…but ever since the pandemic, and the various lockdowns, restrictions and random rules that the government has decided to enforce that week, it’s all been a bit all over the place over the last couple of years.
It looks like everything is getting back to normal now, and there’s been a recent influx in new quizzes joining the already well-established ones in the city and beyond. Check these out, handily organised by night of the week…
Monday
The Smithfield Social
1st & 3rd Monday of the month, 7pm
The newest pub quiz offering in the city, The Smithfield Social on Thomas Street only started doing it a few weeks back but already it’s been very popular. Probably because it’s on a Monday night and there’s usually ‘eff all to do. Featuring 4 rounds of random topics, plus a picture and multimedia round – every single week is different and I must tell you – usually rather challenging. The prize is a whopping £75 for first place, £50 bar tab for second and a bottle of plonk for third.
The Smithfield Social, 53 – 55 Thomas St, Manchester M4 1NA
www.thesmithfieldsocial.com
The Big Marble Quiz @ Marble Arch
Every Monday at 7pm
Quintessential boozer The Marble Arch not only ticks all the boxes in terms of beers and food, they also (naturally) have a quiz every single Monday for you to show off all of your useless knowledge in. Quiz Master Rob hosts each week and there’s beer, gin, cash and more to be won. At the moment they’re also offering 50% off food, pretty much meaning this is the most perfect quiz in the city.
The Marble Arch, 73 Rochdale Rd, Manchester M4 4HY
www.marblebeers.com
Tuesday
The Pub Quiz @ The Bay Horse Tavern
Every Tuesday, 8pm
The Bay Horse Tavern is the perfect venue for a pub quiz. For starters they managed to bag themselves a brilliant Quiz Master; one who knows everything from the intricate differences between 13 different species of pipistrelle to being able to tell you the eye colour of Big Ron’s daughter in one EastEnders episode from October 1987. On top of this they also have a brilliant prize of £50 CASH, as well as all of those lovely food dishes to enjoy while you’re playing.
The Bay Horse Tavern, 35-37 Thomas St, Manchester M4 1NA
thebayhorsetavern.co.uk
Pencils Down @ The Pen & Pencil
Every Tuesday, 7.30pm
Recently celebrating their 6th Birthday, The Pen & Pencil’s quiz is hosted by John Stansfield, a man with the combined knowledge of Bob Monkhouse, Roy Walker and Rain Man – ploughing fiendishly difficult questions to a room full of brain boxes. The quiz consists of 4 rounds, with film and telly, general knowledge, music and a special ‘wildcard’ round each week. This wildcard round is picked by the losing time from the previous week! It’s £1 entry and the winner takes all – with a round of beers for the best team name too.
The Pen & Pencil, Fourways House, 57 Hilton St, Manchester M1 2EJ
thepenandpencilnq.co.uk
Quingo @ Electrik
Every Tuesday, 7.30pm
A seamless mix between a quiz and bingo, Quingo manages to not take itself too seriously at all – which comes as a huge relief when the only pub quizzes you go to end up in a massive fight over whether Spock is indeed Full-Vulcan or Half-Human, Half-Vulcan. There’s typically 2 rounds of fun questions, alongside 2 or even 3 or 4 games of bingo – all orchestrated by a geezer with the world’s greatest radio voice and his homemade bingo machine. The prizes are usually all brilliant including chocolates, signed photographs of Sonia Jackson and some other random shit found in a church jumble sale.
Electrik Bar, 559 Wilbraham Rd, Manchester M21 0AE
electrikbar.co.uk
The Railway, West Didsbury
Every Tuesday, 9pm
Everything about this quiz at the Railway screams old school, and it’s all the better for it. There’s no swanky visual aids, no multimedia and definitely no apps – it’s simple pen and paper time as some bloke shouts questions at you from the other end of the bar. It’s a lot of fun and this old boozer is cheap too – meaning a Tuesday night in the pub won’t cost you the same as a weekend away. I can’t remember what the prize for winning is – I had stormed out by that point after trailing in last place the whole time.
