Via in Manchester

We were in Manchester for 13 nights & ventured to VIA 3 times. It is a fun place for dancing, drinking & music. And the queens here actually know how to sing. No lip synching. The space is split over many levels. Lots of rooms and staircases tucked all over. Plus a few different places to buy a drink. Best of all: no cover charge. The place is attitude free: all are welcome. Bouncers & bartenders friendly & polite (although it is pretty hectic). On weekends the place tends to be packed. For a night out in The Village in Masnchester VIA gets our vote.

Beautiful building with an amazingly unique layout. My friends and I agreed it gave Harry Potter vibes and made you feel very important. There were several balcony/walkway areas where you could stop and overlook the venue. Very cool, would recommend. The portion sizes for the drinks were very fair also, and reasonably priced.

Got rejected because I’m trans 👎 don’t go here if you’re a t-girl, you won’t be welcomed. They didn’t specifically say why, gave me a couple of fake reasons that kept changing, but my straight cis girlys were allowed in and I got told no at the door, that’s the only difference between us. Gay clubs should be for all LGBT+ people, they’re supposed to be our spaces. Wild to cater to cishets but reject a trans girl. EDIT: to reply to their reply, I was not intoxicated. This was the first place we tried to get in and I’d only had one small glass of wine and lemonade whilst getting ready, I was clearly not even tipsy. We then went on to be accepted into 5 clubs in the gay village and had a great time, we were not rejected anywhere else, we were welcomed with open arms. It is absolutely categorically untrue that I was “intoxicated”. The bouncer initially said it was my dress that wasn’t good enough to get in, but then changed it to “we’re full”, but then continued to let other people in. We all know the real reason why 🏳️‍⚧️🙄 Instead of taking responsibility and reeducating their door staff, they’d rather turn the responsibility on to me. They clearly refuse to take any accountability or make any positive changes and instead prefer to victim blame and lie. Vile behaviour 👎🏼

This is a large gay bar that used to be quite trendy. Still a good place to meet and the drinks are reasonably priced. Staff are friendly too.

It's one of my all-time favourite pubs. The best fish and chips in town!

Even for a Tuesday, great ambience and music. Only a short visit in Manchester, but would come again if/when next visiting from Australia

Rudest bouncers you could ever meet.

Lovely rose and burgers to start the weekend. Great staff and atmosphere.

A great bar on Canal Street Great drag show last night. Shame I walked in nearer the end but saw enough. Has plenty of room and nice staff

Omg! Via is amazing! The venues looks amazing. Very well decorated for pride! ❤️❤️❤️

Lines not clean; Moretti didn't taste as it should. Please fix it.

The best 👌🏻 DJ Billy Andrew and the other talent make for a solid night!

Currently has the same bouncer that has previously worked at other clubs on Canal Street, who always refuses entry to would-be entrees for ridiculous reasons (“it’s regulars only tonight”, “no large groups tonight, I recommend going down the road” etc). This individual makes gay village a stressful place to visit. Hope to visit again and revise this review in the near future when the door staff have changed.

Fantastic place. Friendly staff & great nights out. Highly recommend

Great place for a night out lots of clubs and pubs around

We spent the remainder of our night in Manchester's Gay Village in the Via Club yesterday. Everything looked fabulous inside, the music was fantastic and the atmosphere was amazing. The crowd sang along to each and every song and the vibe was contagious. Hours flew by and we enjoyed ourselves so much. The bartenders were also super nice and did a great job. We will cherish the memories we've made here forever and will definitely come back again!

A must if you are visiting canal street/gay village. Always a great atmosphere, and good drag entertainment, when busy there’s multiple bars (downstairs and far back right). Miss “under Via” though - was always good to have a bit of a dance down there.

Excellent as always. Love to sit out watching the World go by.....in it's diverse forms.

The staff, especially the one with braces just cannot give a damn about customers. Such a shame!

Fabulous place to have a beer loved it

a fantastic meal on our wedding anniversary in the place where I proposed 20 years ago to my fantastic wife❤

Not too busy for a hot day. But great food great atmosphere and an amazing chill way to start a sat. Lovely and attentive staff. Was easy getting a drink. Pizza I amazing

Partner's valid ID was refused by bouncers, who were extremely rude and arrogant

Great atmosphere. Staff were all friendly. DJ played good music. We didnt get food but will definately return and likely order food if available

Food was really good, burger was one of the best I've had in a while and topped Mac n cheese also pretty dreamy.

Always a great atmosphere and one of our favourite places to visit in Canal Street. Stayed for food yesterday (Friday 31/05/2024) and had the spicy nachos. A lovely waitress could see me struggling with the heat of the amazing food so brought me a glass of milk on the house. Thank you!

