Font has been fuelling Manchester’s student population for years and the formula hasn’t changed because it doesn’t need to. The menu runs past 100 cocktails — punny names, bright colours, and prices that make the Northern Quarter look like Mayfair. Two-for-one deals are regular and happy hour is practically a way of life here.
The drinks won’t win any awards for sophistication but that’s missing the point entirely. Font is about volume, variety, and value. You pick something daft off the menu, it arrives looking like a science experiment, and it tastes better than it has any right to at that price. The menu changes enough to keep regulars interested and the staff are fast even when it’s rammed.
The venue itself is a basement bar on New Wakefield Street, just off Oxford Road. Dark, sticky floors, DJ booths, and the kind of energy that only exists when a room full of people are on their third two-for-one cocktail. It gets absolutely packed on Thursday and Friday nights — if you want a seat, arrive early or accept you’re standing.
It’s not cool, it’s not trying to be, and that’s what makes it work. Font knows exactly what it is: cheap cocktails in a fun room with music loud enough to dance to. If you went to uni in Manchester, you’ve got a Font story. Probably several.