Manchester Lane, Melbourne

Rating:3/5
After that satisfying dinner at Il tempo, a night of live music was just a couple of meters away at Manchester Lane, which is both the name of the bar and the small side street it's on.

Just like Il Tempo or C&B, this is in a small alley so get in via Flinders lane on the side of Swanston street. You'll see a small velvet rope and a well dressed bouncer who graciously gave me a small tour of the place because I wasn't convinced that there was anything going on during that night.

From the outside, you wouldn't have guessed that it's spacious inside, dimly lit with a small stage at one end. They've got live music most nights and there's a cover charge (waived for diners) that ranges from AUD$10 to AUD$25, depending on who is playing.

During the Saturday night I was there, club regular Matt Dwyer's little big band (AUD$10) was playing and the place was packed with young revelers! In stark contrast, I went again during a weekday evening and disappointingly, there was only a handful of us listening to Jon English (AUD$25).

Three pawikan points for Manchester lane. Maybe next time i'll try their food. Minus points because they don't have pint sized beer so I had to keep on going back to get my glass refilled.