Came in for the Eurovision final, and the drag queens decided to talk all the way through Loreen's performance

Spent a couple of hours here last Friday for the first time in a few years and had a blast. The barman who served us was very friendly and the DJ’s tune selections were immaculate. We will definitely be back soon!

This was the first ever bar I visited on Canal Street. The staff are absolutely lovely and the food and drink is excellent. Can get a bit busy later on but that's to be expected. Also I love the decor.

Spectacular location, the music is spot on, staff always happy and smiley😊 perfect place from the second you get in, welcomed from the bouncers and from everyone.. Seriously good job guys😀😀😀 Lee is the best❤️🙃🙃

Amazing without hesitation I would go again!!!!

So gutted we were turned away even though we had booked because we were a hen party. We had been recommended here but made to feel unwelcome. When booking this should be made clear on the form. Really disappointed :(

Refused entry for no reason other than we was too big a group

We have a regular Saturday get together always friendly helpful staff and good food recommended all our m8s from London live the place

5 of us willing to spend money to celebrate a great weekend turned away at the door by a doorman who said they don't accept groups.....we were 5 friends!!

Amazing place, huge variety of seating areas. Multiple bars which is great during peak times. Often has drag shows and DJs which are always great. Staff are also amazing! Drinks are quite pricey, and does get very busy during peak days. Lots of toilets. Very lovely atmosphere, definitely recommend.

Best nightclub come across so far, surrounding over night clubs that are near by. Bouncers aren’t rude, service is good. In love with the layout and the architecture of the building😍 Some of the people in there aren’t pleasant- overall enjoyed it

So fun, this is a staple for a night out in gay village. Drag and tribute acts are so entertaining. It is always busy on the weekends which makes for a great atmosphere. Although I have noticed there are more weird people in here compared to other gay clubs and bars but that’s not the establishment’s fault. Drinks are expensive which is especially noticeable when they are some very cheap places in the village. The interior is pleasant and it is large so lots of different areas of the bar to explore. Always have a good time in there

One of the gay village’s best venues by far. The only downside is that it gets too busy sometimes and it’s hard to move - but it’s a great night out. I’d definitely recommend to anyone visiting Manchester.

Horrific experience. This is not a safe space for queer people. £25 for three drinks, what the hell.

Didn't have food large vodka and coke around £9 mark which is pretty good these day's. Quite busy on a Sunday afternoon would recommend, loads of interesting seating

Even though I didn't do anything, the security guard waiting at the door pushed me away. When I said you can't touch me or act like that, he arrogantly said yes I can!! He might be the most disgusting person I've ever seen in my life. Definitely do not go to such a place!

The biggest and best LGBTQ+ venue in the country, if not the world. Via is the number 1 place to be!

I had the big burger it was a life changing experience. I feel spiritually more full then ever . Would do again .

absolutely love this place, such amazing entertainment :-)

I have been here a few times over the last six months as I have started to revisit the Village after twenty years. I find the atmosphere here quite relaxing and unassuming. People are who they want to be and everyone seems to get on and enjoy the evening. Even I had managed to strike up a conversation in here and I am generally very shy. There's downstairs, where people dance a lot and there's upstairs where people talk and dance a lot. There are little cosy recesses, where people sit and chat a lot. I quite like it and generally come in here every time I visit.

First time in Manchester and came to this lovely place and I had such a wonderful time. Staff were so lovely and friendly. I’m definitely coming back on my next visit to Manchester.

I have news for Via, beer prices like London in which Manchester is not!

Went out with some friends and I was not allow enter the club cause of the type of shoes I was wearing. Security told me that cause my heels were slide ins I was not allow. Had to go home sadly. I don't think I would go there ever again or recommend it

Probably the busiest pub on Canal Street but lacks the atmosphere of its heyday

Absolutely amazing bar always great service you can’t beat in the whole gay willage well done guys !

went for food Sunday evening at 6.30pm. Very poor quality food. The order came far too quickly, so obviously, it wasn't freshly prepared... very disappointing.

They discriminate us for being just women. Lesbiophobic.

Absolutely cracking roast dinner! Liam and the rest of the team were exceptional!

Food was really good. Needed a meal before travelling and it was good pub food. Nice atmosphere too. Young Lady behind the bar seemed a bit sour but maybe she was having a bad day. Can’t wait to come back!

The lady discriminated because I’m Mexican everyone so drunk. Bu she said not you not fair and I’m didn’t anything and she so rudo show me bad sigh to my face like she enjoy. I’m feel horrible not come this place. With you not want discrimination

Had a really good night in a generally mixed age and demographic (predominantly white but not all) and great to see gender neutral / fluid / trans / non-binary folk present and seemingly comfortable. Door staff friendly and chatty, not intimidating as I’ve read from a few reviews. Multiple bars over multiple floors, it’s a great place on multi-levels like an old theatre or manor. Space to sit and chill and chat or places to stand and dance. Drinks priced as you’d expect. Didn’t try the food. Five of us together, mixed heritage, aging from early twenties to late forties and it suited us all. Mix of music that catered to all our terrible tastes. Great to have gender neutral loos. All single occupancy cubicles so everyone can pee without a falsely created drama! Really pleased we picked this venue for the evening. Can’t compare to others as we didn’t move on having found this suited our group!

