Taps Pourhouse

I’m surprised it took me this long to finally go to Taps, especially given how close it is to St. Peter’s Square.
Seems I was too late to have seen what it was like before the refurb (when you had beer taps at your table). Now there’s a ‘Beer Wall’ which I can only describe as reminding me of a salad bar for alcohol, albeit you’re given a smart card to touch a panel with and then have 20 – 30 seconds to pour a pint of your choosing. Tip: keep your glass at a minimum of 45 degrees or else you’ll have a pint of foam.
There are around 15 different draughts to try (including Rekorderlig Cider and Liefmans Fruit Beer) and you can have these in thirds, halves or full pint measures.
Though it’s a novelty to be able to ‘play bar staff’ for an hour or so, all the beers are kept far too cold — sounds a strange complaint I know — but this really affected the taste. Our bar tab also ended up being double the cost of what we spent in Cask later that evening, so make sure you keep in mind what you’re adding to your beer card.

Manchester’s bar scene is pretty competitive with so many great places so although Taps is all right, it’s not somewhere I’d rush back to. I like the concept of trying various beers on tap and that’s definitely a fun feature but otherwise it’s a bit underwhelming, décor is slightly on the tacky side and it sort of feels like more could have been done with it.

Manchester seems to have a great selection of craft beer bars just waiting to be discovered. This one is fairly unique in that it apparently has a wall of beer taps allowing you to pour your own beer. I say apparently as I completely missed this aspect of the venue!
We were seated in the first area near the entrance and their were certainly no beer taps here. Reminiscent of Europe, it’s table service only — we were presented with a menu which included a good selection of mainly Belgian beers and we ordered with our waitress. I went for a cherry beer and M went for a Affligem. At no point did they mention the beer wall — I would have so been up for the beer wall!
The cherry beer was tasty and the Affligem certainly intriguing — it was served with two glasses, one for the main drink and a smaller one for the yeasty end drops, this could then be drank separately of combined, depending on your preference.
I hear that the food is good here but didn’t get to try it. There is a useful outside seating area and the atmosphere is trendy without being exclusive. I enjoyed my drink here but can’t give more than three stars as you didn’t tell me about the BEER WALL!!!

I was told Taps no longer had Taps on the tables, to which I thought surely it should be renamed tables.
It was a little of a disservice on the part of my brain, and now I’ve seen how they’ve redone the place I clap ‘slightly’ to you taps, bravo your life change I believe has been for the better.
instead of the 4 taps at your table, there is now a Taps area, having a greater selection of beer in a self service style, this appeals as I felt when I’d been previously I’d end up on a table with a beer selection I wasn’t keen on.
the Taps area works off your tables tab card/​nfc/​doo hiky/​swipey thing and like previously the more you pour the more you pay.
The day I went wasn’t too busy so the taps area worked fine, though I’d be interested to see it when the place a lot busier

Visited again recently — a few weeks after the re-​opened after changing.
Instead of having beer «taps» on most tables, there is now what they call a beer wall. Apparently some people complained that when on a certain table, you only get the choice of 2 beers. If you wanted another beer and wanted to pour it yourself, you can’t.
Thats why they sorted the beer wall which is just an area in beer with all the different beers. You just swipe some Taps card and they pour away. I can kind of understand will they have done this but its still nice if you dont need to move at all and pour more beer. Its still a nice bar though and if I could give half marks, I would knock it down to 3.5. (But still giving it a 4).
As always, the issue with Taps is that you are never as good at pouring a beer than the bar staff. So if your a bit rubbish, you end up pouring mostly foam! (And your paying more for the pleasure of it).

