Fab Cafe, Manchester

Set in a cellar, the entrance from street level is down a set of steps and through silver double doors. A single large dimly-lit space greets you, with bar on the right. You may notice that almost every bit of wall space is covered in posters and portraits of various actors. The ceiling gets the treatment too, with plenty of spaceship models hanging from it. This is the city’s first and only cult-TV and Sci-Fi theme bar after all. Hence you find a mock-up of the starship Enterprise's bridge area (used as a DJ booth), next to this is a forlorn looking Dalek; finally, K-9 keeps a welcome guard of the doorway. Display cabinets either end of the bar are full of Sci-Fi toys and memorabilia; board games are available to play with too. There is a profusion of video games, both in stand-up and table-top styles, the latter forming the majority of tables in the pub! If pinball is your game, one of the city's few machines is located here. A varied clientele makes this an engaging place to stop awhile. A quiz is held every Wed evening, whilst food is served daily except Sun at 4.30-9 (7.30 Fri-Sat). Ask the staff if you want to use the Wi-Fi. Regularly changing real ales were re-introduced in early 2015 but handpumps were removed post-pandemic and cask ale is no longer available