Big Hands Bar in Manchester

Lilly as a DJ is fooking awesome.And I've been coming here since Rafe owned it.So a big thank you to Lily.And she's playing Faith No Mores Be Aggresive as I write this.A Big thank you Lilly .Once again a big big thank you lilly Babes in Toyland cmon that hurt lol.

A really cool place, lots of great music, really young and fun atmosphere

Brilliant bar with a good range of beers and fantastic authentic Sicilian food! The panelle and sfincione were exceptional! Grazie mille, Thomas ☺️

I love the vibe. Friendly and laidback atmosphere

Just has to be one of the best long-standing bars in the city. I swear the staff get younger every time I pop in! one thing that doesn’t change is how lovely it is though, a great place to sit and chat.

Apart from the delicious artisanal pizzas, available on the terrace/garden on the upper floor, this pub stands out for its careful service, wide range of beers, atmosphere and high-quality live concerts. In the university environment, it is a good option to soak up the atmosphere of Manchester. We will return.

Excellent quality beer with a good quality/price ratio and accompanied by good music to have a very pleasant time. Artisanal pizzas in its cozy garden on the top floor. A place to keep in mind in Manchester.

One of the best bars in Manchester. Good vibes.

Big Hands is the best boozer in Manchester. Very well priced. Terrific decor. Attracts a great crowd. Always loads of bands and acts on. Get yourself here.

Popped in for a drink on my trip to the city. I liked it. Great beer, which is important for me: imported german lagers, craft stuff, loads of bottles etc. Beer terrace on the roof was a nice place to drink and the crowd seemed like a decent bunch, no bad vibes. Didn't stay long so can't give a full review but defo would go back.

Loved this place!!!! Cool vintage vibe and the music was amazing!!! Leaving this review for the chance that whoever was selecting the music on night of 3rd August sees this and sends me the playlist because I was trying to Shazam the songs but some didn't go through

Top quality place, really nice beer garden and sofa seating downstairs. Food was amazing. The staff were absolutely lovely.

Cool little bar for after a gig. Deffo will be back

Unusual and quirky bar with excellent staff food and drinks well worth a visit if in Manchester center

Love this bar! Reasonably priced beers with friendly bar staff and always good tunes playing. Nice rooftop garden to enjoy during our few good days of summer as well!

Great find lovely bar great terrace staff were great atmosphere was good large drink selection and good prices thoroughly recommended keep up the good work guy's.

I went in here once about a month ago alone, the smell of urine hit me when I went inside so I left. Then I was out with friends another time a couple weeks ago and they wanted to go here so I went with them. It still smelled of urine inside the bar area. I didn’t want to make a fuss so I just got a cider and we sat upstairs on the open air roof. The cider was meh but the seating upstairs was alright.

Bar snacks were great. I have been many times and it's still a great place for a drink

Arguably the best bar in Manchester. Vinyl only selections on the decks, lots of old gems played. The drinks are cheap and a big selection. Staff are always in a party mood and smiley. The live music is pumping and always great to find a new band on the scene. Love the decor, love the people that come here, what a place!

This place has been my concert gig pub for years for me n my mate and we ❤️ jesus...😉

the bouncer are horrible do not come here!!

Just had a quick pint and a packet of chrisps on the way home from a long day. Really cool atmosphere. Looking forward to checking out some gigs there in the future!

Great venue, great location, great service. Music was awesome!

Stati dopo un concerto all’academy! posto stupendo per musica, concerti e birra! agente simpatica! un bell’ambiente

Best little rock bar in South Manchester, beer garden on the roof, live music and banging tunes.

Love Big Hands, been to many after show parties here, and often visit before gigs at the Academy. Nice balcony area too

Nice atmosphere and decorations

I loved this bar! Very good music and very friendly employees!

One of my favourite places in Manchester. Very friendly and great music

### Unpleasant Experience at a Pub Near the University of Manchester I've had some rather uncomfortable encounters at a pub close to the University of Manchester. Here's a brief recap: - **First Visit**: While I was deciding whether to have a beer or a hot drink, a member of the managerial staff suddenly treated me harshly as though I had done something wrong. All I could do was apologize repeatedly because I genuinely had no idea what was going on. It's possible that he mistook me for someone else. - **Second Attempt**: I decided to give it another shot, hoping to clear up any previous misunderstandings. After having a drink upstairs, I encountered the same member of staff on my way out. The look he gave me was as if he saw an unwelcome intruder, and I was asked to leave the pub again. This time, I felt a real sense of threat, especially when I tried to document what happened. - **Overall Feeling**: The way I was treated was quite distressing, and it seems like there might be underlying issues that I'm not aware of. I have always maintained a polite demeanor and hoped to resolve this issue privately. I'm posting this to see if anyone else has had similar experiences at this establishment. If anyone has any suggestions or has been through something similar, please share your story.