Have you ever wished that there was a tap where you can just pour beer from and drink it? Well tap exactly caters to your wish just its not free you gotta pay for it obviously (but you can pour a baron full or just a tiny cup, totally upto you). It is great when you don’t feel like ordering one whole pint but still want some crispy smooth Beer after drinking a few pints (I am sure we all have had that moment).
So by now the concept must be clear right? It is a bar where you get your own beer taps on your table! They have a good selection of beers to choose from, including some really tasty fruit beers. Located right in the heart of Deansgate it is the best place for after work drinks or even on weekends before you go for a film at AMC! They serve food too but I have heard mixed reaction about that and personally I never fancied anything on their menu so I would definitely stick to drinks and some nibbles here. But hold on before you non beer lover start thinking that they just have beer taps, there is also a full bar from where you can order spirits or a different selection of beer from your table! The staff are friendly and chatty as well which is always a plus for any pub.
Verdict: If you are a beer lover like me, you will become a regular here!

i feel its one of the best places for beer lovers… fancy taps on each table… definitely a must go for beer!

GAH! I hate that Taps has dropped a star but, despite my strongest bestest wishes, it has to. And not just because I seem to be giving out 4 and 5 star reviews left right and centre recently.
Before a recent cinema trip to see the new Bond (anyone who’s seen it, hit me up with a message — I got some love for Javier, and a great joke to go alongside…) the boyf and I decided to take a chance on Taps for dinner. Our welcome was friendly and atmosphere nice and chilled, exactly what we needed after stepping in from the freeeeeezing Manchester weather! After being seated at a Blue Moon tap on the request of the person in our couple who actually drinks beer, noone actually came back to our table to ask if I wanted a drink; I guess going to a bar like this should be something people who drink beer do, but, hey, let’s not discriminate against us non-​beer drinkers. Eventually we just got up and went to the bar to order my drink at the same time as the food.
For food we chose a beef burger with Blue Moon chutney and the Taps Texas Teaser, which took me a good 5 minutes to get my tongue around. The beef burger was sweet with the chutney and juicy, the right side of pink, served with delicious fries in a metal basket. The Taps Texas Teaser was a bit more of a let down; served with a huge bowl of warm coleslaw and potted pulled pork which could do with development, these sides were dissapointing. Obviously we didn’t expect the usual pulled pork in bbq sauce but this was cold and slightly congealed — sad face! The ribs, sweetcorn, and battered zucchini fries on the other hand were delicious. The meat simply pulled away from the bones on the ribs, the sweetcorn was perfectly cooked, and the zucchini fries were a great change from fries, coated in a crispy but light batter.
In future I reckon we’ll stick to Taps for drinking, maybe grabbing some snacks, and the customer service, but we wont be rushing back for the main meals. Unless they focus on the burgers, then we’ll be first in the queue!

