Bar San Juan

Of all the tapas restaurants in Manchester, this is by far my favourite. We’re lucky enough for this to be pretty close to us as well, which means I usually get to enjoy the homemade sangria which is also delicious.
It does get stupidly busy here, and as a tiny place can only hold roughly 30 inside and roughly another 10 outside, which means I’d always advise booking. Even in the week night, just to be sure you don’t miss out.
My recommendations are the prawns wrapped in bacon that come with an amazing garlic mayonnaise on top– AMAZING!!! They also do an amazing beef dish that comes in a dark gravy that is always tender and just falls apart in your mouth. They also do the usual suspects very well, potatas bravas, dates in bacon, paella, and ribs to name a few of the yummies.
Except for a few places in Spain, some of the nicest tapas you can get.
DELICIOSO!!!

Love this place!
Came here originally for food but didn’t book, so we missed out! SO next time I’m going to book so I can definitely get a table! We arrived at around 7 on a Friday so a heads up that it is busy at weekends!
So we went somewhere else for food and came back here for some drinks and nibbles, and what a lovely place it is.
Staff are nearly all Spanish (if not all of them) which adds to the authentic experience and Spanish hospitality.
I had a really unusual red grape cider from Spain, which I’ve never seen or heard of before. It was tasty, and great to see places stocking different drinks rather than the usual rekoderlig and koppaberg.
My friend (and then me) had the rioja which was sublime– best rioja I’ve had in a long time so bravo!
Will definitely be coming back here for their famous tapas– watch this space!

Came here for a spontaneous meal on a Friday evening — good job it was relatively early because they don’t take bookings and by half 7 it was rammed! A lovely summer’s evening so we made the most of the weather with the outdoor seating — felt like being on holiday.
A great menu selection and efficient, friendly service. Lots of dishes to choose from including grazing food, fish, veggie dishes, meat dishes and classic tapas. Reasonable price for the quality and flavour of the food. And delicious washed down with a hug of sangria to share!
Somehow we got through about 9 tapas dishes between 2 of us (we were hungry…) and with the sangria it came to 60 quid. Sounds a lot of but several glasses each and we felt fit to burst after all the tapas!
Will definitely be back again soon!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this place. Its so authentic. Set in the heart of Chorlton’s Beech Road its a great place to sit and watch the world go by. The food, wine and beer is excellent. I can’t recommend any single dish because I love them all! I don’t have any pictures because the food didn’t hang around long enough to get my phone out and I was too busy soaking up the atmosphere. This is an intimate setting that oozes Spain, if you shut your eyes for just a second you would think you were there, in Spain (minus the beach & sunshine lol). Please take yourself to Spain (in Chorlton), its a must! #Food #Restaurant #Tapas #Excellent #Manchester #Chorlton

Smack bang in the middle of Beech Road is one of the most ‘compact’ restaurants I’ve eaten in recently. But for tapas, I’d happily eat it absolutely anywhere.
You can’t reserve tables here, so unless it’s a quieter time of day it’s a case of being in the right place at the right time. Thankfully, as we walked past we glanced inside and saw some people putting on their coats, so we literally leapt in and laid claim to the table. Result.
It was lively inside, with the exceptionally friendly staff welcoming us and offering the drinks menu. We decided to share a bottle of red (recommend the Juan Gil 4 Meses) and then started to peruse the extensive tapas menu.
I love and hate the selection process, because I pretty much want every single dish available. Limited to just three each (self imposed) it was a difficult decision. Nine dishes in total to sample, my highlights were the prawns wrapped in bacon and breadcrumbs, the chicken paella (there’s a daily special), the chorizo in a rich sauce and a veggie dish that had aubergine in it.
There was only one dish that I was disappointed by — the papas bravas (fried potatoes) as they were served dry with a small dish of cold tomato sauce. It didn’t work for me. It would also have been nice to have some bread and oils on the table, but that’s my only minor quibble.
San Juan is a totally charming place to eat, oozing Spanish flavour in all its forms — I might have handclapped to the flamenco music in the background at one point…

Sometimes its great to check out random places with no beforehand background research — but in the case of my visit to Bar San Juan this week it was fully informed by friends, Unilocal reviews and great words on the old twitter-​sphere. I don’t mind admitting that I do enjoy listening to people in the know as opposed to ending up with a dud of a meal!
Again peeps, it’s another place that I was so impressed with that I wish I could give it 6 stars!
I used to love tapas but for whatever reason went off it over the past few years, maybe I’d just been used to too many average experiences at ridiculous costs by the time you’ve totted up all the plates and booze. But on this sunny Tuesday on Beech Road in Chorlton I had a lunch that blew my mind.
Ok so I did sit outside in the sun with my laptop working like some loser and with a busy day ahead there wasn’t really any opportunity to pretend I was on ‘the Continent’ with a lunch time beer or wine but with my trusty glass of tap water in hand I picked what was a great combo that kept me full for the afternoon and with a smile on my face.
For £12 I had the chili and garlic gambas (prawns) and some delightful black pudding, chili sauce and rice on toast, with a basket of fresh bread and garlic dip — wow, everything was so tasty, so filling and yet so fresh and genuine.
Check out the pics to see who authentic this place looks and it’s real sun trap — enough seating for about 20 out front making it the perfect place when the sol is in the sky!
The staff were friendly and efficient — this place is going to have to be used for a future Unilocal World Food Tour event, I just need to find out if they’re ever quiet as I’m sure this will be a really popular place to visit.

