Atlas Bar

Atlas Bar first opened in 1996 in the railway arches at the southern end of Deansgate, on a site that had earlier been an Atlas-branded car spare-parts shop. In its early years it was a pre-club haunt near the Hacienda and, by local lore, a regular of Factory Records boss Tony Wilson. Mark and Elaine Wrigley took the bar over in 2012 and remade it as a self-styled cafe, bar and gin saloon, opening with 28 gins - then 21 more than anyone else in the city centre and, as it turned out, just ahead of the national gin boom.

Today the back bar holds more than 570 gins, billed as the biggest collection in Manchester and catalogued in the bar's own 'Gin Bible', making Atlas one of the city's defining independent drinking rooms. The long, narrow arch keeps its brick-and-glass railway character and trades all day, from morning coffee through to late-night G&Ts, with a signature gin paddle board that lets drinkers flight three gins with matched garnishes and tonics.

What sets Atlas apart for non-drinkers is that the low-and-no list is treated as a proper part of the offer rather than an afterthought: the June 2026 drinks booklet gives it a titled Low 'n' No section with serves from around GBP 3.50. The alcohol-free spirits shelf runs to Gordon's 0.0, Tanqueray 0.0 and Tanqueray Sevilla 0.0, Warner 0.0, Whitley Neill Raspberry and Rhubarb & Ginger 0.0, Captain Morgan's 0.0, Deadman's Fingers Spiced Rum 0.0 and Myth Coconut Spirit, all available as bespoke alcohol-free gin and tonics - and the signature paddle board comes in a 0.0 version, any three alcohol-free gins with a tonic for GBP 8, so teetotal guests can taste several no-alcohol G&Ts side by side. Six mocktails sit under their own heading, including a Crodino Spritz built from Crodino and 0.0 prosecco, a Dark Mojito on Captain Morgan's Zero, a Pina Colada on Myth Coconut Spirit, and two lower-priced raspberry serves using Double Dutch tonics. Beyond the spirits there are eight non-alcoholic beers and ciders - Beavertown Lazer Crush, Birra Moretti 0.0, Corona Cero, Guinness 0.0, Heineken 0.0, Inches Cider zero, Old Mout and Peroni zero - plus Murviedro 0% sparkling in bottle and 200ml, Luna de Murviedro 0% rose sparkling, and Copenhagen Sparkling Tea 0%. The Seedlip, Everleaf and Tuscan Tree bottlings the bar poured in earlier years are not on the current booklet, and there is no Nogroni on it either; the range has shifted toward the big-house 0.0 expressions instead. Co-owner Elaine Wrigley has leaned into that shift, telling The Manc in January 2022 that the arrival of well-known brands making alcohol-free versions lets the bar push the boundaries of what it can serve non-drinkers.