Railway Inn, 3 Lapwing Ln, West Didsbury, Manchester M20 2NT
07827 850274
Wednesday
The Fab Cafe Quiz
Every Wednesday, 8.30pm
Coined as the world’s first television and movie theme bar, Fab Cafe is adorned with the kind of kitsch, sci-fi memorabilia you would expect from a weekend at Comic-Con. Movie posters, model spaceships, a TARDIS, pinball machines and arcade games all feature in the bar, with one of my favourite touches coming from the Star Trek bridge/DJ area. Make sure to get yourself here early doors for this fantastic quiz, featuring a varied range of questions and challenges. On top of this, drinks are cheap!
Fab Cafe, Gainsborough House, 109 Portland St, Manchester M1 6DN
www.fabcafe.co.uk
Quiz Night @ Mary & Archie
Every Wednesday, 8pm
A quiz which proudly proclaims to offer up ‘FREE FRIES’ at half time. That’s enough for me. Entry is £1 per person and there’s a maximum of 6 people in each team. There’s also a cash prize to be won – which you can gamble or it rolls on to next week – although I’m presuming most people just take the cash and run. I would.
Mary & Archie, 200 Burton Rd, West Didsbury, Manchester M20 2LW
maryandarchiemcr.co.uk
Common Knowledge
Third Wednesday of every month, 7pm
There has been a fair few iterations of the Common Quiz in the past and it returned with a bang in February, and will continue to take place on the THIRD Wednesday of every month. What should you expect? Well, hosts Alan and John have created quiz show-themed rounds (Family Fortunes, Pointless etc) and you can win a massive bar tab, as well as other random crap that they picked up from Poundland on the way in. It’s a bit chaotic, but a lot of fun and best of all – the booze selection is always on point and… Nell’s Pizzas baby!
Common, 39 Edge St, Manchester, Greater Manchester M4 1HW
www.aplacecalledcommon.co.uk
Headmaster Quiz @ HEAD
Every Wednesday, 8pm
Taking over HEAD in Stretford every Wednesday is their ‘Headmaster Quiz’, a few rounds of general knowledge, a bit of Play Your Cards Right and the chance to win cold hard cash! An old school pen and paper quiz, there’s no gimmicks just devilishly hard questions, lovely lagers and some top tunes.
HEAD, 127-128 Stretford Mall, Chester Rd, Manchester M32 9BH
0161 637 2130
Thursday
Quizzin’ @ Dive Bar & Grill
Every Thursday, 7pm
Quizzin is BACK at Dive it must be said that this quiz is a proper laugh. It re-launched at the beginning of March and has been popular once again. Grab some bevvies (cocktails are 2 for £10 before 7pm), order some grub and enjoy the evening of questions, quips and, if you’re any good – cash prizes.
Dive Bar & Grill, 12 Tib St, Manchester M4 1SH
divebargrill.co.uk
Quizioke @ Flour & Flagon
Every Thursday at 7pm
The “home of general knowledge and generally bad singing”, every Thursday at the Flour & Flagon is Quizioke time, hosted by a fella who calls himself the ‘Quiz Master Flash’. Combining two of the greatest Pub ‘Sports’ ever devised, it’s both quiz and karaoke and you can win a £40 Bar Tab. It also says on the poster that you can win ‘up to £300 instant cash’ – I don’t know what that is but it sounds a bit dodgy.
The Flour and Flagon, 126 Grosvenor St, Manchester M1 7HL
www.flourandflagon.co.uk
Sunday
The Big Fat Sunday Quiz @ Prestwich Social
Every Sunday, 6pm
Taking place every Sunday from 6pm at Prestwich Social, The Big Fat Sunday Quiz is a massive interactive gameshow where you should expect sing-alongs, group participation, drinks promotions and prizes throughout the evening. It comes at the end of a busy day for the Social, serving up loads of great Roast Dinners, Happy Hours and Live Music.
Prestwich Social, Unit 3, The Radius Scheme, Fairfax Rd, Prestwich, Manchester M25 1AS
prestwichsocial.co.uk
PONGO @ The Hive
Every Sunday, 7pm
They’ve switched things up at The Hive down in Stretford this week, introducing ‘PONGO’ which is a combination of ‘pop music’ and ‘bingo’. So you’re going to be quizzed on your musical knowledge from across the decades, interspersed with games of bingo. I think. It’s FREE to enter anyway and you can win a roast dinner for 4 the next Sunday as the prize.
The Hive, Unit 124, 125 Chester Rd, Stretford, Manchester M32 9BH
thehivestretford.co.uk