Taps, Taps, Taps… Has it really been three years already? A magnificent birthday bashly fun was had when Taps treated local Unilocaleeps and the like to a good old partay!
The hustle and bustle of the after work rush hour had long subsided by the time I made my descent from a fairly late altitude of 8pm. This in part was due to my insistence on not paying for parking, resultantly hovering around my car waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting traffic warden who’d dare give me a ticket before the 8pm cut off point. As soon as the clock hit the magic 8pm mark, I was off!
An observation from a distance, and the glittering lights and the mingling of folk suggested the party was in full swing. Walking briskly towards the beaming bar, I took an olympic diver type leap and dived straight into the mayhem.
It was far from difficult to spot the Unilocaltastic elite, and after some quick fire catching up I realized Taps were pulling out all the stops to seduce the 200 strong guest list present. No palate was neglected or spared, to my relief. Being an hour late had been fashionable from me as always, this time however it had cost me a delicious (I was told) sampling of the Black Pudding Scotched Quails Egg, with Apple and Cider Reduction. Yes like everyone else I was wondering whether it was an addition or reduction of cider, perhaps redox? Who knows?
In fact to my dismay I had missed all 5 of the mouth watering starters, dang it! Naturally being a foodie, I had to get some detailed feedback from the Unilocal elites who had been lucky enough to sample the starter offerings. They enthusiastically obliged.
The Mini Crayfish and Avocado Salad, with Chilli, Lime and Duvel Dressing I was told would take my fancy very much with its sharp contrasting tastefulness. The Lemon and Dill Fishcakes, with Pickled Red Onions would naturally cater for you pretend vegetarian /​Pescetarian folk out there. If Hank Moody aka David Duchovny ever was in Manchester, I’d recommend these puppies Moody you pescetarian you… The thermador sauce served with the finely baked mussels was a hit and in fact this last starter would win the contest of the starters if my excitement measurement meter is to be believed, not seen.
I was however just in time for the Mains attraction! Whilst the cheeky fish and chips sample tried to steal the show with its natural popular charm. A surprising winner in the heavyweight division of Taps offerings for the night was…(drum roll) They say that size doesn’t matter, well in this case all things of the utmost taste bud ticklingly tasticious variety did come in small packages. The Butternut Squash, Ricotta and Spinach Filo Parcels were simply divine and left everyone longing more for. I can personally vouch for registering three recorded deliveries of these bad boys straight to stomach ville. These will definitely keep me coming back for more. Strange choice wasn’t it eh, considering we all know of my carnivorous ways?
The disappointment of shortage of parcels being emailed to
was short lived as Taps began firing dessert samples at us, hard life but someone had to sample them. Whilst the chocolate fudge brownies looked tempting to some, and others went weak at the knees after seeing the Luscious Lemon Slices. I decided to bide my time searching for that special some one dessert. Next up and the attraction of the Raspberry and Chilli Chocolate Cheesecake was too obvious but just as I was losing hope watching the rest of the party sinking themselves into their respective desserts, it caught my eye. You should have seen it fellow Unilocalopadoms. The majestic nature of the toffee Crunch Slice was something to behold.
We instantly eloped, of course. As with all good things however, it had to eventually end between us. As quickly as it came into my life, it disappeared into my digestive system, but it will always remain a part of me (for a week at least, probably)
Hang on you may ask, with what, with what, with what what what were you bathing these delightful treats… with what? Well well well I shall tell thee my fellow Unilocallayers. A lovely duet of Will & Ross were serving a merry helping of the following fermented beverage of the ethanol kind; A Mr. Duvel, Miss. Vedett Blond, Dr. Vedett White, Monsieur. Liejmans Cuveé Brut, Madamme. La Chouff and last but not least Mrs. Maredsous. Most of which I am told were… well you’ll have to try them yourself I’m afraid, gotta leave something to the imagination eh?
The conclusion cloud has reached this review and is about to rain down the verdict. The heavens have well and truly opened up here at Taps, the menu is fantastic and caters for almost all palate requirements. What’s more there is always room in my heart for a place which has passion for its product. An innovative Restaurant they started out as, it’s good to see that after 3 years they have remained true to that, both in terms of their layout and their F&B. Bravo Taps, bravo!

You know those concept albums where a band takes a video game, a monument or a myth and writes a load of songs on the ‘theme’? Well, concept bars exist too. Taps is a restaurant with taps at every table.
Not just taps for the sake of it, purely decorative, or taps that serve water like sushi bars. At Taps, you serve your own draft beers at your table. True story. You can choose from Amstel, Heineken, Duvel Green, Leifmans Fruit or Vedett Extra White. As well as this they have a ton of beers on their menu so don’t think you’re limited to what’s on the table. Bottled imports? Why yes please!
T’other half and I recently popped along here for a friend’s birthday party, and if you book a table in advance it’s a great night out. You choose which table you want based on what beers are available. One lunchtime when I was sat in here tinkering away on my laptop, which was foolishly placed under said taps (don’t worry, no spillage or electrocution incurred), waiting for a swanky business meeting at Epernay upstairs, I noticed every group who came in was asking for a table with strawberry beer. Oh motherflip. It’s a bloody good job the table we chums settled ourselves at didn’t have that stuff, Chris would have been fireman-​lifting me home. But what we did do was a) have nice beer, and b) beat the system. Oh yes! Amstel was perfectly palatable, and between us for a few halves each we only spent a tenner. It totally depends what you’re having, how expensive the beer is. Don’t believe the myths, peoples! It’s only as expensive as you want it to be.
Taps is friendly, different and interesting. Pull a pint and enjoy! Or if you’re like me, get someone else to do it. I did one bar shift in my entire life and served so many head-​heavy pints I dared never try again. And by the way, Blue Moon is very nice too. It tastes of Christmas and not of celery, as my dear boyfriend ill-​advisedly scoffed.

