Friday 3 June 2011

Fantazia at Prohibition‏




The back-bar, daubed with candle wax, houses a plethora of exemplary spirits- your regulars like Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort make the grade. Find your scotches- GlenLivet and GlenFiddich and others- nestled in the corner. The large mirror behind the bar, secured in a purposefully rusty frame, reflects the packed room- well-dressed and good-looking revellers sampling classic and contemporary house. On the decks, Jason Herd- one half of dance duo Herd ‘n’ Fitz- dishes out tune after tune, including my request: 


Prohibition is a favourite; not just for me but for a crowd of house lovers in the city.

It's May bank holiday, and tonight the bar is hosting Fantazia. Given that bank holidays tend to be quiet in Manchester, with the majority of people from surrounding towns preferring to stay local, Prohibition has done well. They sold out of bookable tickets days ago. There were a small number available on the door- we dived in early to snatch them up. Although the atmosphere is good, the room is boiling hot- hotter than most packed bars. This doesn’t stop the dancing, though.

It’s possible that the Prohibition team were a little to ambitious- Apparently the ladies’ toilets are “minging”- the gents' seem okay, but busy- and queuing for drinks obviously takes a while. It’s normally just a few quid in at Prohibition but tonight they are charging £10 on the door. It’s still a good night, but that’s a given for Prohibition. Ten pounds? Well… people pay it. More important than any of these factors- the music, the décor, the money- is the company I keep. In my case, with my mates- it’s exemplary.

Prohibition is a chain of bars. There might be one near you. See their website, and their (strangely mute) cocktail-making instructional videos.

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