Boozin' and havin' a few laughs.. (My 10 Favourite Pubs / Bars)

Member Name: jacquelina

Product:	My 10 Favourite Pubs / Bars
Date:	23/01/02 (1700 review reads)
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Advantages: see text

Disadvantages: one of them is 'too smoky'

My ten favourite pubs / bars (in no particular order except for number 1!)


1 The Bluebottle, Westow Hill, Upper Norwood (Crystal Palace), SE19

Okay, most of you probably won't venture to SE19 for any particular reason (unless you live there of course), but if you do then make sure you stop in at the Bluebottle. It's a huge pub at the top of the really steep hill that leads up from Crystal Palace station to the High Street, so reward yourself with a drink after struggling up there (as I frequently do) (and bypass the Occassional Half opposite, it most definitely is NOT a bit of a larf!).

The Bluebottle is a cool pub in every aspect - customers, staff, music, decor, atmosphere - all score very highly. A split-level pub, with high ceilings and towering glass doors, in winter it is supremely cosy with it's fireplaces, battered leather sofas, candles on each table and subtle lighting. In summer, it's airy and light and the crowds spill into the courtyard outside.

The drinks are reasonably priced, though make sure you go for a large wine (ladies), the small glasses are finished in 2 gulps! There's footie shown on a big-screen whenever there's a big match. There is almost always music playing, normally very loudly, and covering many musical tastes - one Sunday night I went and a dj was playing funky latin beats to a strangely up for it crowd; a couple of Fridays ago I was there and the crowd was getting down to old classics such as 'Voodoo Ray' and 'Theme from S-Express'. I spent New Years Eve here too, and my friends and I had a fantastic night, dancing for about 4 hours non-stop on the makeshift dancefloor.

The crowd is very mixed; sometimes I've been in there on my own waiting for my (constantly late) boyfriend and felt a bit intimidated by some of the dodgier punters, but I guess certain characters add to the, er, character of the place. I'd say it's more of an olde
r crowd, 20's upwards. The barstaff are cool and friendly. Any downsides? Well a friend of mine complains that it's too smoky - there's no air conditioning. Sometimes it's a bit loud too, and can get crowded on weekends. And there's no food, so if you're hungry go and get take-away from Morleys across the road.


2 Filthy McNasty's, Amwell Street, EC1

Okay I said they weren't in any particular order but this is probably my second favourite. I first came across this place when I was invited to a party being held there - I thought it was okay but nowt special, but I didn't realise there were 2 separate parts to the pub. Anyway, I then returned one Sunday night with my boyfriend, who was determined that I should try their Bloody Mary's - how glad I am that I did!

'Filthy's' is a small Irish pub situated about halfway up funny little Amwell Street (linking Rosebury Avenue and Pentonville Road, Angel vicinity). I say funny little Amwell street as walking up there is like going back in time! There are never any cars, the shops all have facades that seem to be stuck in the 1940's and there are ancient looking foods like tins of milk in the windows! Very bizarre. Anyway, if you don't keep your eyes open you might miss this place, and even when you see it you'd be forgiven for thinking it's closed down (in winter anyway). But push open the doors and enter the cosy, dark interior, plonk yourself at the bar or on the leather sofa tucked into a little alcove and sink a couple of those spicy BM's! I didn't even think I liked Bloody Mary's!

There's usually an eccentric character in there (once me and a friend got invited to a rave in a church by an old man who looked very rich and slightly menacing!), the bar staff can be a bit too cool but the customers are friendly enough. I think they play music sometimes but not loudly. In the 'other part' the
y have things like pub quizzes and poetry readings. It's just a nice little pub. They also serve Thai food - not sure how that fits in with the general theme but the menu looks tasty.

Apparently part-owned by that attractive fellow from the Pogues.


3 O' Hanlons, Tysoe Street, EC1

I had to put this little gem in purely for it's closness to my abode. O'Hanlons is another small Irish pub, which they recently spent months refurbishing (much to my chagrin - builders at 7am on a Saturday am NO thank you), for the only apparent change to be a different colour of paint on the walls, a 'girly' yellow, according to my flatmates. Still, I like it, it looks nice and welcoming when I get home from work on a cold dark evening.

The barstaff/owners are very friendly, and seem to be on first name terms with most of the punters, except me of course, I like to keep myself to myself. The customers range from people like me (trendy young things from the locality), to workers from the Mount Pleasant mail sorting office down the road, to famous newsreaders! Well it is Islington darling. Almost.

Towards the rear the decor turns from pub to Spanish cafe. Wierd but nice. The menu looks delicious, but I've never tried so can't comment.


4 The Warwick, Warwick Street, Soho, W1

There's not alot to say about this place - it doesn't have any special characteristics that make it stand out from any other bar in Soho, the interior is plain and classy, the music is fairly cheesy, but I LIKE IT! It's a safe haven in the chaos and danger of the West End on a Saturday night, it's a place where I can always get a decent vodka and lime at a decent price, where I can sit comfortably at a table safe in the knowledge that I will be chatted up by a tipsy but harmless (if slightly delusional) gent wearing decent clothes with clean shoes.

Happy hours 5-7pm - fiver for a bottle of
wine - can't complain. Dancefloor and cheesier music downstairs. Exceptionally friendly doormen. Fiver after 11 on weekends (unless you chat up the exceptionally friendly doormen). Open til 3 thur-sun.