The novelty of this place us very attractive and having walked past it a few times and wondered I finally went in. It is very cool being able to pour your own pint and having a few choices. It’s also good as it lets you pay per 10^th of the pint so if you don’t like it you dont have to have lots. It let’s you try different beers. The beers on tap are very expensive per pint so the tab can add up but you keep an eye on it using the iPod style screen on the table! The reason for 3 stars here is the food. It’s shocking, they seem to do it as an afterthought. We went for the happy hour and got totally ripped off. My portion of fish and chips was a joke there was so little if it and my girlfriend has to send a steak back 3 times as the kids in the kitchen couldnt cook properly or misunderstood our request for very well done with dripping in blood sauce! They then said sorry for that and offered some money off the bill, when we came to pay there manager wouldn’t let them do it so we didn’t get any off! Shocking. Go here by all means as it’s really cool and a but different but don’t touch the food

When my boyfriend first told me about Taps, I got very excited. I thought it sounded like a really original concept and was desperate to go there. I thought «Wow, it’s like having your own personal bar where the beer never runs out!» Absolute genius! I pity myself for being so naïve.
For those of you who don’t know Taps is a small Tapas bar just off Deansgate and next to the Great Northern. Each table has its own beer tap, so you get given a glass, you sit down and you enjoy. When you have finished the waitress calculates how much you have drunk and brings you the bill.
Although this idea may sounds blissful– DO NOT GET DRAGGED IN. I did, and came to the harsh realisation upon getting a hugely inflated bill for a very small amount of beer, that I had been massively ripped off.
The whole idea of going to a bar is that you have your drinks made for you, your cocktails shaken for you– by somebody who (is most cases) can do it better than you.
Taps reverses this– you go to the bar and do all the hard work yourself then pay way over-​the-​odds for the privilege. And when i wen’t the beer was off and it took them 20 mins to bring us a bill. Outraged.
I think I’ll just stay at home cheers.

When Miss Ceire T opens her review by accusing her boyfreind of leading her to disspointment with a highly built up trip to Taps, I feel I must respond on the side of that boyfreind, as that boyfreind is me.
Taps is the greatest watering hole in the wHOLE of this little area around the G-​Mex. This is because Brannigans and Bar58 or whatever its called are not in any way good.
At taps you get to pour your own beer. Anyone who has worked in a bar may feel that this is not a privaledge but a woeful chore. You will soon realize that this does not apply if you a pouring the beer for yourself. Its a great pleasure watching that cool amber nectar flowing out of the tap and into your glass, waiting to be consumed.
The food is expensive but they do a lot of deals such as one that operates between 5 and half 6, where you pay the amount in pounds of the time on the bill when you order, ie. if you order at 5. 30, it will cost you five pounds thirty. As if it wasn’t quirky enough with the beer taps on tables thing.

Oh wow, look you can pour your own beer. That’s amazing! Oh wait here’s the bill and it’s cost us £11 for two pints. Not amazing.
The lesson here kids; the gimmick of pouring your own pints gets old very quickly, particularly when your bill is brought to you. Also whilst it is initially fun you will find that you’re probably not as good at pouring pints as you think you’re going to be and you will end up with glasses half-​filled with beery foam (having said that I was showed up by my friend, and his girlfriend on that particular score) and if you do happen to work in a bar and already pour pints all the time then this is, I would imagine, a bit of a busman’s holiday. The selection of beers is, in all fairness, pretty damn good — Amstel is available on every table but then you may pick from Heineken, Duvel Green (mmm.) Vedett Extra White and a very girly Leifmans Fruit which you will only like if you are a massive girl (it is really nice).
They also serve food which I didn’t try so am unable to comment on (although presumably they actually cook that themselves).
By all means come along an try the gimmick — it is, as I said, fun for a little while — just don’t expect to make this your local, unless you have a bulging wallet and a particularly steady hand.