Bizarre entry rules… unable to attend in a group

Such a lovely bar, great staff, great doorstaff especially Lee, always looked after, always feel safe and very clean a credit to visit and highly recommend Thankyou

Think you need to find better door staff or teach them some manners… vile rude and horrible.

This place is not great. Uses to visit regularly back in late 90s early 2000s. Via has gone down hill. Rude and ignorant bar staff who'd rather chat to their mates than serve you and happily leave you stood there for 5 min while they finish their chat. The door staff are far worse. Rude and aggressive in their tone and on more than one occasion refused entry for no reason and once refused entry as "I don't look gay". If you are anything other than white Caucasian then don't even bother trying to get in!! I refuse to put my money in the till nowadays as the village has many better places. Places where the customer isn't held in contempt like they are here. The sooner the place closes and gets new owners and new staff, the better. Such ashame as it used to be such a good place. You only have to look at negative reviews. The same themes reoccurring. Same response from Via....let us know more so we can improve....this is clearly nonsense as same complaints stretch back years yet still no improvement. Goes to show they clearly don't care and their responses are a bad attempt at damage limitation.

Bouncers are awful. Small group of 4 went here early evening. First place we went to, hadn’t even had a drink, and told by the bouncer we can’t come in. No reason given, no eye contact, really hostile. Think they were just bored and wanted to start trouble. I ain’t giving it them. No worries I’ll just go next door. Won’t bother with here again.

One of my personal favourites in the gay village! The bouncers are friendly and helpful. There are often live drag acts that are actually pretty fierce and the service at the bar is always good, even when the place is heaving.

Pretty big pub with a couple of dance floors. Great weekend shows with drag queens and friendly crowd for a night out

Great place to have a drink and dance the night away! Huge inside with 4 floors and loads of places to sit. Several bars apart from the main one at the front mean you can get served quickly. The Abba show was great. Really good crowd and mix of people.

Such a fun spot! Enjoyed the show and banter from the Queen.

I like Via. They have a good selection of beers and wine although they'd run out of Tempronilla tonight. Staff are friendly. Pub has lots of different areas to sit. Food is good. Good choice of pizzas, both veggie and non veggie. Reasonably priced. A night here will not break the bank. They also have a vegan and gluten free menu. Burgers are very good.

Drag act was fantastic, very lively and friendly atmosphere so you can relax unlike other bars in the area, the bouncer was really sound and friendly, definitely recommend going this place

Superb, safe venue providing nightly entertainment and a FAB night out. Drink prices fair too. Saw "Whitney" (Ikenna) who was incredible. Highly recommended!!

It’s my favourite place in Manchester but lately upon arrival we can’t go in since we are a group of people, if 4-6 people are denied entry, how you get in? Are you supposed to go in 1 by 1? I been there 1000 times and I see many groups inside with 8-10 people, we are going on Saturday again, are we supposed to go in 2 by 2? You even post photos with groups of 6-8 people on Facebook. Please explain this policy…

I concur with some of the less than complimentary reviews on here. As an older single gay man visiting Manchester, I searched online for a gay environment to have a meal and this place looked good. On arriving there were 3 people behind the bar with another one floating about, one serving a customer the rest doing nothing. I was holding a menu trying to catch their eyes but was completely ignored for about 5 minutes. The menu is well presented giving the impression the food will be good, but the burger I had was only ordinary and included one fatty gooey deep fried onion ring, a hint of lettuce, a hint of bacon and 3 meat patties swimming in sauce. The venue is an obviously heavily used gay bar similar to many found world wide

Been going in when i visit the village regularly, however now seems a very bizarre policy communicated by the doorman of a Stonegate policy of groups of 5 or more not allowed in Saturday before last! Bearing in mind we were a sensible group of mixed ages hardly likely to cause trouble let alone at 5pm in the afternoon! Money spent elsewhere and won't return

Service was good as was the atmosphere. Didn’t have any food but was impressed with what I saw others having.

