Those familiar with the Gay Village will hardly be surprised that we’re considered one of the best in the UK for an LGBTQ+ friendly night out, with On Bar, in particular, racking up quite the fanbase thanks to its weekly events (which include fantastic bottomless brunches!), the industrial decor, and the great music. And it’s even garnered the attention of the pros at The Bottle Club.
Ranking in their ‘best UK LGBTQ+ bars’, the beloved Gay Village venue took the respectable fourth spot, ranking just behind The Viaduct in Leeds, Marys in Cardiff and The Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London.
The bar ranked highly for its dedicated social media following, alongside its decent location close to Manchester Piccadilly. On Bar marks the only Manchester venue to grace the list, which is quite the feat considering we’re blessed with some fantastic venues within Manchester’s Gay Village.
In addition to On Bar being named one of the best LGBTQ+ bars in the UK, Manchester also came in fourth place as one of the best LGBTQ+ party destinations in the UK, falling behind Brighton, London and Edinburgh who claimed the top three spots. Manchester lost out on the third spot due to a low safety score, with The Bottle Club ranking it among one of the worst in the UK for general safety. The city did, however, rate highly for the choice of hotels within the city, alongside its popularity on social media for nights out.
Deserving winner Brighton scored high across the board, with only drinks prices and hotel choice letting it down. Otherwise, it was named the safest place in the UK for the LGBTQ+ community to party, with minimal hate crimes reported in the area.
The research utilised a number of tools when gathering the data, including cost of living database Numbeo, reviews on multiple hotel booking sites, and hype on social media.