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March 28, 2024, 09:44:42 PM

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Pubs then

Started by Shoulders?-Stomach!, August 17, 2021, 10:18:59 PM

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Blinder Data

Link to previous thread about pubs: https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,50743.0.html

In my village we have an Old School Boozer, a Sport and a Community/Country Pub, which is a decent offering. Perfect for a lightweight's pub crawl.

Still, now that I've moved from the big city, and COVID has happened - plus the arrival of baby - I sincerely miss jumping into a city centre boozer for a swift one.

Edinburgh is much better for real ale than Glasgow, but for ambience Glasgow's are undoubtedly better - you will get worse beer but much better chat. Glasgow pubs are often so full of people getting mwi that I find them off-putting at weekends. If you don't care about the beer, just do a tour of the pubs surrounding Central station and you'll have a memorable night out.

For me, the north of England hits the sweet spot for the pubs that have the ambience, interior and decent beer that make you want to spend all day in them.

Shoulders, if you ever make it to Glasgow, a short list of city centre pubs worth visiting:
- The Pot Still (small yet contains an unbelievable amount of whiskies)
- The Bon Accord (like a bigger version of the Pot Still, though probably same amount of whiskies! Weird location tho)
- The Scotia (oldest pub in Glasgow, chain-owned but characterful)
- The Horseshoe (similar to the above, right by Central station)
- The State (regular winner of best pub by CAMRA)
- The Laurieston (untouched since the 60s, best pub in the world imo)

There's lots of bars in the Merchant City (Blackfriars, the Babbity Bowster) but none of them stand out as a "must-see" in my view. No doubt others might contribute West End suggestions but I would defer to their knowledge (and make that a separate day).

Neville Chamberlain

Quote from: Tony Tony Tony on August 18, 2021, 08:46:24 AM
On the subject of pubs that still exist, whenever I get to Nottingham always love a visit to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. If you are in at a quiet time and climb to the top 'room' hey you are drinking in a real cave and can pretend you are in the Flintstones or summat.

Even when I was in at a quiet time, the top cave was usually taken :-(

The Lincolnshire Poacher in Nottingham is still my favourite pub ever, closely followed by The Victoria in Beeston. Oh, and if you love caves but are looking for something a little more intimate, I can't recommend the Hand & Heart (Nottingham, again) highly enough.

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on August 18, 2021, 09:17:32 AM
Shame about the chain ownership and tourists but even then I didn't find it spoils Ye Olde Trip too much, and it's lovely on weekdays. As you say, with the caves, there's nothing else like it.

I like Ye Olde Mitre too, though it is rarely open when I'm in London (nearly always weekends). Quite cosy and generally superior without having a load of tacky 'A GHOST WAS SEEN HERE' shite either.

Definitely two of the superior Ye Oldes.

Any love for Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese?

king_tubby

Quote from: phes on August 18, 2021, 09:39:30 AM
A bar you can sit/stand at and meet people. One that has been built to accommodate and promote that. That's pretty much number one for me.

In contradiction to this my favourite pub in the country does not really have an appealing bar at which to sit. But it does everything else. The Brudenell. Has retained its soul while developing two gig venues, a giant garden, keeping their huge pool and snooker room, shows football without being a shithole, ok to great beer at good prices, heavy community involvement, wide variation of cast of customers. Has locals, has a more transient group keeping it fresh, has consistency and great heart and motovation in management.

I love the Brudenell, been going for nearly 25 years and it's amazing what Nathan has done with it, but I wouldn't go there for a pint unless I was also going to a gig.


Lisa Jesusandmarychain

#34
What's that pub called in Nottingham that's really small, but bands also play there? There's graffiti all over the walls in and around the bogs, usually by the bands themselves, John Robb's written something on the walls there, blummin typical, gets everywhere, so he does. Has quite a bike's bar ambience about it. Been mentioned in these kind of threads before.

Neville Chamberlain

Hey, shoulders, you forgot a category of bars: cinema/theatre/museum bars. Maybe not for everyone, and often not open unless or until there's a performance or something going on, but I always found cinema/theatre/museum bars strangely relaxing places to pass the time. The Broadway Cinema bar in Nottingham is a full-blown bar with a pleasant environment, and I always used to head up to the Nottingham Playhouse bar after work as it was just around the corner from my office (as was the Hand & Heart). There was also a lovely theatre bar (nominally members-only) in central London that I used to go for pre-gig drinks, but I've completely forgotten where it was and what it was called...