Wife was accosted on entry and searched by a male bouncer who was very aggressive. Please think about how you are speaking to people

Always heart-breaking when a great LGBTQ+ bar is let down by one or two unprofessional / unhelpful staff members. Tried to book a table for 7 people (10 days in advance) for my birthday, which happened to fall on a Saturday. Despite birthday parties being advertised on their website and being allowed to complete the booking online, they cancelled my booking with no explanation. I called the bar to help sort it out, and was passed to another person then was told that person does not deal with bookings, I left a number to be passed on and heard back a bit later. The person who answered explained very bluntly they do not accept bookings of more than 6 people online, they also would reject a booking at that time on a Saturday (evening 8pm). I asked if we showed up on Saturday would we be able to gain entry, they said no guarantee. I told them that their website advertises for these times, they reinforced that any more than 6 is an immediate cancellation. I enquired what is the point of the birthday booking system then if you can't book. They replied you can, just not any more than 6 and not on a Saturday night. I said you need to advertise that as your website booking system allows more than 6 people and bookings for a Saturday evening. They said it's to stop people showing up drunk in fancy dress and football tops. I said, "so if I book for 6 people, no fancy dress, no football tops, we show up sober and one more person decides to join us, is that is okay?" and they said no, they would not accept additional people and couldn't give us a table. Blunt, no compromise, no recommendations. Was told I simply could not pre-arrange 7 people to arrive at 8pm on a Saturday night. Really disappointed as our group is mixed of queer and allies, we wanted a safe and fun night.

Great food and the staff are very friendly. Atmosphere is excellent.

Awesome coffee, friendly staff, cozy vibes! Highly recommend

Amazing..so good..songs are so good..a Cabernet is nice and the security guard also good and nice..drinks are cheap compared to other places..good atmosphere..

The food is great; the prices are appropriate; the staff is always friendly and welcoming, and the location is absolutely spectacular.

Loved this bar, plenty of different zones. If you didn't want to watch the drag artist you can go somewhere else and chill. Plenty of bars to get a drink, really great atmosphere and lovely door staff.

Came in during food service around lunch time. Great atmosphere and friendly staff - the food was fresh and very tasty, well worth a meal if needing one on Canal Street.

If you go with a group of friends that are straight, they won’t allow you inside. I really wanted to go inside for my birthday, but they claim they don’t allow groups while they do.

The bodyguard invented rules about not letting groups after letting groups in this discrimination on another level

Having been a a very regular customer of Via (Fossa) from 1999 rather disappointed with the smarmy, smug and ageist attitude from tonight's staff... unexpected and more than a bit disappointed and more than a bit disappointed

Cool decor, decent DJ, but less of a vibe compared to the other bars on Canal Street.

Really disappointed. Wearing chinos with a side pocket and was told it's sports wear. Respectfuly asked to speak with the manager who agreed it's not sports wear. But then door staff accused me of being rude. Im old enough to realise being rude to door staff is hardly the way forward. Blatant lie. I only wanted some food and a drink as I'm here for the night with work. I only really drink in there when in Manchester like twice a year..very disappointed via.

Love the doorstaff, bar staff and entertainment !!

Nice venue, however it has quite an elitist and unfriendly feel to it. Lacks inclusivity despite advertising itself as an “icon of the Gay Village”. Take your business elsewhere.

Chouette bar, bonne atmosphère. Mais ne prenez pas d'Apérol Spritz, vous recevrez une eau pétillante aromatisée pour 10€.

Nice place. The worse aperol spritz ever

Bouncers won't let you in based on colour - sad to see in 2023. If you arrive with your friends, there is chance you won't all get in together!

Great venue, really well decorated and nice staff! Was lovely to come here after being verbally abused by the REM doorman!

Great vegan food and lovely staff. Entertainment in the evenings are some of the best in Manchester, really worth a visit.

Lovely Place, lovely People , nice Atmosphere. Live music during the week. Highly recommended

Nightclub is enjoyed mixed young to older people like music things feel vibrant of floor nice feel good view

you didn't let my friends in on account of them being Black. i hope yous go out of business. Also, instead of gaslighting me by telling me that this discrimination never happened, investigate the incident with your staff. Ask them why, on a Saturday night, they didn't let a group of Black people because it was 'regulars only'. Tackle the prejudices in your staff, and recognize there are structural systems that allow you to exclude Black people and then claim it never happened. Your response is unacceptable. My friends arrived in the early hours of Sunday. A few were in the smokers area when the rest of their group showed up and security asked everyone to leave under the pretext is was 'regulars only'. I do not want to further traumatize my friend by prodding for more information. This should be more than enough to jog your teams memory. I expect a full apology including a proposed solution.

We came in for a drink last night. Friendly service and great prices. We sat in the downstairs are where there is a small bar. Lovely little nooks with comfy chairs in that area. Can't wait to come back for one of the shows!

Amazing venue and the cabaret here is out of this world. Always come here through the week for a pint and show. The staff are brilliant as well and add to the atmosphere of the venue.

Amazing venue and the food is to die for. Would highly recommend.

Callum (manager), very friendly, took care of 2 newcomers to the city. Great pub, food was great. Loved it