Preston Food & Drink, Music, Clubs, Theatre and Art
FOOD & DRINK
1. Winckleys
Winckley St @Winckleys
Tucked away off leafy Winckley Square, Winckleys sandwich and coffee bar looks humble but does extremely good fare, from handmade pizzas to artisan coffee, all down to staff who really know their stuff. It's also possibly the cosiest spot around Christmastime, and a little sun trap in the summer.
2. Glovers Bar
43 Glovers Ct @Gloversbar
If you’re gonna drink from a fishbowl (let’s face it, you are), you may as well make it a Glovers fishbowl. It’s house, deep house and tech house on Fridays, and house… – and disco! – on Saturdays at this party bar.
3. Mystery Tea House
23 Cannon St
After some pre-exam headspace? The intriguingly named Mystery Tea House is, as you might expect, a good place for zenning out over a loose leaf blend or blooming tea and a book. From oolong to yerba mate, there's something for most moods.
4. Moka
85A Fishergate
A cafe-bar by day and tapas spot by night, the chilled and affordable Moka cafe is a trusted spot for getting the evening going, or just cleansing the palate after a beer-and-burger-fuelled weekend.
5. Coco's Soul Food
88 Friargate
Blink past the eye-popping exterior, and Coco’s Soul Food offers flavoursome and filling portions of Mediterranean dishes, enchiladas and tacos on a student budget, and is an ideal shelter from winter conditions; chow down, warm up, and try the jungle sauce.
6. Roper Hall
Friargate @TheRoperHall
Eat, drink, party is Roper Hall’s tagline – sometimes it's as simple as that, and this popular student pub will see you right with straight-up bar food, live sports, open mics on Sundays and a Tuesday quiz, at which a free butty can be obtained (!).
7. The Ginger Baker
22 Berry Ln, Longridge @TheGingerBaker
Specialising in gluten and wheat free breads and cakes, the recently opened Ginger Baker is a – literally – sweet little tearoom a half-hour trundle out of Preston that also supplies Winckleys cafe. Astound your friends with dietary requirements by actually knowing where to take them.
CULTURE
8. The Continental
South Meadow Ln @newcontinental
A characterful pub on the banks of the Ribble, The Continental's adjacent arts space is arguably the hub of Preston's alt/fringe cultural activity, with a calendar programmed by local social enterprise/arts collective They Eat Culture. It hosts GeekUp meets, book and creative writing clubs, dance classes and burlesque alongside an eclectic, inspiring music programme that ranges from far-out kosmische to up close and personal folk.
9. Harris Museum & Gallery
Market Pl @HarrisPreston
The gorgeous, Grade I-listed neoclassical Harris building houses a vast art collection and offers strong contemporary programming, having recently provided one of the stop-offs for Bruce Nauman's ARTIST ROOMS series. It prides itself on a strong interaction with the community – make it a haunt.
10. Guild Hall & Charter Theatre
Lancaster Rd @prestguildhall
The two theatre venues of the Guild Hall and Charter Theatre welcome popular names in comedy who stop off mid-countrywide tour, visits from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and – should you have a pantomime quota you're looking to fill – a generous amount of musical theatre and family entertainment.
11. Korova Arts
Charnley St @KorovaArts
A little hive of activity in the heart of the city, Korova Arts' fantastic cafe-bar performance space hosts sporadic comedy events that make up for their spontaneity with great lineups – search 'KorovaKomedy' on Facebook – and it even has its own mini 'K-Stock' festival, with live music and other entertainment. Tuesdays are open mic night, while every second Friday is Nu Folk Sessions.
12. Chorley Little Theatre
Dole Ln, Chorley @ChorleyTheatre
Okay so it's not in Preston, it's half an hour down the road, but Chorley Little Theatre has of late reinvented itself as a comedy fan’s paradise, booking acts that might not even appear in Liverpool or Manchester into a theatre with a 236 capacity simply because they like to play there – John Bishop and Richard Herring are among its fans, and it held Edinburgh previews for the first time this year.
CLUB & GIG VENUES
13. 53 Degrees
Brook St @53degrees
With a gig calendar taking in up-and-coming and established touring names (check out Liverpool's Dan Croll in October) and regular good-time clubnights spanning funk and Northern Soul, 53 Degrees is Preston's premier live music venue – and participates in the UCLan Freshers' Pass deal.
14. The Ferret
55 Fylde Rd @themadferret
With a fuss-free manifesto of 'art, film, indie, psychedelic, rock', The Ferret does exactly what it says on the tin – and is perhaps Preston's best-loved music venue, having seen the likes of Alt-J and Frightened Rabbit through its doors when they were on the up. Check out fresh talent after some nosh from the recently introduced smokehouse and a craft ale or two.
15. The Adelphi
43 Fylde St @The_Adelphi
In a band? The Adelphi pub, slap bang in the middle of the UCLan campus, could be a good shout for your first gig – drop off a demo and they'll endeavour ro hook you up with a promoter. Or you could just get up and try out the open mic on a Friday night after sourcing some Dutch courage from the week-round drinks offers.
16. The Warehouse
50 St John's Pl @thewarehouseuk
The more alternative of the mainstream nightclubs, the Warehouse offers indie, rock and emo, hip-hop and pop punk over three floors on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and has been running, like, forever – Joy Division played there in 1980 dontcha know.