Good selection of beers. I was given a dirty glass with my bottle, it was dirty but the bar staff were great and replaced it. Unfortunately the replacement was also dirty. I was told "we don't use these glasses often", would be good to give them a rinse every now and again though.

Amazing, stylish pub with a great music and huge amount of beer selection. Highly recommended!

Only had one drink, late on a Friday night after a gig. Seemed a nice atmosphere. Charged £3 entrance.

Brilliant little independent bar near The Academy, perfect for pre and post gig drinks. Great atmosphere and friendly staff, also does live music of its own and has a great roof terrace.

Great beer and great atmosphere

Dipped my shoulder in here before a gig at the academy. What a pub . Music was quality . Atmosphere was perfect a must go place

Perfect for a few drinks before the academy. Fantastic atmosphere

Nice bar with good food and a selection of beers..very cool place to chill out for a while...👍

Great bar, nice staff. Good music. Perfect for before or after a gig at the academy. Roof terrace is a nice spot. Comfy and cosy.

Great place...eclectic graffiti in the gents. Reasonably priced booze. A must visit if you're near.

A sort of dive bar esque place with quirky lamps, art, an extensive vinyl collection and lots and lots of drinks. They have live music events where it is not too loud but it can get very busy, esp after gig nights at the academy. There is a lovely terrace on the roof with greenery and soft lighting. I really recommend.

Cool cosy bar, with a jukebox and a pool table friendly bar tender

Excellent dive bar and a great post gig spot. Reasonable price for the area and not too many students.

Great atmosphere, amazing roof garden and good prices!

Good place. Good roof top terrace

This is a great bar. If im in town im in here.

So I'm disappointed to give this review because the bouncer let's this place down but everything else is spot on bar cocktails

This is a bar we have used many times over the years and always had a good time. Most often, it is because we are watching a band at the academy, but this latest visit was because we were going to the excellent Chinese restaurant across the road. The bar itself was very quiet and we were surprised by this. This soon change that when we went upstairs to the brilliant roof terrace and it was packed! In fact, we got the last two spaces and it was a terrific atmosphere up there. They have a great range of drinks and it isn't an expensive place , we had such a good time it won't be long before we are back again.

Called in here before the Band of Horse gig last October and only now catching up with reviews. Cosy and lively, atmospheric bar, ideal for the Academy. Took me back to my student days, in the last century.

Disappointed to discover everybody had small hands!

Nice friendly bar and not crowded

Nice atmosphere good choice of beers and lovely service 😁

Called in before a gig at the Academy, super friendly staff and a great vibe to the place!

A very honest little place. Decent well cooked food. Good staff nice bar.

Don’t expect to be treated like a normal human being by this establishment

First time visit. Band on as Saturday night. Busy, but still seats available, great atmosphere.

Great bar, friendly staff. The atmosphere is excellent and it's really a great place to unwind.

big hands, big hands, big hands, how can i properly express my love for big hands? this is the greatest place to ever exist. not just in manchester, in the world. the vibes? phenomenal. the drinks? phenomenal. the chance of seeing what ever celebrity has just played academy? phenomenal. dont get me started on the staff. i would trust every bartender here with my first born child. special shout out to my homies ty, rosa, and taylor for being the greatest bartenders to grace the earth. i feel so safe in bighands. i feel so loved in bighands. thank you bighands<3

Absolutely wonderful bar right on the UoM campus. Brilliant selection of different beers and other alcoholic drinks. Upper floor is absolutely wonderful any time of day (but more so in the evening). Definitely recommend coming here as it's open reasonably late too

A cool rock bar with posters of previous tours adorning the walls.

Don't expect to be served unless you're part of their clique. "It's a dive bar" whatever that's supposed to mean. Waste of money for entry and no compensation after standing around at the bar, getting the side eye, for half an hour

Love the bar staff brilliant and polite It's even serving light snacks Staff ensures the safety of all customers and staff regardless to the situation very well managed

Great place for meeting up with friends, nice selection of drinks and quite affordable prices. But it’s the atmosphere and the friendly staff which make you come back!

Drinks ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Service⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Vibe ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Loved it ideal for Manchester Academy gigs. Great bar serving good choice of drinks loved the music they play

Love this place...great for pre gig drinks

Just a great place. Adele’s ma fav ❤️ kiss darling 😘

If over this way or I'm at a gig at the Academy, got to have a beer in Big Hands before it. Great atmosphere, great music, the staff are ace and there's a decent selection of beers, what more could you want.

Not normally a place id go but was good

Very cool little bar, stopped there while on a trip to the Manchester Arena. Good range of drinks on tap and love the DIYness of the venue

Nice decor and comfy sofas, and reasonably priced. Music probably just a little too loud for me but maybe I'm just getting old!

