friendly bar staff and nice atmosphere. A must visit pub.

On a par with the Lasso Gallarie, again one of Manchester’s old school haunts, original, and with smartest and peasant staff around. Mixed crowd, good occassional gigs upstairs, and now that smoking in pubs has been banned, the back rooms are a pleasure.

If you not been there, go check it out before it dissappears (as it was rumoured a buy out for development) - but I guss now that the credit crunch has hit, it won’t happen.

Very nice.

undoubtedly the best pub in manchester if not the world. The best selection of whiskys and a decor that hasn’t changed since time began.

treat yourself to a pint of mild in this old school pub. Fantastic building has a great sense of history.

Been going to the Brits on and off for 25 years from student days to present. Started going as was one of the few places -as an exiled Yorky- that you could get proper Tetleys in the days when it mattered! The great architecture and range of product go without saying but on returning time and again you always find something different to add to your store of memeories and this, surely, is the reason we like pubs in the first place. If you want someone elses eulogy read Betjemens ” The village inn” because although the Brits is pretty much a city pub Betjemens masterpieces could have been wriitten after a boozy session down Gt.Bridgewater street and sums it up better than I ever could!

one of the best manchester long standing treasures near the bridgewater and rain bar, great for the whiskeys and always bump into great characters there. Usually have some decent up and coming local bands on upstairs too

Worthy winner of many 'best pub of the year’ awards, the Britons Protection, fortunately stands proud amongst the rapid redevelopment of the city…although there are/were plans to literally lift this building onto rollers and move it several metres sideways in order to fit another new building onto the space it currently occupies. However although this might not seem such a bad idea (or horrendous idea depending on your point of view - and remember Sinclairs was moved much further) there’s no guarantee 'something will go wrong’ and hey presto, a much loved institution is consigned to history by a, feasible, bland development.
Let’s hope this doesn’t occur because the Briton’s Protection is a true gem of a pub. In fact, it’s worth the trip just to see the quality Victorian toilets alone.
Situated next door to the Bridgewater Hall you’ll often find yourself sitting next to bow tied member of the many orchestra’s who play that venue. There are a couple more rooms behind the main front room and a 'hidden’ beer garden, for those warmer months.
The Britons protection also has one of the most expansive ranges of whiskeys in the country - try and catch them out…

Traditional - certainly. Great list of whisky available for sure, and a nice yard at the rear. Ale in decent nick and some nice rooms to boot. The only downsides are the large prices, slightly stuffy service (think Are you Being Served), limited availability of food and policy of closing if there’s football in town which can make it difficult to plan ahead.

Great old-fashioned pub in a nice city-centre location near the Bridgewater Hall. Don’t be surprised if you recognise some people in there before or after the local concerts!