I've always been a fan of hotel bars, too, for some reason - watching people come and go, check in and out, dragging their suitcases behind them, consulting maps with confused faces. It has a calming effect - until it dawns on me that I've just paid €10 for a beer, the stupid berk I am

buttgammon

Quote from: Neville Chamberlain on August 18, 2021, 10:47:23 AM


I've always been a fan of hotel bars, too, for some reason - watching people come and go, check in and out, dragging their suitcases behind them, consulting maps with confused faces. It has a calming effect - until it dawns on me that I've just paid €10 for a beer, the stupid berk I am

Some hotel bars are lovely. I was at a really nice one in Galway recently. My visit coincided with a heatwave, so it was lovely to sit out on the terrace next to the bar and have a couple of drinks in the evening, with some beautiful views of Lough Atalia and Galway Bay too.

Speaking of Galway, I was in a lovely pub there a couple of years ago but I can't remember the name or exactly where it was, as it was my first time in the city and I was brought there by some friends who knew the place when I'd only been there for a few hours.

Neville Chamberlain

Quote from: Lisa Jesusandmarychain on August 18, 2021, 10:46:19 AM
What's that pub called in Nottingham that's really small, but bands also play there? There's graffiti all over the walls in and around the bogs, usually by the bands themselves, John Robin's written something on the walls there, blummin typical, gets everywhere, so he does. Has quite a bike's bar ambience about it. Been mentioned in these kind of threads before.

Foremans Bar? I don't know if bands play(ed) there. I seem to remember it was always full of knobs and had a slightly menacing atmosphere within its compact confines...

Lisa Jesusandmarychain

Quote from: Blinder Data on August 18, 2021, 10:32:23 AM


There's lots of bars in the Merchant City

Venini consider rewrite.

Quote from: Neville Chamberlain on August 18, 2021, 10:47:23 AMThere was also a lovely theatre bar (nominally members-only) in central London that I used to go for pre-gig drinks, but I've completely forgotten where it was and what it was called...

Phoenix Arts Club? Definitely a lesser known spot, with quite a random selection of headshots on the wall and a nice atmosphere as the theatre club slowly filters in.

Also find hotel/cinema bars very comforting, but I have a feeling they cross the line into being too 'bar'-ish to mention in a pub thread, with only a few exceptions.

The Crumb

Tapping the Admiral is my absolute London fave. Nice people, good selection of beers, cozy without being tiny, fireplace and a lovely black and white cat called Nelson.

I used to work around Holborn, so I have a lot of affection for the Mitre (especially the snug), the Jerusalem Tavern, The Betsey Trotwood and the Cittie of Yorke. The Horseshoe was a reliable standby too.

There are times when 'better' pubs won't do and a family pub like a sizzling grill or the like hits the spot. Big garden with minimal landscaping but lots of tables, £3 lager, ridiculous portions of slightly awful food that become impossible to resist after a point.


king_tubby

The Betsey Trotwood cancelled my friends' wedding reception with less than a week's notice so they can fuck right off.

Kankurette

The Ship & Mitre is an Everton pub. It's where my uncle goes before matches - he used to go the Top House but apparently it's crap now. I think kopites go the Swan, but not sure.

My favourite kind of pub is the metal pub. We've got the Salisbury in Manchester, which I love, and Grand Central used to be good, albeit impossible to have a conversation in.

The Crumb

Quote from: king_tubby on August 18, 2021, 11:34:54 AM
The Betsey Trotwood cancelled my friends' wedding reception with less than a week's notice so they can fuck right off.

Cracking burgers though

Psybro

Quote from: RetroRobot on August 18, 2021, 08:29:58 AM
Love The Rutland Arms in Sheffield and Wharf Chambers in Leeds.  Proper lefty hangout spots with good food and drink, as well as great events.

The Rutland is my favourite pub. It's not the best or nicest in Sheffield but the way it hasn't fully committed to being anything but itself appeals to me.

Quote from: Neville Chamberlain on August 18, 2021, 10:34:44 AM
The Lincolnshire Poacher in Nottingham is still my favourite pub ever, closely followed by The Victoria in Beeston. Oh, and if you love caves but are looking for something a little more intimate, I can't recommend the Hand & Heart (Nottingham, again) highly enough.

The Lincolnshire Poacher was great to pop into before a gig at the Maze. I think Castle Rock pubs are fantastic generally, thinking of the Vat & Fiddle, Newshouse and Canal House in Nottingham, New Barrack Tavern in Sheffield and Golden Eagle in Lincoln.

Chedney Honks

Based thread. More to add later but literally off to a country pub now for 'working lunch' aka cask bitter and a Ploughman's 😂

TrenterPercenter

Quote from: Psybro on August 18, 2021, 11:54:09 AM
The Lincolnshire Poacher was great to pop into before a gig at the Maze. I think Castle Rock pubs are fantastic generally, thinking of the Vat & Fiddle, Newshouse and Canal House in Nottingham, New Barrack Tavern in Sheffield and Golden Eagle in Lincoln.

Ha is that the Maze in Nottingham? I'm good friends with the lad who used run the place.

Quote from: The Crumb on August 18, 2021, 11:09:44 AM
Tapping the Admiral is my absolute London fave. Nice people, good selection of beers, cozy without being tiny, fireplace and a lovely black and white cat called Nelson.

