Stumbling across a great new bar is all well and good, but nothing quite beats the satisfaction of seeking out a real hidden gem.

Bars that feel like your little secret, a Prohibition-era type of establishment that's just that little bit off the beaten track.

There are plenty of them to seek out in Manchester - some hiding behind fake shop frontages, some tucked behind blank doors down alleyways.

Surely by this stage we've all had a conversation that went a little something like this: "I'll meet you at that new cocktail bar." "Cool, where is it?" "It's down that back street in the Northern Quarter - no sign or anything, but it's the door that's been disguised as a brick wall behind the bins."

These bars are often serving up some of the best cocktails in the city, offering some sort of world-class entertainment, or whatever else draws the punters inside when there's no sign outside.

If you know of any more share them with us on Twitter @CityLifeManc.

Convenience Store

When we heard word that the people behind Almost Famous were opening a convenience store, we suspected something was afoot - sure enough, if you pop in here late at night you're more likely to find a pint of lager than a pint of milk.

From the outside, neon lights advertise Pepsi, Red Bull, and Bud Light. Inside the former Keko Moku site, there are displays full of Pop Tarts and Sour Patch Kids and Reese's peanut butter cups.

But drinks are the main event - cocktails are creative, wacky and fun, topped with Ting, grape soda and even a handful of Cheerios.

If you fancy a high-octane drinking experience, make a beeline for Convenience Store.

100 High Street, Northern Quarter, M4 1HP

NQ64

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

This black-lit bar in the Northern Quarter is packed with classic consoles and arcade games from the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Glowing graffiti covers the walls (not good graffiti, either - they were handing out UV pens to revellers on opening weekend and letting them scrawl on the paintwork) and there's a cocktail list inspired by games.

Consoles in the bar include an N64, a SNES and an original PlayStation - which are all free to play and loaded with games including Mariokart, Goldeneye, Sonic the Hedgehog and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

There's also Guitar Hero, Pac Man, Space Invaders, Time Crisis II, and a Euromix dance machine.

NQ64 is open from 4pm to 2am Monday to Friday, and from midday to 2am on Saturday and Sunday.

2 Short Street, Northern Quarter, M1 1JG

Blind Tyger

Blind Tyger opened earlier this year in the basement of Latin party bar Saninista, on Old Bank Street.

The speakeasy beneath St Ann's Square is the second site for the Sandinista group, with a drinking den already open in Leeds.

It's been given a 1920s decor, with flocked wallpaper and lots of antique mirrors, with £9 gin flights giving drinkers a taste of three different gins.

Old Bank Street, Manchester

Double Down

(Image: Facebook - Speak in Code)

Double Down comes from the same team behind Speak In Code, a speakeasy tucked down on Jackson's Row, and opened just a year after that first venture.

Speak in Code owner Nathan Larkin has teamed up with the head of education for the European Bartender School, Gavin Wrigley, for the project, which balances out the serious drinks with a hip hop playlist.

It's taken over the former basement space beneath The Corner Boy (once known as West Corner), which you can access from the narrow Spear Street.

It's dark, it's moody, and it serves gourmet hot dogs.

21 Hilton St, M1 1JJ

Lions Den

(Image: Facebook - Lions Den Manc)

Up on Deansgate Mews - that strange elevated pedestrianised street that's either accessed through the Great Northern or by climbing a long flight of steps from Deansgate - is Lions Den.

There's a seating area outside for warmer months and in winter you'll be plenty entertained by their live music events, pool table, and darts - as well as, obviously, craft beers and real ales.

Its neighbours include Platzki, Alex's Bakery, Dormouse Chocolates and Whistle Punks, but despite being in good company Lions Dean still feels like a little secret.

253 Deansgate, M3 4EN

Cloudwater Unit 9

Though the area between Piccadilly train station and New Islington is an unlikely hive of straight-from-the-source beer and microbreweries, none are quite as inconspicuous as Cloudwater's Unit 9 taproom.

It's located on a relatively modern trading estate (while most of its neighbours are in railway arches), but don't be fooled by its blank brickwork face or its functional hallway and staircase.

Once you travel upstairs, you'll find Scandi-influenced furniture, ceramic lampshades, lots of plants and of course lots of beers. Pull up a seat on the mezzanine with the barrel store below you.

7-8, Piccadilly Trading Estate, M1 2NP

Behind Closed Doors

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Hidden away in a basement beneath Oldham Street, the tiny doorway of this Northern Quarter bar is easily missed.

You'll have to ring a buzzer to get inside, where a staircase leads down to a den of debauchery decorated with retro TVs, vintage chandeliers, mismatched mirrors and Persian rugs.

Billed as a 'sexy and downright sleazy throwback bar', prudes probably shouldn't open the cocktail menu, where drinks such as the Furry Cup (Absolut vodka, creme de mure, lemon, egg white and peach, £8) and Wet Dream (Olmeca Altos tequila, hibiscus, yuzu sake, egg white and rose lemonade, £8) are illustrated with eye-popping pictures - as are the unisex toilets.

