Black Dog Ballroom, New Whitworth Street Manchester

Black Dog is a chain of bars in Manchester City Centre that have expanded rapidly over the past few years. They now have Black Dog Ballroom in the Northern Quarter, Dog Bowl just off Oxford Road, Underdog, The Bunker and of course, Black Dog Ballroom, New Whitworth Street Manchester where I visited today. With a private room for events, pool tables to play a bit of snooker on and a trendy bar drinks and food menu, it’s the ideal location to pop to for a quick drink and bite to eat when looking for somewhere chilled to relax in town.

Black Dog Ballroom, New Whitworth Street Manchester was the second Black Dog venue after Black Dog Ballroom in the Northern Quarter. Following it’s success in the NQ, they opened up this one in the style of a New York speakeasy bar and diner with a pool room, roof terrace BBQ and bespoke karaoke booth. Whenever I visit it’s clean and during the day it’s nice and quiet, perfect for a chilled retreat from the busy city centre.

When I go to Black Dog I usually like to visit with a group of friends and get all sorts of food to pick and try. It’s not somewhere I would go for a date but for mates it’s perfect. The food is American diner style – lots of pizza, hot dogs and burgers, which is always an indulgent carb-a-licious treat! For drinks, they do the usual bar fare but my favourite is the Black Dog cocktail, a sweet alcoholic drink served in this quirky ‘lost dog’ imprinted milk container. Yeah, I’m a sucker for packaging!

I personally usually choose a pizza, these range from £9 – £12.50 and have a decent range of toppings. There are more meaty ones than not but sometimes I ask for extra vegetarian toppings on mine and the staff are always super friendly and helpful. Sides include stodgy deliciousness such as a variety of fries, chicken wings, nachos and my favourite – mac and cheese, which I would totally order for a main if they did it! They also do a range platters such as ‘Wings and Things’ above, which for £12 is a selection of their best bits including chicken wings, nachos, onion rings, mini burgers and two types of fries.

Over all, Black Dog Ballroom, New Whitworth Street Manchester is one of my favourite city centre retreats for a chilled drink and casual dinner. It’s great for catching up with friends over a pint and sharing a pizza with bae. Would definitely recommend for a fuel-up lunch in between your Christmas shopping in Manchester this festive season.