I used to work around Holborn, so I have a lot of affection for the Mitre (especially the snug), the Jerusalem Tavern, The Betsey Trotwood and the Cittie of Yorke. The Horseshoe was a reliable standby too.

Speaking of Holborn and pub cats, I'm a big fan of The Seven Stars. It's a cosy little place with old theatre posters everywhere and frequented by people who work at the Royal Courts of Justice around the corner, and also has a lovely pub cat that wears a ruff:


Psybro

Quote from: TrenterPercenter on August 18, 2021, 12:10:45 PM
Ha is that the Maze in Nottingham? I'm good friends with the lad who used run the place.

Aye, had very good lineups.  Dead now.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: thelittlemango on August 18, 2021, 10:39:31 AM
Any love for Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese?

Yes, the main bar room by the entrance with the fireplace and the huge portrait on the wall must be one of the cosiest and most characterful pub rooms in the world. Again though shush cos it's a Sam Smiths pub.

Same goes for the Cittie of Yorke...

Ferris

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on August 18, 2021, 09:58:41 AM
I've checked out some of Ferris' and dr beats suggestions for Edinburgh. Thanks for those. Obviously sifting through ones that didn't stand out (to me anyway) and using recommendations and research from others I have down to visit:

Bow Bar, Captains Bar, The Guildford, the Dog House, Dagda, Tolbooth Tavern, Halfway House, Kays Bar, the Doric, White Hart (mebbe, mebbe not), The Oxford.

Cheers

Will do another plug for bennets, brass monkey and cloisters on the basis they're close to the others and you'll likely go past anyway so get a half on your way elsewhere.

Otherwise very solid list.

Twit 2

Quote from: seepage on August 18, 2021, 09:49:57 AMAlso one of those 'smallest pub in the world' places, on Pottergate I think, but I can't find it now.

The Vine, on Dove Street, just off Pottergate.

Pink Gregory

Quote from: Kankurette on August 18, 2021, 11:40:57 AM
My favourite kind of pub is the metal pub. We've got the Salisbury in Manchester, which I love, and Grand Central used to be good, albeit impossible to have a conversation in.

In another life I'd have frequented the Gryphon in Bristol; despite the beer generally being really good (and dominated by darker beers/stouts, which is unusual) it's just not my scene - I'm not really an urban camo combat shorts kinda guy.

Wonderful Butternut

Quote from: Kankurette on August 18, 2021, 11:40:57 AM
The Ship & Mitre is an Everton pub. It's where my uncle goes before matches - he used to go the Top House but apparently it's crap now. I think kopites go the Swan, but not sure.

The Sandon is the main Liverpool FC pub, afaik.

When I lived in Cork, all the pubs near me got closed down. When I lived at Farranlea, I went to Dennehy's and that closed. Then I started going to the Western Star and that closed. That was fairly big and used to do good business, I guess someone waved enough money at the owners for the site, which is now student accommodation. Then I moved to Railway Place and went to Paddy The Famer's. That closed. The Glash Inn survived after I moved near that, although it's now called Flannery's Pub & Lounge.

The Bierhaus was probably my favourite pub in Cork cos they served Aspall Cyder on draft, the best cider that exists. It's tiny though.

Two pubs literally around the corner from where I live now (not in Cork anymore) that I haven't managed to close yet.

phes

QuoteWhat's the key indicator of 'here is where I will spend my pounds/time'?

Lisa Jesusandmarychain

Quote from: thelittlemango on August 18, 2021, 12:11:31 PM
Speaking of Holborn and pub cats, I'm a big fan of The Seven Stars. It's a cosy little place with old theatre posters everywhere and frequented by people who work at the Royal Courts of Justice around the corner, and also has a lovely pub cat that wears a ruff:



Maybe this post belongs in the " " Ruff As Fuck Pubs" Thread !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😀😁😂🤣😃😄😅😆😊😺😸😹☻

Ferris

Quote from: thelittlemango on August 18, 2021, 12:11:31 PM
Speaking of Holborn and pub cats, I'm a big fan of The Seven Stars. It's a cosy little place with old theatre posters everywhere and frequented by people who work at the Royal Courts of Justice around the corner, and also has a lovely pub cat that wears a ruff:



Count me as another Seven Stars fan. It's the only pub in London I go out of my way to visit, though it's close enough to Gordon's under the bridge and Two Temple Place (wacky museum with stuff in it) that I can make a day out of it.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: Neville ChamberlainHey, shoulders, you forgot a category of bars: cinema/theatre/museum bars

Oh this isn't about bars and pubs altogether, just pubs. Some older Hotel bars just about qualify though.

robhug

Penrhyn Arms near Llandudno, supposedly frequented by Reed and Best in what is the least surprising celebrity pair of patrons you could imagine, is quite nice but an absolute cunt to find.

Icehaven