The Fitzgerald — Restaurant in Manchester

I was disappointed with my visit to The Fitzgerald. I had read many good reports about the hidden speakeasy vibe with 1920s décor and staff dressed up in 1920s attire to add to the illusion.

However, there is no ‘hidden’ speakeasy feel, or unmarked doors. The venue is clearly signposted from the street with two massive signs and an open door. The speakeasy vibe was shattered even more when I made it up the stairs and the staff were wearing hot pants, black pants and a plain black t-shirt. The DJ had a white shirt and a black waistcoat. Hardly the 1920s glamorous attire I was expecting.

There were no seats available as the place was filled with large groups of people who had pulled tables and chairs from all over the place to form large seating areas for their groups. We waited for a ten minutes and a table opened up between two groups. We ordered an aviator as this was their speciality. It was not spectacular, it was above average.

I don’t know if my expectations were set too high before I arrived but I was really disappointed. I was expecting a 1920s time warp with unmarked doors, a dimly lit venue with 1920's décor full of tables for two with staff in full on 1920’s attire. I didn't get any of that, it felt like I had stumbled into something that wouldn't look out of place in Deansgate. Overall I was greatly disappointed with...

I was very excited to come here... and we (a group) ended up here on a quiet night, only a handful of others... which sadly highlighted the tiredness of the bar. ■Atmosphere is lovely, the busier it is, the better it is... However, it is quite depressing when quiet. ■Cleanliness is poor. Sticky tables. Toilets in bad state. Finger prints all over glass panes, streaky wipesover others (showing clearly no regular cleaning). ■Service, meh. Red haired bar woman was pleasant and friendly, and honestly so wonderful in her 'vibe' but was more interested talking to a friend at the bar rather than serving us. While some alcoholics may enjoy their drinks made with overwhelming amounts of hard alcohol... we certainly did not. Personally, my cocktail was missing part of it's mix, I saw the barwoman not pour it in, and handed it to me. However, I am assuming she made up with it with pouring in the extra booze. ■The cocktail menu is very weak. Average at best, other cocktail bars, including the now closed Sonata bar had a better and more inventive range.

Overall, I am sure it's had its moments by the reviews, however I'm guessing the bar's heyday has gone, and is on a downward trajectory. I'd recommend if there was an act/event on, otherwise......

This was really disappointing. It should have been such an excellent night, it still was in fact. However, the attitude of the woman running a comedy night was so poor. It put most of the audience in a bad mood before the comedy started. She kept insisting nobody used the booths because it would ruin the show as the audience would feel empty. I said okay. If it gets full can we move into a booth? She said no, they were closed. However there was plenty of people in booths by the end. Not sure if she gave up fighting with everyone, however she created such an atmosphere that she really ruined the enjoyment. I spoke to her after with an asked why people were saw the boots and she said they were comedians. They were not. Some of the people weren't even paying to be there for the show and to just stayed on from being in the bar beforehand. Wine choice was terrible... Three different cheap red wines available. We shared a bottle and add a terrible headache the next day. Toilets are pretty dirty and often had long queues and no toilet roll.

The acts were pretty good. Cocktails were good. Service at the bar was very good and the singer who came on after the women in comedy was brilliant. Paramored I think?? Made out...