Retro rotary dial telephones are fitted at several of the booths, which customers can use to ring in their drinks order at the bar - or call another table for a chat.

91-95 Oldham Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 1LW

Twenty Twenty Two

(Image: Facebook / Twenty Twenty Two)

This place is the worst-kept secret in Manchester - Twenty Twenty Two is consistently packed full of revellers and the satisfying clatter of ping pong balls running riot.

Aside from the table tennis, it's a truly late-night party spot, open until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays with DJs playing hip-hop, R&B and disco.

They also run a respectable happy hour deal, offering bottles of wine for £10 and cocktails for a fiver between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays.

Although its reputation precedes it, you'll probably still end up walking straight past it a couple of times on your first visit - it's down a flight of stairs behind ominous-looking gates down a side street in the Northern Quarter.

20 Dale Street, M1 1EZ

17 Below

17 Below - with its intimate, dark interior - is like a trip back in time to the arcades of the 80s, with playable retro video games, neon Pac-Mans on the walls, funky pink pool tables, and classic leather booth seating.

The bar is also stocked with 26 whiskies from America, Japan, Scotland and Ireland and has a unique set of cocktails and some hefty Norwegian ales on tap.

You'll find it underneath Saloonville (formerly Dogs 'n' Dough) down an alley just off Cross Street.

17 Below is open Wednesday and Thursday 5pm to 10pm, and on Friday and Saturday from 5pm to 1am.

17 Below, 17 Bow Lane, M2 4FW

The Washhouse

The Washhouse is designed to look like a humble laundrette, but behind that mock facade lies a hidden world of Mad Men chic, intimate leather booths and high-end cocktails.

The only problem is how to get in.

The only chance of penetrating the fake first room - which contains a tiny laundrette with two machines, a giant tumble drier and a 1970s dial phone - is by pre-booking.

And at one point there wasn't even a phone number listed. But, thankfully, they've now relented on that issue and you can find the number on their website.

You can read our review here.

19 Shudehill, M4 2AF

Science and Industry, Cane and Grain

(Image: Sean Hansford)

The rum, ribs, bourbon and beer themed bar opened couple of years ago on Thomas Street to much fanfare. So not so secret.

But while the decor in the ground floor Rib Joint and Tap Room, which takes its premise from its previous incarnation as a skater shop with 80s-style skateboards serving as seats, may not seem very understated or hidden, it's upstairs where magic happens.

Hidden behind a door disguised a stack of wooden beer crates lies Science and Industry, a cocktail laboratory complete with its own chemistry workshop.

“We can play with every single ingredient,” said Massimo, bar manager and head trainer for The Liars Group, which owns the Thomas Street bar along with The Liar’s Club and Crazy Pedro’s in Bridge Street.

“The reason to have this is not to show off, it’s to create drinks with a balance.”

Cane and Grain, 49-51 Thomas Street, Manchester M4 1N

Dusk til Pawn

It may be set right in the heart of the Northern Quarter but you'd be forgiven for marching past this place on the way to one of its neighbouring bars. And you wouldn't be alone in making that mistake (and it is a huge mistake).

Decked out like an old-fashioned pawn shop, guitars, jewellery and neon adorn its windows.

And even now, three years after opening, the unconventional bar front draws in people clutching outdated TVs and keyboards looking for a place to trade them in.

But beyond the shop frontage lies a grown up drinking den with the brooding, dark and moody atmosphere of a speakeasy bar and a fantastic jukebox (and array of cocktails.)

You can read our review here.

Dusk til Pawn, Stevenson Square, Northern Quarter

Hold Fast

(Image: hattershostels.com)

This basement bar hidden away in the belly of Hatters Hostel (the entrance is round the back) is a one-of-a-kind type of place.

Inspired by the tales of Jules Verne, think nautical-themed hangout, an underground sailors' drinking den lit by the glow of ship lanterns and candles and likened by some to being below deck on an ocean liner.

There's also lots of hidey-holes when you get down there, a cinema room showing cult classics and a couple of vintage games consoles to relive your youth, as well as a solid selection of beers on tap plus amazing cocktails and food.

Hold Fast, Hatters Hostel, Newton Street (bar entrance on Hilton Street) M1 2EA

Corbieres

Hidden away on Half Moon Street, beneath St Ann's Square, this basement bar is the stuff of Manchester music legend - and not just because of its famous jukebox.

The underground wine cavern hosted early performances from Inspiral Carpets’ previous incarnation, as well as The Happy Mondays, who are rumoured to have met Bez there, and it's been a popular haunt with stars including Oasis and Mick Hucknall over the years.

It's been going strong for over 40 years now, having originally been opened by hen former Manchester City footballer Mike Doyle and business partner Tony Miles as a bistro.

