Friendship Inn
Very nice pub with a good mix of students and locals. Serves good beer, but average food.
Kro Bar
Think starbucks with booze.
Po Na Na
42 charles street
Lass O'Gowrie
Charles street
Queen of Hearts/Cheshire Cat
Cheap, but nothing special. Students only
The Orange Grove
Nice, relatively cheap pub, strict students-only policy. Serves good food.
Sofa
Nice bar, with surprisingly! sofas and wooden floors. DJs on the weekends, also sells tickets to some of the bigger club nights in town.
The Clarance
Hardy's Well
The Rampant Lion
You pay for the privelege of not being on Wilmslow/Oxford Road in the drinks, but the food is very good for the price.
In the University area:
XS Malarkey
Comedy night at bar xs.
Rusholme tends to be slightly less heavy at night and there are less students and more curry restaurants nearby.
Baa Bar
One of a handful in Manchester, a three story bar that serves food during the day and turns up the music in the evening.
Fallowfield is heavy with drunken students at night, so if you want a quiet drink, this is not the place to go. However, if you don't mind students, there are some decent prices to be had.
The Osborne
The Osborne is a quiet Hydes pub hidden away from the main streets in Rusholme.
Manchester Academy 1, 2 and 3
Bands play regularly at the Manchester Academy 1, 2 and 3.
The Whitworth