BRITS who visited the “world’s only” adult Christmas grotto down a “seedy” alley were left shocked by their experience.
The event hidden away underground in Manchester is strictly off limits for under 18s despite customers not finding anything inappropriate with their trip.
ZenpixAn adults only Christmas grotto has opened for the third year in a row[/caption]
ZenpixIt’s hidden down a dodgy looking alley[/caption]
ZenpixBrits have made the trip down the alley to find the Christmas bar[/caption]
ZenpixThe bar looks unwelcoming when you first walk in[/caption]
Described as the best alternative if it’s raining and you don’t want to stand around in an outdoor market, the grotto serves mulled wine, Bailey’s, minced pies and offers guaranteed seating.
Returning for the third year, hundreds of people from up and down the country have travelled to find it – and it’s surprisingly very PG.
Lynne Barton, 52, visited the underground bar with her pal and said it wasn’t as seedy as they were expecting.
She said: “It was quite difficult to find, we had a wonder around and I had to ring my daughter to find out where we were.
“I actually had to call my daughter to find it.
“When we came in I thought oh my god where are we, because there was no one in the bar above.
“And when we were led downstairs we were a little apprehensive, but when we walked into the room, we were very pleasantly surprised.
“It was very cute and kitch and it’s very old fashioned Christmas – I would come again.
“It’s great if it’s raining for the Christmas markets.
“Because we were coming at 5pm, I thought let’s give it a try but if someone invited me at 11pm and especially with having to come down the alley to find it, I’d think ‘Oh god where are we going’.
“It’s that adults-only Christmas grotto name, we thought ‘Oh gosh, it could be seedy’ but it’s definitely not at all.”
Helena Brearley, 25, added: “It’s definitely worth spending the £10 on it.
“It’s something different and we really enjoyed it.
“It’s always raining in Manchester, so we definitely needed somewhere like this to hide away from the weather.
“I didn’t think anything risqué when I saw it was adults only, I just thought they’d be serving alcohol.
“It was great that you go in and you’re guaranteed your seat, you don’t have to stand around.
“The markets are always so busy and can be a bit overwhelming, this is more relaxed and it was great.”
Jen Regan, 27, said: “On Instagram it looked like a very festive bar with twinkly lights, Christmas trees and Santa hats.
“When we got here we were a bit unsure but then they took us downstairs, it was exactly what we were expecting – it was great.
“I think it’s great that you can go and have a festive cocktail without children running around.
“I get very cold so it’s a really good alternative to standing outside and for the money, you get a lot more than what you do at the markets.
“It’s nice and jolly, they had Christmas songs on and different Christmas films on all the TVs, I loved it.
“It’s better value for money than the markets.”
Emma Butterworth, 21, a student at Sheffield University, said: “We’d been researching a lot of Christmas cocktails on Instagram.
“I don’t live in Manchester so I’m surprised by everything.
“When we arrived it was down an alleyway and we did think ‘Let’s not go down there on our own’.
“But then they opened up and we went in to the bar, I thought I’ve not paid £10 to sit in this, there’s no Christmas decorations but then they took us down to a secret door and it was great.
“The cocktails were better than we were expecting.
“We had mulled wines and the hot chocolate.
“I’ve been to the Christmas markets twice this week so I’m a big Christmas fan.”
ZenpixThe grotto has been a hit with customers[/caption]
ZenpixIt has Christmas films playing and offers refreshments[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
