Thompsons Arms

About this place Thompsons Arms

Thompsons Arms sits directly on Canal Street with a terrace that extends over the Rochdale Canal — one of the best outdoor drinking spaces in Manchester when the weather cooperates, which in Manchester means approximately 60 days per year (but those days are excellent). The pub is traditional in format — real ale, a comfortable interior, a crowd that ranges from students on a first Canal Street visit to regulars who have been coming since before anyone called it a "gay village." Regular pub quiz nights, weekly drag entertainments, and the Canal Street atmosphere at its most unpretentious. The terrace is the place to understand why Canal Street became what it is: sitting above the water, the other bars on both banks visible, you can see the geography of the scene in a way that makes sense of it.