Indigo

A difficult place to find! No flashing lights or over the top entrance. Just a door with a hand painted sign above it signifying where this little underground club is.
I went for a Brazilian night where within this small place they had managed to fit a whole samba band, complete with drums. It was cozy to say the least but the atmosphere was amazing. People were properly uninhibitedly dancing even after the samba band left and the DJ started.
Don’t expect anything fancy here. The drink selection isnt great (coke is poured from a big 2litre bottle) but what it lacks in sophistication it makes up with bags of character. It’s a wonderfully relaxed place where you can dance your socks off in to the small hours. There’s an older crowd too which makes a change as it’s in the centre of studentdom. All adds to the relaxed and happy atmosphere.
Will be heading back there soon, maybe for their quiz on a Thursday night.

Downstairs: check. Divey: check. Dancey: check. Sounds right up my nighttime alley! Good soul music to bop away to, unfortunately the dj needed a bit more practice but perhaps that was just on this particular night. Not a great selection of ales behind the bar but enough to keep me content for a couple of hours dancing! Happy about the lack of cover charge and being open late facilitates dancing the night away as we all should do. Good spot! c*

D’you know, I like this place.
Despite the lack of decent taps (There is the presence of an extensive selection of bottles, though, and a few decent lagers) and despite my lack of youth, vigour, and tight enough trouser, despite the feeling of «it’s almost trying too hard» when you walk in the door, it’s a fine old place in the wilds of South Manchester, threatening to be Didsbury.
There’s a fine selection of beers at reasonable (if sligthly clubby) prices, I’ve not seen a cover charge, and there’s usually decent entertainment.
One thing, though: The soul DJ that was on the other night? He could stand to learn to mix. Or just play out the song. Or, hell, put on an itunes list and go drink with your mates. Your mixing doesn’t.

Great bar.
I quite often go after some nosh in Solomons down the road.
Good beers, good bands, great atmosphere. Whats not to like?

I heart Indigo. For those of you who are keeping up on the ol’ Em trivia, I shall soon be moving to an area between Didsbury and Withington and this was a great introduction to this part of the suburbs. A special night there was organised by one of my friends which marked the debut performance of the band he shares with my other half and a couple of other pals, and I was instantly sold.
Elliot’s absolutely right, this does feel very Northern Quarter-​esque or in fact San Francisco-​esque, which just makes me love it even more. Fairy lights, rickety furniture, candles on tables, old bookcases filled with antique tomes… and the darkness of its basement location envelops you and makes you feel warm and cosy, especially in this remarkably nippy spell! The sweet little bar is stocked well with Brothers cider (including the strawberry one) and a very drinkable white wine which I had a few helpings of.
And despite the blink and you’ll miss it thing, I spotted it instantaneously while keeping my eyes peeled (god, that’s a horrible expression) in the car. Perhaps I was drawn in by its charming, quirky boho tractor beam. Yep, I just sense these things. Shame it isn’t a sense of direction, I’m no sat nav, but at least I eyed Indigo on the first go. I’ll be back here when the unpacking gets too stressful and I mislay the cat in a cascade of packing peanuts or something. I know a warm welcome and a wonderful wine will be waiting (alliteration for the win!) for me in Withington’s Indigo. Yay!

Indigo… do you like slightly cliched dive bars? If the answer is yes then you need to stop by Indigo (probably after walking past it about 4 or 5 times). Its right by the world’s brightest shop and all round comedy venue, One Stop.
The clientele are younger than you cooler than you and probably better looking but they wont be holding that against you nobody cares really. The music is eclectic and varies depending on the night you go… reggae night is a particularly good night to head down there.
Decent selection of drinks reasonably priced. The place is always busy with a great atmosphere other than when the place is being ripped off during an armed robbery (which it was last year). In my opinion the danger adds to it. YEH!

I’m starting to move away from the dive bar scene now that I am finally growing up, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good one when I find it, nor recommend one to someone searching.
Indigo is one of the nicer bars in Withington, meaning it’s well-​stocked, nicely priced, and generally frequented by friendly, welcoming people. It’s one of these small, cosy bars that you end up feeling right at home in, so it’s fairly easy to accidentally find yourself coming in here rather than going home should you live nearby. The music they have going on is pretty good as well, and livens the place up no end.
If you live in Withington you should probably set this high up on the list of decent bars in your area.

This is a nice little drinking den, that serves a jolly good selection of nice boozes. If you ask very nicely, they’ll give your gin the Bombay Saph treatment for an extra 50p, which is always nice.
It’s a wee cellar of a bar, furnished in worn out wood and armchairs, with books and gilt-​framed photos adding a sort of library-​in-​a-​posh-​hoise feel. The music here has always been top notch when I’ve come in; last time they were playing the Johnny Greenwood sountrack to There Will Be Blood. Tres cultural, non?
Though your best bet here is a double G&T (Saph optional) or a nice cold pint of one of their draft lagers, it’s an absolute must-​visit in winter, as they do really lovely mulled wine. Back in my Withington days I’d often pop in on my way home from work. Suddenly, having been on a bus for almost an hour didn’t seem so bad.
One problem with Indigo, and it is a pretty big one, is that they close later than All Bar One next door, so come ABO’s closing time, Indigo finds itself full to the brim of loud ABO-​type people. And I don’t think I have to tell you that I am not a ABO person, and Indigo is not a ABO place. This is pretty much unavoidable unfortunately, and the reason that Indigo only scores 3, because the ABO invasion means it’s really only good as a weekday venue.
Still, a tres cute, cosy little den, and one I always try and visit when I have the chance.

Indigo is, I think, the best drinking hole in Withington. Its situated underneath One Stop, and it’s a real little hidden away cave. It serves a good variety of reasonably priced beers and wines, and holds very popular music nights on the weekends, with local DJs and bands playing regularly.
There’s nowhere else quite like it either, and there’s nowhere else in the area you can have a little dance unless its to cheese or pop music. The music tends to be electro but with some variation, and its pretty good on average.
The clientele is notable as well, as its probably the only place in the Didsbury/​Withington/​Fallowfield area to have a pretty even mix of young and old. Plenty of students go there, but not enough to overwhelm, and there are large numbers of professionals and older people who frequent this spot too. The only common denominator seems to be that everyone is up for a laugh.
On the week nights it can be very quiet indeed, and its often closed in the daytime. Having said that, its still a nice place for a drink even if you are the only people in there. Weekends can be too busy for some, so you might say it never strikes that ideal balance between busy and silent, but its still worth a go.

First discovered by my housemates in those heady days of late ’08, who, in a drunken moment of clarity, decided to stumble through a mysterious covered doorway next to Solomon Grundy’s on Wilmslow Road. Since this exploration into the unknown depths of this great underground bar, Indigo has placed a sign outside for the benefit of the curious passer-​by.
Free peanuts + Live music + Candlelit chunky old tables = Jonny’s favourite bar in Withington.