Life Style Bars - Edited by Jon- Paul Waddington & Ruth Allan City life 17/11/2005 GO WITH THE FLOW Lava is a welcome easy going addition to Castlefield ... Some brows were furrowed down Castlefield way when Lava Cafe Bar lit its neon sign up for the first time last month. Residents didn't want a repeat obviously, of those heady, summer nights, where half the town descendent, on to the steps, of Jackson's Wharf, worrying the dandy Canada geese, and pointing up to the lofts of Castle Quay shouting Jason Orange, come down for a Stella - we forgive you.

But as a business plan, relying on endless summer drinking nights was Jackson's Wharf undoing - that and its harmless hangar like interior. The same fate befell Quay Bar and it's tour of duty as Canteena.

All of which is odd, considering Castlefield's Basin's considerable beauty: water, willow and Witby. Bird's dramatic curving white footbridge and in Dukes 92 and Choice, two of of our most dependable excuses for staying to the outer limits of Deansgate.

Lava's a much more human-scale development than Jackson's Wharf - a snug corner of the warehouse, currently occupied by Key 103. For all we know, it might have been JK and Joel's walking closet in a previous life.

Now it's a cossy cafe bar, with a shattering of bentwood, chairs and tables, low lighting, and an easy going, "I came for one, but stayed all night" kind of vibe. There's a menu you' d be happy to dive into, some of which is cooked on volcanic rocks. Hence the name.

If Manchester, is a city of loft living folk, then we should be seeing more places like this by now - the sort of unassuming, immensely likeable little bolt holes, beneath apartments blocks that the French and Spanish do so well. No DJs, no door policy, nonsense.

The residents of Castlefield, should feel very pleased with themselves. But, as with any local, Lava's future is in their hands. Its up to them to make it their own.

David Lloyd

Lava Cafe Bar - Reader Recommendations from Sugarvine.com