Due to our links with a first class astrologer, you can obtain your personal chart.

Taurus granted a licence to perform Civil Partnerships at the venue.

We were delighted to have been featured in "Recycling Matters" Manchester’s newsletter on business waste and recycling issues

Click here to download the full newsletter (pdf)

Linda's Swap Shop held at Taurus on has raised over £425 for Macmillan Nurses.

As part of the Sparkle celebration, the ladies donated unwanted and unused outfits which were quickly snapped up. Many bargains were had and indeed the infamous Polly of Taurus was spotted fighting off the girls at the rails whilst filling his basket...

 

 

 

What started as a business trip for my partner Sara ended in a life changing experience!!!!  Having to travel up from Newbury (Berks) to Manchester to run a training course, Sara didn’t have to bludgeon me into accompanying her.  Manchester is a wicked place to visit and having been to the last three Sparkle weekends, I decided it would be silly not to make a weekend of it (one nights hotel paid by the client).

Having unpacked and freshened up it was off in the Canal St. direction to “clear the dust”, stopping en-route to book a table at the Mongolian restaurant. We had a drink in a couple of bars and ended up in The Taurus.  For some reason I’d not been in on my previous visits; I now know to my cost.   Even by Canal St. standards The Taurus is probably the friendliest bar/restaurant I’ve been in. Not just us, everyone is made to feel welcome and special.

Being an “out and about” transvestite I soon started regretting not bringing any female clothes with me, but hey it was an us weekend!!  Sara had told me to pack enough for a night or two out, so my fault not hers. Whilst we were having our 2nd drink (or was it the forth?) Sara set me a challenge.  While she was at work the next day (Friday) I should buy everything I needed to grace Manchester with my female presence. One drawback was a suitable wig.  No problem, the guys behind the bar and Roberta, a Tgirl we’d just met, pointed me in the right direction. The following morning, Sara went off to work and I hit the streets.  Four hours later and a bit of a dent in my credit card, I was suitably kitted out.

Having seen how nice the food was in the Taurus, we’d booked a table for the evening, so after a drink in the room whilst getting ourselves glammed up, we made tracks. Once again a really friendly welcome, (different staff from the previous night) and a relaxing atmosphere. For some reason Sara seemed on edge and was, by her standards, drinking fairly quickly.  Also she’s normally keen to eat after one or two drinks, but tonight she was happy to have a few. Being a smoker I disappeared outside on a regular basis and each time I returned I could feel an awkwardness about Sara’s conversation, but put it down to her busy day and being tired.

Off I go for a smoke again, but this time on my return, between where Sara and I were sitting, an ice bucket containing a bottle of Champagne and two flutes were on the bar???????????  Simon, the barman, pointed out to me that mine contained a note.  I unrolled a scrap of till roll and written on it was “Darling I love you loads, WILL YOU MARRY ME”.  I immediately said YES and we were greeted by cheers and applause.

Unbeknown to me, Sara had confided in the staff (Iain and Simon) and Roberta, that as it was February 29th she wanted to propose.  They helped with how best to do it and the Champagne plot was hatched.  However, Sara was not confident of what my answer would be and was nervous to say the least.   It transpired that each time I went for a smoke she downed a large G&T for Dutch courage. Getting me to buy my female outfit was also part of her plan; she wanted me to be en-femme when she proposed to show she absolutely accepts my cross-dressing.

We never did eat.  We carried on with the Shampoo with a promise we’d return Saturday, then stumbled back to the hotel. I bought her an engagement ring on Saturday and we managed to stay sober enough to eat at the Taurus (The food was delicious)  Roberta took a couple of pics on her mobile and we had a good fun night.

We’ve now set the date (August 23rd 2008) and decided that, as we’ve both been married before, to do the Registry Office and a small group of mainly family and a few close friends, then throw a party on the Sunday before jetting off into the sunset. Oh, I’ve had to concede that Sara wears the dress that day (lol) but I shall glam up for the party.

Both Sara and I would like to express our gratitude to Iain , his staff and the regulars for the warmth they showed us on what turned out to be a very special weekend.
See you in June.
Love
Sam & Sara xxx

We regularly receive letters of thanks from our customers. Here is a small selection:-

Hi there
We came into the bar at lunchtime today - we've been in Manchester on a stag/hen/cock weekend (what do we call it?! and were a bit the worse for wear today so popped in before we got our train back to London. Just to say, your staff were really friendly and made us so welcome and even though, when we arrived about 12.30, the bar was quiet (as was Canal Street) it gradually filled up but they looked after us so well we wanted to stay longer.

So thank you and thanks to the team and we'll be back to see you next time we are in the city.

Best
'Simon and the Miss America stag crew'

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Good Morning,

I'm just sending this to thank you for a fantastic evening on Friday. The food was superb and the atmosphere was the typical warm and friendly Taurus.