If you’re in the mood for something different, head for Taps (just off Deansgate near the AMC Cinema) and settle yourself down for a night of childish entertainment.
The gimmick here is that you can pour your own draft beers from your table because, as the name suggests, there are taps everywhere. Each table has its own set of taps which you can use to pour yourself pint after pint after pint after pint after… So yes, things can get a little messy if the novelty doesn’t wear of for a good few hours. If it does there’s plenty of other reasons to visit Taps Bar. They have a great menu of restaurant dishes (and some bar favourites) which helps to soak up all the beer, and food is served late into the evening.
If you get bored of the beers on your table or want something else, they have a wide selection of bottled beers, wines and spirits to sup on. The only real let down is the price, you end up drinking way more that you may do if you had to queue at a bar, and the food is good but will set you back more than your average bar. Worth a visit for the gimmick alone, Taps Bar is a great little one off.

People love their gimmicks in Manchester, so this bar is totally perfect. Whilst the location probably doesn’t suit everyone, the selection of self pour beers on every table can, with Amstel as the house choice. I’d also recommend asking for the beer menu, which has an extensive range of beers from around the world with differing strengths.
I also like how they are marketed as a restaurant, (I watched them march out a munch of lager louts who hadn’t booked) so you won’t get too much of a boozy atmosphere.
Part of the menu is loosely based on Belgian cuisine, and although I’m not a fan of legs of the frog variety, I do like how you can choose from a range of sauces and toppings for your moules.
On our last trip I chose the Beer battered cod and chips (in my opinion, these are some of the best restuarant chips in Manchester!), My dining partners ate from across the board from the steak through to the delicately cooked poussin.
If you’re a diner who prefers to eat a couple of starters for your main, i’d probably tell you not to bother and to choose off the main course section, my friend (who did love what she got) got 2 VERY small dishes indeed and felt slightly short changed. The main courses however, throw up HUGE portions — always a good thing!
The only other issue we had was that the table was not big enough to accommodate for 7 diners, so if in big groups, i’d ask for two tables.
A main course costs between £8-£12 and a couple of beers will set you back about £8
To try and conclude: great food, amazing atmosphere and a really great idea. The staff are pretty lovely too!

What a gimmick! They’ve got beer taps in the tables, you can pour yourself a pint!!! Amazing. What it’s not drink as much as you can? They keep a tab on you? aa okay. Still the taps are a nice gimmick if for a whole 5 minutes then they just sort of get in the way. People have had bad experiences with taps staff before but in my case this wasn’t the case.
The food was reasonable and of a good standard, taps does a wide selection ranging from mussels to risotto cakes. Reading what other people gauge I’ve only ever been in on a Saturday night so met the strongest front and kitchen tram, thus it all came together the food was good and the service strong. However some folk have had fumbles with this place on quieter nights when it seems they can’t get their act together.

I agree with Angela. I couldn’t resist either!
I’d heard about Taps long before I headed in there. A bar with beer taps where you pull your own pint?! Amazing.
My friends and I decided a perfect sunday would involve sunday lunch at Dukes 92 followed by drinks at Taps. We were not disapointed.
We had a table with Amstel (Amstel is on every table) and Leifmans beer which was really good because you got the variety and the girls were kept happy too. It is pricey though and they charge you for every 12^th of a pint so don’t think you can beat the system by constantly topping your pint up!
The novelty does wear off pretty quickly after you’ve all had a go and you’ve all posed for several pictures to put on facebook but you can relax then in a very comfortable bar.
They’ve started serving food now which I didn’t see whilst I was there so I might head back to check it out! A really good place to take visitors to the city to!

I’m always a little wary of places that rely on gimmicks to draw in their patrons. Having said that though, the novelty of being able to pour your own pint whilst sat at your table was an experience I couldn’t resist. Walk in and you’ll be sat down at a table with 2 taps to yourself. Only having 2 taps does limit your choice somewhat, but if you know what you want you can request a special table beforehand. We chose a table serving Amstel (£3.20 per pint) and Duvel Green Label (£5.20 per pint). I know, pretty expensive, right? But you will just be charged for the beer you drink so perhaps go for half of each.
It’s important to mention that this bar is very much a restaurant too. Although i didn’t eat here, we did have tapas style snacks which were very reasonable and good sizes for the price, but the menu too has British gastro staples at good prices too. Lovely décor and great concept.