The Old Wellington

A great bar, really old style with loads of wooden beams and open fires. Not great for disabled access as it’s three stories high with no lift, but the food and drink, and particularly the service, are great. Right in the centre of town by the new exchange square tram stop — would highly recommend!

Wonderful traditional style Nicholson’s pub next to Manchester cathedral.
Of the pubs surrounding Exchange Square this is my clear favourite. The exterior of The Old Wellington is spectacular Tudor style, while the interior is very cosy featuring a low wooden beam ceiling. In the summer you can sit outside in the square if you feel inclined.
Real Ales and food are available at The Old Wellington.

Oh Old Wellington I have rated your pies and service so high in the past that I decided to take my friends here on our Christmas night out! Reporting back the service really let the meal down unfortunately for me that organised the evening!
We ordered ahead to get the Christmas menu — 3 courses for 20.95 paying a £5 deposit each to secure the table. We arrived early and were stood waiting in the doorway for a good 10 minutes before someone came over and seated us… not a great start!
Next we had to grab the attention of someone to take our drinks order which was frustrating. With no introduction our meals arrived promptly all the starters we were impressed with — mine being the duck parfait which was tasty. The plates were removed swiftly and the next course arrived mid-​present opening as we got in the Christmas spirit with our cracker hats on and all!
The turkey dinner was ok — the turkey wasn’t top quality and the Yorkshire puddings were clearly from frozen. But then it was a cheap eats and we weren’t overly fussy…
Next was another round of grab a waitress for another order of drinks — getting a bit boring I know. The desserts arrived next — a bowl of plenty for me which was ice cream, fresh cream and salted caramel profiteroles which were tasty.
I liked the fact that we didn’t get rushed out of our seats after this as we did sit for some time finishing off our second bottle of prosecco. We caught someones attention for our bill which eventually arrived without our deposit taken off.
Overall the service really did let this place down for me. From past experience you normally get a feedback card where staff are keen for good feedback as their boss will buy them a pint if you complete the score cards highly!
I think I’ll be best sticking to the pie and mash in the future to use up some £5 off vouchers from our crackers — atleast i’ll be back I think…

Cute li’l ye olde English pub with real ales! Seating outside in the rare Autumn Mancunian sun! What’s not to love?

Got the ruddest bartender. I even wanted to leave. Worst customer service I’ve had in my whole life.

I have always liked this pub, it has a homely feel and is comfortable, if it is not sunny there is a great room upstairs. The staff are well trained as they will make a recommendation of what to drink with the various dishes on the menu, also if you ask they will tell you what they think is good, which is always a good sign. It is fairly standard pub fair but not had a bad dish here yet, the pies are good.
There is real ale, sometimes something a bit more local, there is table service if you are getting food which is always pleasing too. Even the wine choices are fairly good, which is not something you can often say about the pubs in the city centre.

Been here a couple of times, always great service and a fab beer garden for when it is actually hot I’m Manchester!
I’ve mostly had drinks here before, they have one of my favourite ciders aspall here which is always welcome! They do have a selection of ales, layers and soft drinks etc to cater for everyone.
When friends have had food here before it’s been great honest pub grub and never complained !

Had drinks at this historic spot and found it amiable and busy without feeling insane. Great spot, staff was nice enough and the beers were tasty.

Real old British style pub. Perfect for having a beer at the beer garden. The atmosphere is incredible although is a little bit expensive but worth it. The food is really good and the restaurant is very beautiful. It does have a great location surrounded by the Arndale Shopping Centre and the Cathedral

The Old Wellington is absolutely beautiful. It looks like something straight out of The Shire. The bar has really low ceilings and dark timbered wood giving it a super cozy feel. I heard that the entire place was relocated brick by brick after being destroyed in the war.
I had a good ol chicken pot pie and it was pretty good. After lunch you can go around to the back of the restaurant and check out the gorgeous cathedral. Even if you don’t eat here, it’s worth it to come in, grab a pint and check out the interior.
The only little complaint I have is that it’s not open long enough into the night, but other than that I will definitely be back.

I wanted to try here for traditional English food, as we are from California. Had the chicken pot pie and a salad, some ales. Charming building, located in touristy city centre by the mall. Food and ales were FANTASTIC!

What can you say about the Old Wellington but you have to go when you’re in Manchester. I remember going here on my first couple forays into Manc life way back in 1992 & 1994. This was prior to the bomb in Market Street, back when it was still at «The Shambles» off Corporation St. The setting wasn’t quite as majestic, seemed like it was stuck in between too many car parks — it was a bit more of a place to stumble across than a destination.
Went back in 2012 (it had been too long!) and moving it over toward the Triangle and the Cathedral after the bomb damage couldn’t have done it any better, there is now a vibrant summer patio scene and it stands out on its own as a great looking historical building. Great British traditional food upstairs and you can’t beat the patio for a nice pint on a summer’s day.
So glad it’s survived and is doing better than ever.