For the majority of our party it was their first experience of Canal Street, every one of them have said they will be going back and they are already asking when we will be organising our next do at Taurus!

Please pass on a big thank you to all the staff for making the meal very special with their fantastic customer service.

Until next time,

Thank you.

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Can I just say many thanks for your disabled facilities. We've always been a fan of the food in Taurus.  But since my RTA in october, and having only recently started being well enough to go out in a wheelchair, it has made me very aware of how un disabled friendly the village is.  Going in to bars likes yourselves and View - both being accessible and having a wheelchair toilet - has made my life a bit more bearable and 'back to normal' as we were always down the village every week b4 me accident.  I just thought i'd take this opportunity to say thank-you for your forward thinking and inclusive approach, as people are far too quick to only contact businesses etc when they have something to criticise about.  The only sad thing is, that considering how much  gay people strive for and towards inclusion, its come to my attention the "wrong" way, of how thr majority of the villages bars and restaurants dont make themselves inclusive for disabled people. Thanks again.
 
Thanks,

Paul

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Dear Iain and Mike,

This comes to thank you and especially one of your wait staff for a delightful time at Taurus during our recent holiday in Manchester.

My husband, Sean and I had a delicious and memorable dinner on Thursday evening (July 3), served by one of your waiters, whose name we unfortunately did not get. However, by surfing your website upon our return home, I can see that he is part of a picture on your website's "Drinks" page. Our waiter was the cutie on the far right of the photo that accompanies "The Taurus Mantra". He was not only attentive, pleasantly engaging and knowledgeable about your extensive menu, but also very helpful with two situations. First, an irate elderly gentleman sitting next to us at the start of our evening (who once he was escorted out, we were offered his window-side table. Thanks! What a great people-watching spot!) Second, he offered us suggestions for some places to visit on Friday night, the last night of our holiday. Please extend our thanks to him. In addition to Taurus' fabulous food and drink, he helped us have a memorable end to our two week stay in the UK.

If we're ever back in Manchester on holiday, or know of others traveling there, we will be sure to recommend Taurus. You run a great place, and are impressively involved in the life of the Manchester LGBT community (based on the numerous links on your website.) Keep up the great work!

Sincerely,

Michael & Sean
Boston, MA

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Dear Iain & Mike (Polly)

We would like to express our sincere thanks to you and all your staff who helped to make the meal for our Civil Partnership Ceremony a success. The meal was lovely and everyone involved was professional, helpful, and courteous. We are so pleased we chose Taurus as the venue for our very special day.

We would especially like to say thank you to Ricky. What a star. From the moment he took our booking we knew we had made the right choice. He was so helpful, organised, and professional in the way he dealt with all our requirements. He helped us plan the meal, the seating layout, made suggestions, and he was always approachable. He gave us confidence that we were in very capable hands, which was a great relief as the day drew nearer and we had several other aspects of the day to organise. The food was fantastic, the table was well laid out, and the choice of background music was also fitting. Several of our guests commented to us how well the meal was presented, from the menu choices available to the helpfulness of the staff. It is a testament to how professionally Ricky did his job that everyone enjoyed the meal at Taurus.

We appreciate all the hard work and effort that went into making the meal part of such a memorable day for us. Thank you all so much, and especially a big thanks to Ricky.

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Dear Iain,
Lovely to meet you last saturday night.  Thank you very much to all your staff.  We had a brilliant night from beginning to end.  You promised service second to none and you delivered!  David was a star .. and when we were in the "den", before our meal, all the staff were very attentive.  Then to top it all, the food was really, really good.  We all felt guilty because we pigged out on sharing platters and starters, ending up unable to finish our mains!  so, unfortunately, dessert was out of the question.  We'll be back to try again.  Once again, thank you so much.

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I was in Taurus on Saturday  with my mum and family... my mum who is not feeling 100%  left her handbag on the back of her chair. She didn't realise this until about 11:30 that evening.

I called Taurus and asked if they had seen it or if any one had handed it in. Your staff were friendly, reassuring and calming Luckily for my mum someone had found the bag and handed it in, with nothing missing. I called to collect the  bag the following day, and once again your staff were friendly and supportive. They came out to see my mum. They  would not accept a gift of a drink, but I would like to pass on my thanks and praise to your staff who were brilliant.

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Many, many thanks for your efforts to make our Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil that bit more comfortable.  Everybody enjoyed the food and drink (of course!) and were impressed by Taurus's inclusive and welcoming atmosphere.  Please thank all the management and staff on our behalf - we'll see you again soon.  With love, Felix and Dave of MORF.  X X

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Hi Iain, Polly & all the staff,

A very big THANK YOU for helping make our 21st Party such a success.

All the Volunteers at Icebreakers.

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Dear Iain and Mike.

