The Meetups You Missed Out On Last Week

Socialising social media site Meetup has come alive in recent months, with group after group being set up in Manchester and, more than likely, the rest of the world. Last week I used the group to continue meeting more people and to explore more places in Manchester.

First up, on Thursday I visited swanky new restaurant 47 King St West, with the group Manchester High Life Club. See the event here.

The relatively new restaurant was offering 3 courses for £25 during the week, which for a venue of its stature is a great deal. The offer applied to any of the starters and desserts, and to any main under £21 (which ruled out all the meat dishes). A sample menu is here. I went for the pate- sorry, parfait- on toast to start with (a generous portion), followed by a spicy seafood linguine main washed down with a complimentary glass of Prosecco. I polished this off with an Eton Mess dessert, possibly my first.

The food was great with fine service and atmosphere (kudos for the low-level chillout music), although nobody beforehand mentioned anything about the service charge, which bumped the price up to £30. Still, a good price for a meal in this venue, considering. Get on this offer while you can. It's quiet during the week, so service is fast.

The Meetup group itself was interesting. I was the youngest there at 32, with at least one of the group a retiree. I don't mind meeting older people. They're wise and have good stories to tell most of the time, as they did on Thursday, but they did all have a few years on me. It may be ideal, if you're checking out a Meetup group for the first time, to glance through a few attendee's profiles and gauge the age of the average member before RSVPing.

Most people went home after this, but the younger ones among us dropped into Elixir on Deansgate, a small and fragrant cocktail bar playing deep house. Well worth a look. I had a few “No-jitos” (non-alcoholic Mojito) and got to know the group members a little more before moving on.

Most people were in work the next day and went home- I'd booked off the morning so I lone-wolfed it in to The Milton Club for their Thursday Night party, Marquee. A Much more fun atmosphere with a younger clientèle than Milton Club's weekend nights, Marquee offers a little more to look at and to soak up while you drink. Pics from the night are here. 

Coronation Street's Brooke Vincent (Sophie Webster) will be celebrating her birthday there next week, if you fancy checking it out.

Saturday: Cocktails at The Botanist with Manchester Social Group. This was the first time I'd been out with this group, a cool and varied collection of people with a good knowledge of current and historical Manchester. They also like getting drunk in cool bars. Win-win, as far as I'm concerned. And other than a few characteristically-wobbly stools, The Botanist is a class act of a bar- good top row, good clientèle, and soft-rock live music, which isn't normally my thing but was a good touch.

Just as it started chucking it down in Manchester as per, I dived into the newly refurbished Lawn Club with some people who had just finished at another Meetup across town. More spacious and pleasantly whitewashed, the bar seemed to have improved not only in appearance (which I honestly thought was fine before) but now has quicker service.

To finish the night off we checked out The Milton Club, where this scenario unfolded:

Bloke: You look like someone.
Me: Is it Gareth Barry?
Bloke: Yes!
Me: Funny that, you look like Conan O'Brien.

The bloke immediately walked off after this. Well, don't give it if you can't take it...

Good people and music, overall. Glad I could introduce people to the venue. Further Meetup nights planned. Be on them!