Fab bar - one of the best in Manchester. Really well run, friendly professional staff and great beer. Please don't harass the resident bar wizard, Wilf, but do seek his wisdom. Highly recommended.

Big Hands is an important and historical lace for Manchester's music scene and there have been infrequently for over 20 years. Yesterday we parked in with the kids to a little drink after the theatre and it was full of his original character. Note the children answer loud didn't have to 7:00 p.m.

Brilliant place to go go to mingle Good Friday and Saturday nights out very University situated very retro top music reasonably priced from Manchester town centre

A nice quirky bar with a lovely roof top seating area

I come here often as I live and work nearby. This evening I went to the bar and a tall middle aged man next to me started grabbing my arm and stroking my hair. I loudly asked him to repeat what he was saying me in hope that the bar staff would hear my questioning and his unusual responses. Eventually I told the girl at the bar (green/bluey strappy short dress with brown/ginger hair kept up) that he might need to go home as he was very drunk. She replied ‘oh that’s just nick’ with a giggle casually and I responded ‘well he just stroked my hair’. Considering I work in a bar where I would never tolerate this kind of behaviour because he’s obviously too drunk but also harassing other people, he was obviously black out drunk and had no awareness of his wareabouts, and a fellow woman was informing her she felt uncomfortable, I was very surprised by this response. I feel like her saying he’s a regular somehow excuses and enables his inappropriate behaviour. She called over to nick ‘stop stroking peoples hair’ and proceed to show me the £6.50 card machine to take my drinks payment. What irresponsible staff! And that was all that was said about it! Nick then went on to stroke 2 or 3 of my other friends hair when they went to the bar and is still here 2 hours later!!! Do your staff not realise serving drunk men, who harass young girls and customer is illegal but also extremely inappropriate and it’s weird you still want their money. Do better. I’m 23 and feel concerned knowing younger girls come here and may be subject to the regular nick :/ if he acts like this in the bar, what does he do on the streets when he leaves?

Very quirky bar with an amazing rooftop garden. Popular with all the students it's a great place... 👍

Fave place for a drink before or after an academy gig. Super cool decor and atmosphere. Can be a tad loud inside but upstairs is perfect

No big hands but good atmosphere and close to Manchester academy.

Great beer, great music and a great vibe.

Can get busy but there's a lovely terrace upstairs now.

Relatively good, £2 to get in though! Very good selection of beers and a good little terrace.

Always the best craic and quality artwork on the walls.

Really nice bar with great music and a great vibe. Roof garden is really nice too - pretty much a one of a kind place in manchester

Cracking little bar. Great selection of beers.

One of the best bars in Manchester, a hidden gem of a roof garden too!

Lovely locale with a great open air rooftop seating. Drinks reasonably priced and good selection.

Legendary Manchester bar, excellent drinks selection, atmosphere and of course brilliant staff. Forgot to mention great tunes and the best rooftop in Manchester.

Great music, great beer and friendly bar staff

Love this place. My recent visit was the first time i had been in a fair few years, the roof terrace has had a transformation and is a great spot to enjoy a beer. Inside is decorated with lots of interesting mismatch pieces but it really works and feels quite dark and cosy inside.

Great bar with great music. The staff have regular sized hands though so don't go there expecting a freakshow of people with elephantine limbs.

Dropped in to this quirky bar to have a drink before going to the Reggae festival in the next door Manchester Academy . The front is small and you could almost miss it ,but once inside there is a lot of parafinalia on the walls and ceiling to look at and chat about. Upstairs is an open-air seating area with gorgeous lillies, greenery and apple trees and you actually forget you are in the city. Drinks are reasonably priced, service quick and staff super friendly. The outside furniture cud do with a bit of a facelift but other than that it's a nice place to spend a couple of hours in.

Lovely staff, good beer and music

Super funky bar, amazing decor, with old school posters on the walls, moderately priced drinks, and a great roof top seating area surrounded by greenery.

Being out of town, we seldom get to this place but when we do we love it. A few of us went here before going to a nearby restaurant and had a really excellent time. Downstairs is full of atmosphere and there was a live band on even though it was only still fairly early. The weather was superb though so we went upstairs to the amazing beer garden which you would not believe was there from the roadside. Here, you can enjoy their fantastic range of drinks that are all really well kept and they have some unusual ones as well. Beer garden makes a great place to relax and enjoy the Sun whilst taking in the views of Oxford Road. Terrific atmosphere in a terrific bar.

I love it here!!!! It has so much atmosphere and the roof garden is a nice place to drink with friends. The live music is also very old when it is on. The house lager is decent and a reasonable price. One of my must go bars and a favourite with all my mates.

Great place for a beer and a catch up

Great atmosphere and a beautiful terrace

Beautiful bar, painfully over priced for spirits

Ok bar, drinks a bit pricey and sign saying not to play piano not obvious so bit harsh.