Mr Thomas's Chophouse,St Anns Alley, 52 Cross St, Manchester M2 7AR,Victorian bar

Sam’s was also opened by Thomas Studd, named for his son. Opening on Market Street in 1872, it moved to its current premises, on a backstreet just off Chapel Walks, in the mid-twentieth century. Publicity material from the 1960s reads: ‘In a world of change, we at Sam’s Chop House have preserved the best; the quality of food remains constant; the hospitality is just as warm as it was 100 years ago.’ But times did change, and after being run as a pub for a while, Sam’s closed down in the ’90s. It reopened as a second incarnation of a Victorian chop house, with a lovingly recreated interior, in 2001. Fun fact: Sam’s artist-in-residence was Lowry Head in at any hour and youíll see someone in a rumpled suit, waistcoat and trilby propping up the bar. With one difference: the figure has been dead for 43 years. It's artist LS Lowry, Samís most famous patron, immortalised in brass. A regular for many years, he often gave staff his drawings.