Ape & Apple

A Holt’s pub, located on John Dalton Street between St Peter’s Square and Deansgate.
It is a pub I had never noticed before, but the unusual name attracted me.
The Ape & Apple is a traditional pub with a pleasant atmosphere and friendly bar staff.
Food and real ales are available.

Came here for a comedy open mic night last week. What an absolute find! Extremely friendly staff, a huge upstairs venue, an indoor terrace upstairs for smokers that’ll make Hold fast lovers jealous. I mean, what more could you ask for? Well a fairly decent price range for drinks would be a bonus. Voila! Arguably the cheapest drinking hole in the centre of town.
It’s a miracle I’ve never frequented this place before despite its central location. The comedians on show were of top quality, a pleasant surprise, as was the heckler fun that followed. The pub has a very cosy traditional feel to it and as mentioned the space upstairs is substantial for events. I shall be returning very soon and sampling the food with a more detailed review to follow.

Interesting pub…
Never noticed it before and stopped off for a pint after the Unilocal event at Fumo.
Only came here for a drink but seemed to like the place, they’ve got good lagers on tap and some dangerous looking scrumpys on draft too…
Staff we really friendly and I was intrigued about the food menu and the roasts they do on a Sunday.
Would like to come back here and investigate further… watch this space!

Fab little town pub nice atmosphere, great friendly company lovely day enjoying a nice cold pint of Guinness with my Paula and some new Unilocal Friends.

Lovely Manchester Pub. Good atmosphere Nice & Chilled. .Enjoyed a few beers with great company. Will definitely return.

Beautiful and traditional pub interior.
Friendly and accommodating bar chick.
Lots of cask ales on tap.
Chill vibe.
Another terrific Holt’s pub venue.
Cheers!

Pulled pork hot dog, simply to die for! Great food in a friendly environment. Highly recommended.

Joseph Holt Emporium plus guests. Clean well prrsented city centre pub. Beer well kept and very good value.

I always thought this was one of the oddest pub duo-​names I’d ever come across. I had to visit it, the only way it could make me keener would be to rename itself ‘The Zebra and Chutney’ or something. I mean, where in the heck did that come from?
Well, like many reviewers have said before me it’s both unusual and comforting to have a proper traditional pub so centrally placed, right off Deansgate on John Dalton Street, in the heart of Manchester’s business district. Yet it’s far enough away from the main hub of offices and close enough to Albert Square to feel at one with the older part of town, especially when the Christmas Markets are on. And what a pretty, ornate building it is! One of our classics. Being a Holt’s pub it’s cheap too, especially odd for the centre. There are some incredibly big positives to this place, including the fact that it’s home to one of the longest-​running free comedy nights in the city on Wednesdays, and a friendly quiz on Thursdays. There’s also a good selection of pub meals and it has a cosy, homely feel, meaning you understand why people end up in there all day.
With pleasant customers and friendly bar staff, who says you can’t have a decent drinking experience right in the centre of town?

Close to the Albert Square, Arndale and Deansgate, the Ape and Apple is one of the best pubs in Manchester.
There’s no hiding from the fact that it’s a proper ale house. Don’t expect DJs and interior design in here. You sit down with a Joseph Holt pint and tear open a bag of crisps on the table and work on your arse groove.
It really is a splendid pub that only wants to serve you good beer. The staff are pretty chipper too, making the whole experience very pleasing indeed.
In fact, this place feels like a local, even if you’ve never been in before. My first visit was complemented by a riotous natter with a group of old people who cackled and supped ’til kicking out time.
Visit the Ape and Apple — there’s not many places left like it in Manchester City Centre.

The first time I’ve been there, I was with a couple of friends and my boyfriend. we were looking for a place to drink some nice, traditional Joseph Holt beer, to play some Monopoly’s, and some Cluedo, and to eat something later on. All in one people. We had a great time. Really good food, the prices are alright, so nothing to complain about.
The staff is friendly and somehow it happened that another friend of ours was working in there. The bigger, the merrier. It’s lovely, to walk around Deansgate and all the fancy buildings from City centre and to get in front of an old fashioned little pub, that has it’s doors open for everybody wants to taste a bit of history.
If it happens to hit that bit of the town soon, most likely i’ll take my friends again and order some lunch, enjoy a couple and play on the quiz machines again, to win some money and improve our general knowledge.

One of the best traditional pubs in Manchester centre.

It is great when you find a pub in the city, with a similar chilled atmosphere that you would be likely to find in a small town! There are few larger drinkers that go here as this is one of the few Holts pubs in the city, they serve mostly Mild and Bitter as well as some seasonal selections, most of which are only £2 a pint!!! — note — Joey Holts brew is an acquired taste! The most prevalent plus this place has going for it is how friendly the regulars are (or were on my visit) and the bar staff are quite cheerful which instantly made me feel like a regular! It is easy to see why they have made it into the CAMRA good beer guide for the last two years.
This pub also hosts the longest running free comedy night in Manchester. The Comedy Balloon is every Wednesday at 8pm.
They also have a quiz every Thursday around 8pm. with some fairly original liquid prizes to see you through the evening!

I’ve only been in here very briefly, once, when I needed a break from traipsing around the city in the summer. It just looks like another Victorian pub to me from the outside but I was pleasantly surprised when I walked through, especially to find a little beer garden to drink my pint.
This is a Holts pub, there are several varieties to choose from and the prices are cheap (under £2 a pint) but I have to say it wasn’t my favourite pint ever. That said, the beer and the setting draws a loyal crowd, but beware it’s an older crowd of mostly middle-​aged men so don’t expect any conversation as it’s hardly a meeting people hotspot.

Really inviting little pub this place. OK that sounded really condescending didn’t it? I can’t help it though– if were a child I would grab it by the cheeks the way aunties do and make baby noises at it! It’s just all warm and Christmasy and its got a funny name and I’m a sucker for a pub with a funny name.
Reasonably priced and boasting a fantastic Sunday roast, it’s got to be the lazy afternoon venue of choice for anyone wanting to keep their shit traditional.

Good little boozer

A pub in Manchester where you can sit and have a reasonably priced pint of Bitter with a mate and actually talk without having to shout over the music.
Bar services is good and people in here are friendly. The beer is an acquired taste, but is very nice.
Not far from Deansgate, Albert Square or the Arndale.

Its great to be able to find a cracking little pub in the centre of town which still serves great quality beer with a really good atmosphere. Joey Holts bitter and mild hand drawn, combined with the smoothflows make this a great place to drink, and quite fiscal to boot. The place is normally full of good folk who are avoiding the lager bars in town.

What an absolutely solid pub to find in Manchester. Not many lager drinkers in here. Joey Holts on hand drawn and smooth flow and they often have some special on, something to with Owls last time I was in here.
The crowd always seem pleasant folk and the bar staff are friendly. The price is also a bit more manageable than the luxuries of the Chop Houses.

one of the few joey holts left in town, lagers like loopy juice but really cheap and defiently an acquired taste. all big in size like most of holtsy but haven’t sold out to the big boys yet. can’t comment on the food but if you get sick of all the polish and modern bars, get down to the joey