About Us

Mala is Manchester’s secret garden bar — a wood-built, fairy-lit hideaway tucked down a side street in the Northern Quarter, where the city falls away the moment you step through the green archway.

A garden grown in the middle of the city

The name says it all: “Mala” is the Hawaiian word for garden. We set out to give Manchester a proper escape — not a rooftop, not a basement, but a living, breathing garden you could disappear into for an afternoon coffee or a whole night of cocktails.

You’ll find us on the corner of Dale Street and Lever Street, right beside Chapter One Books. It’s the kind of place you have to know about — and once you do, it’s hard to keep to yourself.

Rustic retreat meets madcap tea party

Inside, it’s an “outside-inside” world strung with fairy lights and trailing plants. Pastel booths, retro lampshades, individual wooden cabins you can book for your own corner of the garden — equal parts rustic rural retreat and slightly-madcap, Wes-Anderson tea party. Covered and heated year-round, so the Manchester weather never gets a vote.

Cocktails, craft beer & a kitchen that keeps changing

Behind the bar: a tight, characterful list of craft cocktails — from our signature Summer of ’21 to frozen margaritas — alongside specialist and continental beers and a short, strong wine list. In the garden’s kitchen, a different independent street-food trader takes over each week, so there’s always a new reason to come hungry. Add in local DJs and live music, and Mala becomes a full-day destination: coffee at 8am, last cocktail close to midnight.

Come find the garden. See what’s pouring or get in touch about a cabin.