Middlesbrough’s famous nightlife has earned its reputation for being among the best in the North East thanks to a huge choice of great bars, pubs and clubs. We’re not going to go through them all, we’d struggle to do so in a month of Sundays, but we have gathered some of our favourites to tell you about.
Nightlife in Middlesbrough
Pubs
The Chairman is a stylish gastropub on Bedford Street with hugely tasty food, a massive selection of beers and a friendly, casual atmosphere which makes it a fine choice if you’re after drinks and delicious grub. Try the gourmet fish finger sandwich.
At the top of Linthorpe Road, Dovecot is like Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde. During the daytime, it’s a stylish place and a convenient location for a quiet pint in the town centre. In the evening, it turns into a lively bar with good tunes, a top cocktail menu and a great atmosphere.
To be honest, it would have been a travesty for there not to be a pub called Sherlock’s on Baker Street. It’s not just a great name, Sherlock’s is a top micropub for ale enthusiasts, where you can sip away an evening and enjoy live sport on the TVs. The food selection is basic – think sausage rolls, scotch eggs and pies – but this is a drinking pub, plain and simple.
If you’re going to visit Sherlock’s you may as well tie in a visit to The Twisted Lip next door. It’s another micropub with bags of character brimming out of a bunch of small rooms on Baker Street. It’s cool, the food is good and very reasonably priced and there are regular live music nights.
And if you’re visiting Sherlock’s and the Twisted Lip, you may aswell walk around the corner to our third and final micropub recommendation, The Infant Hercules amidst the hustle and bustle of Grange Road. Even as far as micropubs go, this one is pretty small. It only ever has four ales on, with two blondes, one bitter and either a porter or stout. They’re always top picks, though, and perfectly kept.
Lastly, if you’re looking for the local Wetherspoons, it’s called The Resolution, it’s in Captain Cook Square, it’s a 10-minute walk from our Middlesbrough Town Centre hotel, it’s massive, and so too is the atmosphere. It’s a Lloyds Bar branch, so it’s open until the early hours on the weekends if you fancy a bit of dancing.
Pubs in Middlesborough
Middlesborough bars
Bars
When it comes to Middlesbrough’s bar scene, the standard is still sky-high. The Nuthatch is an emporium of craft cocktails in a stylish setting on Bedford Street. Alchemy & Co is a prohibition bar on Linthorpe Road, which you need a passcode to get in – check their Facebook page. It also has regular live music and some of the best cocktails in town. If you’re a sucker for 2-for-1 cocktails, you should also try Macy Brown’s on Linthorpe Road. It has a great atmosphere and runs masterclasses as well.
Clubs
If you want to experience the town’s famous club scene, the Middlesbrough Empire is the legendary live music venue that is up there with the best entertainment in Middlesbrough. It also hosts some of the most popular club nights around, namely Fang Fridays and Shangri-La Saturdays, when it stays open until 3.30am.
Alternatively, The Spensley’s Emporium is just one of many popular nightclubs on Albert Road. Head there when you want to go “out-out” and take your pick from whichever looks the most up your street.