Any pub that sells Belgian cherry beer is alright by me. Having lived on a Spanish Costa for 8 years, unable to enjoy such beverages, I am now making a conscious effort to make up for lost time — and The Old Wellington offers the perfect environment in which to do so.
Its tudor-​style exterior is what drew me in initially. It looks like something from Shakespearian times (and probably is) plus I’ve been eyeing up its ample beer garden in preparation for a sunny day. Its interior is much how I imagined — wooden beams on low celings and traditional décor.
I reckon it’s haunted (any venue which is THAT old has to house at least ONE ghost, right?) but that hasn’t stopped me drinking there twice now. It’s warm, friendly and serves hearty British pub grub to boot. What more could an ex-​expat ask for?
Prices are average but that’s ok. I’d rather they weren’t dirt cheap as this ensures none of the ‘Jezza Kyle’ lot will be frequenting. Phew! *wipes sweat from brow*

good prices, great food and directly next to one of the cheapest pubs around (sinclair’s oyster bar)! Had some great fish and chips, a couple of pints and a free desert :-) Great service and nice vibe! Eat here then go drink next door!!!

Having only popped in here for a drink on a friends leaving do and being much more familiar with the pub next door Sinclair’s. It’s tiny and looks like its made for hobbits straight from the shire. Thats part of its charm though friendly staff decently priced and although cramped and way too old for that part of manchester it works, good place to stop off at before a night on the town as is Sinclair’s. The courtyard is great, big space with tables and chairs however most stand up right next to the Wheel its a great cross over of old manchester and new.

A good pub which shares the packed beer garden with Sinclair’s next door. There are a good selection of real and local ales on top as well as a good range of bottled beers. The bar staff are friendly and knowledgable, offering advice and samples of beers if you are undecided before buying.
I haven’t had food at the pub, but the menu looks good and I would like to try food there in the future.

Not a terribly friendly welcome when we turned up more than 20 minutes before closing time for a night cap. However, a decent range of beers meant the group of us all found something we enjoyed (White Shield on draught, alcoholic Ginger beer etc).
Will probably stop by again in the daylight to appreciate the location — it’s very near to the Renaissance Hotel where we were staying.

I just had to give this place an update after a recent visit. First of all I was so impressed with the staff, I popped to the upstairs bar with the brunette (we’d just bought a ton of dresses and felt like we needed a stiff drink to calm down) and forgoing the lighter white wine spritzers we needed to take the bank account pain away immediately, resulting in two large glasses.
Can I just say that the house and cheaper wine options are magical here. I went for a Sendero sauv blanc and the brunette opted for the house red, and when the girl behind the bar accidentally poured me red she was so apologetic but so jovial and funny at the same time. ‘Oh, I’ll just have to drink it myself then, oh dear!’ she said to her fellow bartender, who was equally lovely and called every guy who entered ‘our kid’ and every girl ‘darling’. I love that Mancunian charm. Why do you think I’ve stayed here so long?
Delicious, delicious wine. It really hit the spot and even though we weren’t ordering food, we weren’t ushered away from our comfy seats in the dining area either. Brilliant stuff. It’s moments like this which make me so glad these little pubs were rebuilt brick by brick. The Wellington’s starting to get that second home vibe now. Excellent. Plus those Sunday lunches are stonking, I started to get severe food jealousy after a while.

Try the pie sampler.
Good brews, and great atmosphere.
On that alone, I am a fan.

I’ve been holding back on reviewing The Old Wellington because I used to work there. But when I got to thinking about it, I decided I wasn’t going to say anything bad anyway, so I might as well do it. This popular bar, affectionately known as The Welly is situated in Cathedral Gates, in a little conglomerate of pubs which includes the equally as famous Sinclair’s Oyster Bar. It also contains the Crown and Anchor and The Mitre, but The Welly and The Oyster Bar are by far the two best.
They share a large paved beer garden as well which makes the area ideal for a summer pint. The Welly is a Nicholson’s pub which means that the beers and food are very similar to those experienced elsewhere in Manchester, for example The Athenaeum and The Bank. However, compared to those others pubs, this one is slightly superior. Its location is excellent and its produce is slightly better. There’s a good selection of ales, including gorgeous Timothy Taylor, which are all perfectly looked after and well served.
In terms of food, they specialize in pies, offering a number of lovely options. I find it hard to make a recommendation more specific than just saying eat a pie! They’re all so good. My particular favorites are the Ham Hock pie, the Steak and Ale, and the Steak and Mushroom Suet Pudding. You can also get a in pie platter with four tiny little pies on, which is good for sharing if you’re not too hungry. They also do a great Fish & Chips, which has a large option, which is more than any reasonable man can eat. Burgers are less special but still not bad.
Basically if you’re paying a visit to Manchester then this age-​old pub, which was moved brick by brick 100 meters down the road some years ago, is one of the must visit locations.