The Victoria Hotel

Yay free wifi and away from work. Can’t ask for more!

The Victoria is a fairly average pub that occupies Withington proper, so if you know pubs you’ll know what to expect. A standard drinks selection of the more popular choices, pool table, quiz machine and TVs for sport. The prices are fairly good and make the most of the student market on the doorstep. There’s nothing else to really add because it’s pretty much the perfect blueprint for ‘a pub, and nothing but a pub’.

In my Withington days, me and the boyf had a system for the weekends. Launderette, Victoria for football, halftime dash to the launderette and home, back to the Victoria for second half. Because the only other pub directly in Withington is a bit terrifying, The Vic is a default choice. And it’s OK, really. There’s always a nice mix of locals and students, and the boyf always seemed to find a fellow West Ham supporter to share in his excitement while I surreptitiously napped.
The screens are good and big and high up, and if you’re sitting in the back bit with wooden booths, try and position yourself so you’re watching the screen to the left (near the piano) because it’s better quality.
Drinks-​wise, it’s honest pub fare. I’d disagree with Alfie and say that their selection is decent; you can grab a drinkable red wine for about £3, and the G&Ts aren’t the worst I’ve tasted. The draft lagers are cheap and good, and apparently their Guinness is nice (don’t take my word for it though, I won’t touch the stuff!)
The Vic has a special place in my heart for being nice and warm in Winter, having very friendly and helpful staff, and being big enough to make sure you almost always find a seat, even on match days.

The Victoria. What can I say? Not a lot to be honest, its pretty normal.
It’s a standard local pub, with a quiz machine, a pool table and a few TVs for showing sport. They don’t have a big screen, but it probably is as good as anywhere in Withington, except The Red Lion, to watch the football. There’s plenty of seating around the screens, although you do have to look over the pool table in order to see, which can be irritating if people are playing.
The other positive is the prices, as lagers are around £2 and ales even cheaper. However, if its not beer you’re after you don’t have much choice and there isn’t much quality.
If you’re looking for a normal pub to have a beer and a chat then you can’t go too far wrong with The Victoria, but there’s nothing particularly impressive about it so if you fancy something more exotic then go elsewhere, perhaps the nearby Indigo.