A slice of Victorian England in the heart of Manchester, with good food and excellent wine to boot.

The Venue
A Grade II listed building dating back to 1870, Mr Thomas’s is one of a small Victorian Chop House chain (2 in Manchester, 1 in Leeds). Its a long, narrow bar, which is good for social interaction as you often have to squeeze past people to get to the other end and, possibly, find a little breathing space.

That’s especially true after work when it tends to get packed out with business people enjoying a well-earned drink after spending the day hard at it making money. There’s a mirror all along the left-hand wall with a brass rail and it’s all decked out in lime and dark green patterned tiles on the walls and black and white tiled floor. It has a traditional, Victorian pub feel and it has cream walls, a high, dark blue ceiling, stained glass and important-looking dark polished wood. The end of the pub is an area reserved for diners, which serves up some very good food.

The People
The majority of Mr Thomas’ custom comes from the office workers in the area, plus a smattering of people have a bite to eat or a drink before going on somewhere else. Not for a young crowd, it gets very busy at peak times (lunch and early evening).

The Food and Drink
There’s Boddingtons’s and Black Sheep on draught and a selection of bottled beers, but the wine list is a major pull. Like it’s little brother Sam’s, Mr Thomas’ boasts an extensive and well thought- out list and their house red, a Fortant Merlot, is perfectly good, plummy and rich (£4.65 a glass).

Food is served till 11pm every day, so you don’t have to rush for last orders, and is a modern take on solid northern pub grub, like steak and kidney pudding and bangers and mash, as well as Chop House specials like their onion soup and corned beef hash.

The hash also comes in a cake version as a starter and is crunchy on the outside and tasty and meaty within. It comes with a swirl of HP sauce and a soft poached egg perched on top—perfect as a light bite for lunch (£5.25). The fruit crumble is the soft crumble sort and is served with thin custard.

The Last Word
A dignified Victorian pub experience (apart from the squeeze) with prices to suit the city slicker wallets, plus a good wine list and sturdy northern-style grub.