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"An
Any Town Corporate Bar, Yet Undeniably Mancunian"
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Cloud
23 boasts an amazing cocktail menu and, compared to other
hotel bars, is quite reasonably priced too, especially considering
most are double measures. We highly recommend the Sally Cinnamon
(£8) and Ena Sparkles (£8) - the Pride Of Manchester
Award winning Cocktail of the Year two years running! The
wines certainly aren't cheap with a small (175ml) glass of
house Chardonnay (an Argentinean Etchart'07) setting you back
a hefty £6. For beer drinkers, Cloud 23 may only offer
bottles but it is one of the very few places in town that
sells the beautiful oak aged Innes & Gunn (£4.50)
and Kaseel Cru Champagne beer (£4). Bottled beers start
at £3.95 (Peroni). |
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Once
you've got past the rather tedious queuing system on the ground
floor, which can be very annoying on busy nights with Beetham
Tower residents and Hilton hotel guests able to queue jump,
the table service offered by the friendly, largely Mancunian
staff is fantastic. Unlike other hotel bars, Cloud 23 doesn't
automatically charge 10% service charge either, although the
staff do tend to do quite well out of many of the Premiership
footballers who come up here to enjoy their Organic Peppermint
Tea (£2.95). |
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The
atmosphere in Cloud 23 is actually very welcoming and laid
back, less pretentious than you would expect for the highest
bar in Manchester and, because of the table service, you often
find yourself in conversation with random strangers who you
have been sat with on the same table. |
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As
with many of Ian Simpson's buildings, the inside of the Beetham
Tower is disappointing and the decor at Cloud 23 seems to
be a missed opportunity, resembling more of an airport lounge
than a chic cocktail bar. Whatever you think of the building
itself though, there's no denying the view is fantastic -
from one side you can view Castlefield, Old Trafford, the
airport and the flashing blue lights of Moss Side, Longsight,
Levenshulme and Salford, whilst on the other, you can see
Coronation Street, the town hall and other famous city centre
landmarks. There's even a glass floor allowing you to look
down 23 floors to the swimming pool below. Unless you've prebooked,
the greeter staff normally select where you'll sit in the
three lounge 90 capacity bar, with a choice of settees, designer
chairs and high bar stools. |
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The
toilets are superbly designed, very modern and stylish. In
the gents, the urinals offer a floor to ceiling window, giving
passing paparazzi helicopter pilots a great chance to grab
a shot of Cristiano Ronaldo showing off his... erm... dribbling
skills. |
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Overall,
Cloud 23 is great, if somewhat expensive, whether or not corporate
hotel bars are your 'thing'. The fact that it won the most
votes for Cocktail of the Year twice in a row at the Pride
Of Manchester Awards is testament to its popularity. Other
bar tenders across town would not begrudge it of its status,
especially as many at the likes of Socio Rehab, Walrus,
The Modern and Manchester235
have crafted their skills here in the past. Whilst the decor
and the atmosphere could well be experienced in any town across
the UK, the cocktail menu has been expertly made to celebrate
Manchester's icons. From The Stone Roses to Manchester United,
The Hacienda to The Happy Mondays, Coronation Street to The
Smiths, and The Industrial Revolution to The Charlatans, they
all have signature cocktails named after them. The waiting
staff are largely Mancunian too and there's no denying that
its main selling point, the view, certainly is! |
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~
ManchesterBars.com (April 2009) |
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