Ben Reilly launched Stray in Manchester with his friend and business partner Fran Cruse in November 2023.
Stray was seen as one of the biggest openings in the city in 2024. It opened its doors taking on the site of the old Atkinsons Coffee unit at the corner of the food hall Mackie Mayor, in the Northern Quarter.
The stylish modern bar serves sophisticated cocktails in a relaxed setting and promises “belting drinks for lovely people.”
These elevated cocktails are all made with top-quality local ingredients, with the team infusing their own spirits and making their own cordials in-house.
Leading the menu are Stray’s signature drinks – a collection titled ‘Led Astray.’
It also has a weekly changing martini cocktail on the menu. This is designed to help the team be creative so they can experiment with new ingredients and reduce wastage. Previous martinis that have made the menu include The Hushed Tone made with Tapatio, Schofield’s Dry Vermouth, Fino Sherry, passion fruit, bitters & absinthe and the Famous Last Word with Jameson’s, Green Chartreuse, Cocci Americano and lime.
The bar is proving a popular haunt. On its Instagram account the bar revealed that it sold over 5,300 espresso martinis in 2024.
The bar opens Tuesday to Sunday and it takes walk-ins only. It also sells its cocktails in bottles for customers to take home. Recipes include Tomato Vine Margarita, Rhubarb and Pine Gimlet, Spicy Margarita and Classic Margarita.
Mackie Mayor is a hall created in an 1858 Grade II listed market building which has a raft of venues including Honest Crust Pizza and New Wave Ramen.
