Hardys Well, Manchester

Rusholme in Manchester is not just famous for the curry mile or curry half mile as it should be more correctly called. Nope just as you leave the Curry mile heading south to Fallowfield (where students go to have their stereo's nicked) along Wilmslow Road. Indeed as you pass the worlds worst quick save and the smell of curry and diesel starts to lift, you spy a strange Victorian building of sorts just on the corner of Dickenson Road and Wilmslow ...
...hostelry known as Hardy's Well, who Hardy was and why he was Well are both questions lost in the mists of time, however what is known about this place is that is a fine student friendly local bar.......

Facilities

Once inside the building the bars is surprisingly large with plenty of seating places even boasting two table that can support 12 people. There is also a rather splendid Beer Garden round the back where you ... more

Rusholme in Manchester is not just famous for the curry mile or curry half mile as it should be more correctly called. Nope just as you leave the Curry mile heading south to Fallowfield (where students go to have their stereo's nicked) along Wilmslow Road. Indeed as you pass the worlds worst quick save and the smell of curry and diesel starts to lift, you spy a strange Victorian building of sorts just on the corner of Dickenson Road and Wilmslow Road. Within the walls of this building is the hostelry known as Hardy's Well, who Hardy was and why he was Well are both questions lost in the mists of time, however what is known about this place is that is a fine student friendly local bar.......

Facilities

Once inside the building the bars is surprisingly large with plenty of seating places even boasting two table that can support 12 people. There is also a rather splendid Beer Garden round the back where you can watch the car wash people work next door and look at the traffic on Wilmslow Road, great for the occasional good day's weather we get in the fair city of Manchester.

Opening Times

Monday to Friday 4pm till 11pm
Saturday 3:30 pm till 11pm
Sundays and Bank Holidays 5 pm till 10:30 pm
With 20 minutes drinking up time

Beer and Other Alcohol

For the Lager drinkers their is an extensive selection of Lager, from XXXX at £2-00 per pint to Carling, Fosters, Grolsch, Kronenbourg, Budwieser, and topping off with Kronenbourg Blanc and £3-20 per pint (1). Beer drinkers do not have such an extensive selection you only have John Smiths or Cask Conditioned Boddingtons both at £2-00 per pint (1). Cider and Guinness is available as well.

To compliment the beer their is an extensive range of reasonably priced spirits starting at £1-00 per shot up to about £2-50 (1), and a choice of either red or white wine.

There is a wide range of bottled beer including Old Peculiar, Old Speckled Hen, Mort Subite, Tiger and Carlsberg amongst others, and a limited selection of alco-pops, again all are reasonably priced.

Food

There is an extensive range of Pizza's available starting at about 3 to 4 quid as well as more usual pub fair, all of which is made fresh on the premises for respectably reasonable price.

Entertainment & Sporting Activities

No Juke Box instead the CD's come from a selection of the best 70's dad rock that the manager has to offer and you might just find the Clash creeping in every now and then, along with some more contemporary chart stuff, but generally it is stuff you can drink to without noticing it. There is only one music policy and that is if the customer requests it they don't get it. This is not a music pub it is a drinking and socialising pub.

Ther is no TV which means no televised football, as the bar staff would refuse to work Wednesday nights if there was. The Wednesday night staff being a couple of football hating weirdoes and a girl. There is also a fruit machine and a quiz machine.

There are also two pool tables and at 50p a game, which is not bad. The one in the main body of the pub is one for folk who want a quick game with their mates and not normally too competitive, just stick your name on the board and you will be called when it is your turn, you don't even have to play the winner of the previous game if you don't want to.

The other pool table is another matter situated upon your way to the gents. You need to be made of stern stuff if you want to play on this table. This table is religiously winner stays on even if the table is unoccupied; do not be surprised if someone insists that you have to play them when you innocently put your money in thinking that you will be allowed a quick game with the other half. Do not expect sportsmanship of any sort on this table either, especially when playing the older gentlemen in the bar.
Watching them play each other is a master class in cheating. Having said that they are quite a friendly bunch and are not as scary as they seem. If you are brave enough to play on this table do expect completely incomprehensible rules and multiple arguments over the order the names on the board are, and almost everything else but that is pool for you.

They also proudly sponsor the Manchester Metropolitan Woman's Football Team; Ok they paid for the shirts for one season.

Overall Impressions

The pub itself is nothing special which is what makes it so good. The staff are warm friendly and courteous, the atmosphere is relaxed, happy and friendly. The mixture of Locals and Students is ideal for the area and the two groups get on well together which is quite unusual in an area with such a large transient student population. The fact that there is nothing special about the pub is what makes it so good, it is just a pub nothing more nothing less.

(1) Prices correct at 22nd April 2005
 

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