I’ve been here a few times, usually for friends birthdays, I think San Juan appeals to the ladies in my life as it’s like visiting Spain, but without having to leave Chorlton.
If you’ve ever been to Spain on holiday you almost certainly have eaten tapas in a terracotta tiled bar, with a glass or two of wine and had a good laugh with mates. Bar San Juan is precisely this sort of bar, the menu has all the traditional Spanish staples & fresh interesting specials, I could never claim to be an aficionado of Spanish tapas, but I do know that this is probably the best I’ve had in Manchester, if the weather is nice the large window & couple of tables outside onto Beech Rd make it as close to Spain as you’re going to get around here.
The prices aren’t bad for the location and cuisine, we fed ourselves heartily for around £15 per person, getting you 2 or 3 dishes each to share, which is exactly what should be done to get as many flavours into your face as possible. We also shared a couple of bottles of red which were a great match for our food. The staff were really friendly & helpful, letting us know what was in each dish and recommending bits & bobs.
We couldn’t have asked for a better experience on our latest visit, much like every other time we’ve been. Maybe I’ve got to come here more often than on friends birthdays…

I’m not Spanish, but my parents do live there (south, rural) and so i have been to a number of Spanish bars serving Tapas. San Juan is about as authentic as you can get with regards to both the food and feel. The service is excellent and more importantly friendly.
Dishes are generally £4 — £6 and you can get a good bottle of red for £13.
The food is excellent and the flavours amazing. In Addition to the standard menu serving all the traditional greats there are also a few specials each night. We ordered eight dishes between the 3 of us and every one was a winner (my favourite of the evening being the beef cheeks)
There are just 6 small tables in side, but whether a large group or an intimate meal for 2 you never feel out of place. There are also a number of tables outside under cover almost doubling the number of people they can cater for.
I do’#t think you can book, so when we visit we always have a plan B in case its full. But that’s the point, San Juan is plan A and the rest of Beech Road in Chorlton plan B. (that’s not to say the rest is bad, but San Juan has the perfect mix of price, drink, atmosphere, great hosts and most importantly amazing, authentic food).

Another first class experience at San Juan this afternoon. Stepping inside is like stepping through a transporter from England to Spain. Set up as an authentic tapas bar in traditional Spain, San Juan echoes this from food through to décor and door signs all in Spanish. Even the staff speak Spanish and they have Spanish tv on in the corner.
The drinks selection is authentic, including a very good sangria.
The tapas — from you traditional albondigas, patatas bravas etc to rotating specials on the board, each dish is cooked with excellent flavour and authenticity.
It’s incredibly hard to get a table and you can’t book so be it at your luck whether you get in! If you heart is set on it rock up early or be prepared to wait.
Great spot on Beech Rd and they even have some outdoor tables.
Don’t miss if you are in Chorlton — I still think it’s the best tapas I have had outside of Spain!

Bar San Juan is a little slice of Spain in South Manchester — and when I say little, we’re talking half a dozen tiny tables, a few wall-​side bar stools and a couple of beer barrels outside where you can balance plates of really, really good food.
The menu includes the usual suspects such as calamari, jamon, croquetas and, one of my favourites, pimientos de padron (small green peppers, fried, and sprinkled with salt) — but there also daily specials that show off skill and a real attention to flavour. Last time we were there it was brilliant bite-​sized parcels of mouthwatering lamb in scrunched up filo pastry with a red wine reduction. God they were good.
Other reviewers — and, for that matter, the restaurant’s own website — make a big deal of this place being ‘authentic’. Now, my experience of Spain is pretty limited, but I’d have to agree. The atmosphere feels more like the laid back bars of Barcelona than any of the other tapas places we’ve tried in Manchester, and the Spanish staff, print and photo-​crammed walls, Mediterranean colours and tiled floor only add to this.
Great beer, good value and pretty much an all-​round winner. Top tip? Get there early if you want any chance of a table.

A lovely, typically Spanish tapas bar. The interior and Spanish staff make you feel like you could be on holiday. The prawns wrapped in bacon and the chorizo and quails eggs on toast were delicious. Would have stayed longer but the Spanish music was just a bit too loud for comfort.

First id like to say this. Authentic and spanish. Go to spain or its surrounding territories ultimatly. Great bar/​bistro always packed but v freindly. Much better as prev review than the spanish chain in mcr. Chorlton a v family freindly area and good schools and thus there will be kids and babies everywhere and thus another reviewer in wrong area if finds kids a inconvenience. great food great wine. Great position esp if suns out. Chorlton is sadly becoming v v islington and over populated so get in early and enjoy.

Here last Sunday for a delicious lunch of the day’s special Galician octopus plus Spanish black pudding on toast and paella. washed down with some white wine. the sky is grey but Bar San Juan has a little Spain-​shaped bubble round it and never fails to transport you. You probably won’t spend a fortune either.
Another review says it was previously Bar Lorenzo and closed down. that’s true but it has not reopened with the same management like that review said. The new owner was on the old staff but that’s all. He runs his place a bit differently but the atmosphere, food and service are just as good if not better.
if you’re anywhere near here and you don’t try it you’re a fool. I’m lucky I live round the corner!

Myself and my husband went on a rainy saturday lunch time in march and ended up in bar san juan after trying many of the local establishments and being turned away due to them being packed (mainly with familys with children) and thank god we were!
We were the first people to arrive, and were welcomed straight away by the friendly spanish staff. We were firstly impressed with the décor which felt authentically spanish (not ‘fake’ spanish like a chain of so called spanish tapas bars!) and were suprised to even see a picture on the wall of one of our favorite bars in seville!
We were only going to stay for a glass of wine (and very good wine it was too!) but ended staying a few hours as we enjoyed the ambience and spanish music so much. The food was amazing too, and we chose the queso manchego which quince jelly (fantastic) chorizo sausage, meat balls and toasted bread with an amazing tomato sauce to dip. We also enjoyed the child free environment and felt we could relax with our wine instead of being worried it might be knocked over by an unruly child!
I would highly recommend this bar especially for couples and small groups of people!