The Courtyard Bar

As your average student bar, sticky floors and graffitied toilets is kind of expected! Popped in here for a quick drink before food — £2 cocktails served all day every day and good selection of beers on tap!
Very large beer garden at the rear — lovely on a summers day!
Ideal for a cheap and cheerful drink. And for reliving those student days!

Student bar, I am a student so fits the bill. Also if you attend MMU and use the John Dalton building then it can be pretty convienient after lectures.

About 15 years ago, I would have probably loved this place. It practically screams student bar — it’s dark and noisy and full of students! There’s a biggish area at the front, some pool tables at the back, and then a large outdoors courtyard (hence the name). Not as cheap as some student bars though — a pint and a glass of wine came to £6.80.
TL;DR — Fine if you’re a student or like that vibe.

This 4 stars relates to this bar for watching football. I live a two minute walk from this place but it isn’t somewhere I would just go for a beer, it’s predominantly a student bar.
I only go to this pub to watch Utd and I’d say it’s the best place in the city centre to watch games. They have a foreign satellite but get commentary from the US and they actually put the volume up which many places don’t bother with. Usually a good Utd crowd in there, I’ve seen plenty of faces i recognise from away games there on a few occasions.
They have a decent bottled beer selection there which is cheaper than anywhere else in the city. They had some nice Mahou there the other day.
So if you’re looking for a bar to watch football, then this is a good shout.
If I was rating this for non-​football I’d probably give it 2 stars.

We were on the hunt for a bar playing the all blacks game which proved to be a bit of a task considering United were playing at the same time… But eventually we happened across the courtyard.
What a great bar ! Firstly it is huge plenty of space to watch the sport which they have on all over the place on various tv’s and big screens. Filled with nooks and crannies there are tv’s round each corner showing different sport. We managed to get a spot on a sofa near the bar right next to a TV showing the game which was perfect.
It was very busy as could only be expected when so much sport was on on a Saturday evening but queueing for the bar didn’t take so long. Pints were only £2 (I know!) and came in plastic cups. We ordered some food here as weren’t going to have time elsewhere and ended up with HUGE burgers with curly fries. I was feeling greedy and had a triple bacon cheeseburger which wouldn’t even fit in my mouth when it arrived.
Great venue, good staff, quick service, cheap beer, cheap pub food and sport. Perfect place !

Great pub this. Does the basics very well. Prices are excellent, £2.15 for a pint of Carlsberg ‚£2 cocktails .
Good selection of cask, I recommend the Black Sheep !
Food was great and good value .
Beer garden is massive !!!
And half of it is covered with a heated roof !
Nice mix of punters … Locals and students and the atmosphere was relaxed .
Considering it’s just off Oxford Road and in the middle of Manchester it’s unbelievable value. I was looking for the catch but I couldn’t find one.
Defo worth a visit and great place to meet up with friends.
Does get bust tho folks !

This is a great pub !!
Visit The Courtyard often when relaxing with friends. Massive beer garden and half of it is covered with a roof that has heating. Must be around 60 tables in the beer garden.
Really nice atmosphere with a mix of locals and students and office folk.
There prices are WOW considering, with pints of Carlsberg, Becks and Somersby starting at £2.15, and there is a wide selection draft beer. Cocktails start at £2 and there must be 30 odd to choose from.
There are 4 cask Ales on an they are kept well especially the Black Sheep and Golden Sheep !!
Food does exactly what is says on the tin. I personally recommend the Homemade Burgers !!! Good quality ! Good value !!
Has 3 pool tables that are free and the WiFi and Xbox are free.
Staff very friendly and door staff are really polite and helpful.
Gets busy at times but service is quick considering.
Opens at 9am and closes at 1am to 2am .
Only problem is you end up staying longer than you think !!!
But the prices are good so who cares !!!
Really impressed !!!
Well done The Courtyard

Right hear me out! You’ll either love this place or hate it depending on your capacity for students. You could easily add or take off another star according to where you stand. I think this place does what it intends to very well. Cheap booze… The cheapest in town. Food is of scream pub quality (Ok, cheap and included in beer deals).
So here is why I love Courtyard. When the students leave it is empty and has an enormous beer garden… which gets sun and becomes my first choice for early afternoon beers on a summer boozing session. The other reason it is one of those gold mines which shows ALL (yes all) premier league 3 o’clock KOs. Hazaaaaa. Great place to go with mates then but not for couples…

Student central, packed, cheap drinks, friendly staff and the food is actually quite decent for pub grub!
I’ve not visited here out of choice, simply because it was the after party venue after some of our roller derby games. However, I’ve not regretted going! The doormen are polite and smiley and will come to your aid if someone starts being an idiot. They’re very aware of their surroundings and the people in it.
This is the only place I’ve visited in Manchester this winter that I’ve found to serve decent priced warmed winter cider. £2 for a half pint that tastes pretty good! Light aromatic spices and it was great hand warmer for sitting outside.
Saturday nights are packed, so the best place to sit really is outside in «The Courtyard» — bring your coat, scarf and gloves! Don’t worry, you won’t need a brolly because the vast amount of picnic benches outside have a huge canopy awning tent over them, with sides too! You’re protected from the wind and rain. Big bonus.
The smokers are not allowed to smoke under there though (big bonus again) and are relegated to the other outside area just past the canopy — which still has a LOT of picnic benches!
Food is served until 9pm which is also great — as standard with many pubs now — and the prices are decent with light bites or full on burgers, nachos and HUGE plates of chips (curly, french, thick).
There’s still a juke box with video’s that play on the TVs situated inside and out so prepare for the music to change continuously in the middle of songs.
Why 3 *‘s? The toilets.
They’re going to have to take a look at improving this situation.
The hand dryer barely works for 10 seconds wheezing out cold air. The soap dispensers never have soap in (in the 3 times I’ve visited). The lock on one of the cubicles doesn’t work (in the 3 times I’ve visited) and each time I’ve been the floor has been covered in toilet roll, urine and vomit in at least one of the cubicles.

Right next to several large student halls and actually underneath one of them. this place has its benefits.
The drinks are cheap, location is central and for sports, this place is really good with big TVs showing live games.
The food isn’t great, though if you happen to need food whilst your inside it does the job and is not too badly priced.
+Cheap
+Central (to Halls, Oxford Road and MMU)
+Free bus stops just outside to get in to city centre
+Good for sports
+Xbox on big TV for drunken gaming
–Food isn’t too good
–A bit grubby (even after the refurb)
–Crappy cola/​lemonade served