Corbieres, 2 Half Moon Street, Manchester M2 7PB

The Liars Club

(Image: The Liars Club Facebook)

Described as a tropical hideaway, The Liars Club is as different as you can get from the grey streets above.

Away from the hustle and bustle of Deansgate on Back Bridge Street, the dive bar has an exotic list of cocktails served in elaborate tiki volcanoes, pineapples and coconut shells alongside a chilled out soundtrack of reggae and afrobeat.

It also has a fantastic selection of rum - with more than 100 different types to whet your appetite.

It's also open very late (4am every day) so at least when you do eventually get there you won't have to leave early.

The Liars Club, Back Bridge Street, Manchester M3 2PB

The Eagle Inn

Ok, so a huge red brick pub might not seem that hidden, or secret, but tucked away in a Salford industrial estate, this backstreet boozer is pretty difficult to find.

Punters don’t just walk in off the street, in fact, there’s no passing trade at all. The Eagle Inn's customers are usually a mixture of students, musicians, artists, young professionals and residents from the apartments around Blackfriars Street.

In recent years it's had a complete makeover and enjoyed the addition of a live music venue - well worth a detour.

The Eagle Inn, Collier Street, Greengate, Salford M3 7DW

The Fitzgerald

With an elegant 1920s-style interior, the bar located above Rosylee, is brimming with sophistication and retro glamour.

And in a nod to the hidden drinking dens of the prohibition era, it can only be accessed via a chandelier-clad stairwell after finding the secret(ish) side door off Stevenson Square.

Once inside you'll be treated to 'an atmospheric drinking den', with a soundtrack of jazz, swing and soul, plush velvet armchairs and yet more stylish cocktails.

As well as the city centre branch, there's also a second site just opened in Heaton Moor.

The Fitzgerald, Little Lever Street, Manchester M1 1DB

The Temple

Let's be honest, how many people go out looking for an old underground public toilet when wanting a drink? Such is the strange, alluring charm of Temple Bar.

Located under Great Bridgewater Street off the busy thoroughfare of Oxford Road, the subway-style stairwell now leads to a tiny rectangular room, with packed-in seating and walls strewn with posters.

There's also some great imported beers and a fantastic jukebox (maybe influenced by the array of rock and roll stars who have supped here).

As one of our reviewers said: "The original anti-style bar, in an age too often defined by slick surfaces, wannabe superstar bartenders and the latest fashion labels, a night out in the Temple's sweaty embrace can be all the more fun."

Ironically, the toilets leave a lot to be desired.

You can read our review here.

The Temple, Great Bridgewater Street, M1 5JW

Gas Lamp

(Image: @The_Gaslamp)

Bridge Street's secret wonder, The Gas Lamp, has been a favourite among hip Mancunians for quite a while.

The subterranean drinking den opened in 2010 in the former kitchens of a street children's mission, but has managed to retain the character, charm and history of the original building.

Head down the dimly lit stairs off Bridge Street and you'll find white tiled walls, huge roaring fires and a variety of great craft beers, real ales, ciders and spirits.

The Gas Lamp, Bridge Street, Manchester, M3 3BW

Arcane

(Image: Publicity Picture)

Located just off Deansgate, this moodily-lit subterranean space has been stripped back to reveal the grade II-listed building’s bare brickwork and original white tiles and decorated with cool vintage furnishings.

The cocktail list is inventive and award-winning - expect concoctions like a caramel and spiced cherry espresso martini, or vodka infused with basmati rice and topped with mango, lemon, coconut and egg whites.

They also do a happy hour from 5pm until 8pm, Monday to Friday - which means £3.50 pints, two bellinis for £10, and bottles of prosecco for £19.

2 South King Street, Manchester, M2 6EX

Wood and Company

A little further up the same street as Arcane - and a little trickier to find - is Wood and Company, from the team behind Northern Quarter bars Dusk ‘til Pawn and NoHo on Stevenson Square.

A solid cocktail list features here too, all priced at £7, alongside a respectable range of beer and wine.

Look for the white tiled wall and the red ‘goods entrance’ sign, and you’re in.

39 South King Street, Manchester, M2 6DE

Crazy Pedro's, Northern Quarter

Crazy Pedro’s Part Time Pizza Parlour has made a name for itself on Bridge Street for its wacky toppings, which have included everything from chips, cheese and gravy to sausage rolls and Easter eggs .

Based on Short Street in a basement unit beneath Afflecks, the Northern Quarter pizza joint serves the same menu as their Bridge Street compadre, with a changing monthly special.

The basement venue features the same DIY decor as Bridge Street, with lo-fi lighting covered in stickers, chunky high rise tables and vintage arcade games.

As well as their usual line up of cocktails, mezcal, tequila and beers, the new branch will be stocked up with the Crazy Pedro's own signature Tequila, which will be the UK's first Herradura Double Barrel Reposado.

Short St, Manchester M1 1JG