Just to say a BIG Thank you for helping me out with last Sunday's BLUF Lunch.

About 22 of us turned up in the end. And a good time was had by all :-) -And in fact, your staff had to add 2 extra tables.  You never know, one day we maybe using the basement private room.

As usual, the food, service and atmosphere was excellent. Can you thank all your staff for their hard work.

IT'S January, you're skint and the weather's miserable. The last thing you want is to drag your dishevelled New Year finery out of the wash basket and head out for an expensive night at some fashionable new bar which, let's be honest, may or may not live up to the hype.

No - instead of glitzy surroundings and pricey drinks, the thing to coax you out of self-imposed hibernation will be something a bit friendlier and lower key. In these trying times, when your credit card's stretched to the limit and the memory of your New Year's Day hangover is fresh in your mind, it's comfy couches, smiling faces and value-for-money food and drink that really appeals. Home from homes, if you will, and, luckily, Manchester has several of these boltholes. Every reader will have a favourite: Atlas, Odd, the original Kro, take your pick.

For CityLife's part, our pick of the bunch is Canal Street stalwart Taurus: an independent bar that celebrates seven years in business this year. What makes it so special isn't the décor, which has a distinctly DIY aesthetic, but the service, which is impeccable. The bar team follow the example set by Taurus' welcoming owner/ operators Iain Scott and Mike `Polly' Pollard - themselves strong contenders for the title of Manchester's best hosts. Friendly, chatty, professional and fun, they also manage the holy grail of waiting staff: there exactly when you need them and not when you don't.

Taurus' food and drink is far from cutting edge but it's good quality and reasonably priced. The cocktail list includes Long Island Iced Teas, Zombies and Mojitos. But the order of the day here is unpretentious fun, not modern mixology. And their tasty Strawberry Daiquiri (see right) is comfort food in a glass.

Busy without being a madhouse, friendly without being over-the-top and a huge success without being arrogant - there's no better place to beat the late January blues.

Risa Hall and Aron Paul,

At long last I broke my two-month late summer drought of gig going (although there are plenty of gigs now in the pipeline for this autumn).

My friend Risa rocks and that's a fact! With a new guitarist, Lol, her band's sound has been really lifted into something more upbeat and expansive. Risa has a great range of material - folk, jazz, rock, alt-pop, funk - you name it, she does it. Whatever the genre though, her songs are heartfelt and she sings them with style and panache - and always with an impressive stage presence. There were some great vocal gymnastics too in an Ella Fitzgerald-sounding number. I look forward to a cd one day Risa and it was great to meet up with some of your friends.

The downstairs room at Taurus was a chilled place as was Risa's support - the excellent Aron Paul. With his cool voice and deft guitar playing, he made a big impact with his soul vibe helped along with the excellent mix of instruments in his band (bongos, electric bass and electric violin). A special mention must be made of his feisty violinist and her superb playing

TAURUS has established itself as a great community resource in the Gay Village. With chameleon-like charm, it wears many hats for the Canal Street regulars and visitors from everywhere.

Acting as a bustling meeting place, Taurus is a world away from the zen-like spaces of saccharin smiles and overwrought interior design that can alienate many potential customers.

Taurus is an intimate place across two levels. The main bar is multicoloured and Mediterranean-influenced, with a mass of tables and chairs, fairylights adorning the ceiling and various pot plants.

A seated level overlooks the canal and is perfect for people-watching, while towards the bar there are several Chesterfields to chill out on.

It is a comfort zone and has the feel of a mate's sitting room.

Downstairs is the Joseph Perrier Champagne Lounge, which is available for private functions, screenings and theatre shows, many of which are highly acclaimed fringe productions.

Owner Ian Scott is dedicated to environmental improvements within both bar and the Canal Street community, and for that alone his attitude should be applauded. The bar recycles glass and cardboard and he makes a concerted effort to lobby others to do so.

Initiatives
He has been responsible for the planting of trees outside the bar and has various environmental initiatives planned for the summer, including a green and gay festival at a local garden centre.

Ian is also an enthusiastic advocate of local social enterprise, local talent and events. The bar has regular art showcases and at the moment Taurus are urging regulars to support the release of a Turkish political prisoner. Just in time for spring, a new restaurant menu has been launched, featuring a great selection of traditional and vegetarian meals. The quality of the food is above normal bar fare and certainly worth a sample.

Ranging from seafood hollandaise for starters, to beef bourguignon or lasagne for mains, the menu is diverse and great value. Dine out on a Sunday and you can get two courses for £7.95. The charismatic Polly, front-of-house supreme diva, has his own happy hour 4-7pm daily when you can slurp away on cocktails for a mere £3 or order in the champers at £20 a bottle. There is also a selection of wine at £5.50.

If you want something more from your bar than just glamorous good looks, then Taurus is bound to satisfy