Situated slap bang in the middle of student country, and fashioned out of an old church, Fallowfield’s legendary 256 has been a part of the undergraduate furniture for as long as anyone can remember.
Before it was cleverly named after its address, it was the Queen of Hearts, the site of many a conversation about Nietzsche over six pints of reasonably-priced lager by the residents of nearby Owens Park halls.
Then in 2011, it became 256, stylishly refurbed with its mezzanine floor, a huge bar running the length of the venue and heaps of fun stuff, including its pool table, table tennis and darts areas for the pub sports aficionado.
Of course, if that’s not your thing, there’s entertainment on tap. This includes making your own, with its own soundproofed ‘karaoke snug’ room, which you and a bunch of pals can hire out.
Regular club and promotion nights happen all through the week – with free pool, table tennis, X Box, Playstation and board games on a Monday, it’s massive student nights on a Tuesday and a Wednesday, bingo on Thursdays, 90s Vs 00s on Fridays, the Antics club night on a Saturday and a weekend wind-down quiz night on Sundays.
It has a sprawling outside area too for the summer months, and all major sports are televised too, from the Six Nations to Saturday afternoon Premier League action.
On the menu, there’s a solid range of sharing plates, pub grub, giant breakfasts for those in ‘recovery’, not to mention a wildly reasonable Sunday roast, or for those too busy for such things, a roast wrapped up in a giant Yorkshire Pudding.
An absolute institution.