5 The Ark bar / Dames bar, down a little side street next to Sainsburys on Finchley Road, NW6

In my South Hampstead heydey this place was a little bit of heaven in a crap-nightlife hell. Situated under a Moroccan restaurant (the Ark), reached through the restaurant or by a sneaky side-door, the Moroccan theme continues in this large, slightly dingy basement bar. Big - yes you guessed it - leather sofas (I think some sort of fetish is rearing its head here), cool little tables, crazy shouting barwoman, a bed?!, salsa dancing, mirrored walls, moroccan bongs, tinsely ceiling, mixed aftershocks, middle-aged rock bands playing and singing along to dance tunes like 'Lady' by Mojo, lot's of foreign people. Get the picture? No? I can't describe it, but many a fun night was spent here. Go after work if you live in the vicinity and you'll probably find yourself still there at some ungodly hour very much the worse for wear.


6 NEW ENTRY

The Bug Bar, St Matthews Church, Brixton, SW2

(replacing the Lower Ground, West End Lane, West Hampstead NW6)

I went to Bug Bar last Saturday - my first proper night out in Brixton, apart from a vist to the Ritzy cinema to see, unfortunately, Evolution (yes, it's crap - I actually wanted to see Before Night Falls but we missed it).

After managing to convince my flatmates that Brixton was safe to go out in (despite my boyfriend being mugged there last year and a cousin of my flatmates - a policeman, being murdered there a few years ago), we were disconcerted to see someone shooting up in a doorway of St Matthews church, beneath which the Bug Bar was located.

Not to be deterred, we made our way down the stairs, at about 10.30pm, and stood
at the front of a short queue. My heart sank when the bouncer said to my bf 'Sorry mate...', but I realised he was joking when he said 'No-one gets in who's taller than me!' The rest of the staff and bouncers were equally easygoing, which makes a refreshing change. The charge was a very reasonable £4.

The Bug Bar is a cavern-like, largish room, with a small dancefloor at one end, a too-small bar at the other, and sofas and chairs dotted around elsewhere.

The music in Bug Bar on Saturday was a mixture of r'n'b classics and latino salsa type tunes - and good enough for my r'n'b detesting flatmate to enjoy and even dance too. In fact, this club-bar is similar to Bar Rumba (see below) in terms of interior, music policy and the crowd. A female mc came on later on promoting a happy, peace-type vibe, which was reflected in the atmosphere and the attitude (or lack of it) of most people there.

The two bad things about Bug Bar are the heat and the bar. The room got quite busy later on, and the lack of air-con and those low ceilings made for some very hot and sweaty people. The toilet area provided plenty of room and fresh air to chill out, but who wants to spend their night chilling outside a toilet? The bar is also inadequate, and queues were 3/4 deep at about 12am.

Later on, we waited outside the Bug Bar for our taxi, and were approached by 3 different people trying to sell us drugs - try not to hang around for too long afterwards if you dont need to!

7 Molly Moggs, Charing Cross Road, W1

It's a tiny tiny bar on Charing Cross Road (where Old Compton Street ends/begins). I went there after the theatre last week - I always pass it on the bus on the way home, gazing wistfully inside as I trundle past. I'm not sure what drew me most, but it was just as I imagined - small, smoky, with a seedy elegance and seductive jazz in the backround. Getting into the theme, I draped myself se
ductively on a stool, stocking-clad leg dangling nonchalantly below, puffed restlessly on my cigarette and did my best Mae West impression, ignoring my boyfriend and choosing instead to stare through the rain-flecked windows at the mean streets outside.


8 Fluid, Charterhouse Street, EC1

This is a cool little club bar, perfect for when you can't quite be bothered to head for Fabric just down the road, but the Charterhouse opposite is bursting at the seams and you want somewhere a little more intimate than the gargantuan Smiths of Smithfield, also nearby.

Upstairs, the crowd is very chilled, friendly and in good cheer - grab a margerita from the bar and stretch back on - dare I say it - a big leather sofa, and enjoy the intimate atmosphere with good friends. Down a treacherously windy staircase you'll find a tiny little dancefloor with a crowd getting themselves in the mood for Fabric

9 Bar Rumba, Shaftsbury Avenue, WC1

I've only been here once but had a top night with a load of old friends who I hadn't seen for ages. Once you get used to the cramped conditions and slightly claustrophobic low ceilings, you'll have a ball. The music was infectious 'rumba' latiny type stuff when we went; once I'd started dancing I found it hard to stop. Just when we thought we were going to overheat and pass out they opened an air-conditioned dancefloor - heaven!! The bar gets horrendously crowded - get 2 drinks at a time, or get there early (its free before 10.30). I believe on Fridays they are now hosting 'Garage nation' - don't let that put you off - a friend of mine went last week and assured me it was more house music - not a whisper of Daniel Bedingfield!

Yes it's sort of a club, but it's more of a bar. Happy hour on weeknights til 8 I think - look out for this advertised on a big yeti-type figure next to the Trocadero on Shaftesbury - that's Bar Rumba!!



10 The Elbow Room, Chapel Market, Angel N1.

There are 2 or 3 Elbow Rooms in London, not sure where they are. Elbow Room is a 'Multifunctional' Bar. If you like pool, there are several 'proper' tables there. If you like dancing, it's open late most nights and has a dancefloor. If you're hugry I believe there is a menu. If you want a cosy little chat with someone there are several wee alcoves with nice cushioned seats.

There's something distinctly 80's about Elbow Room - it's got that glitzy disco feel about it, with a dark and red colour scheme. Which is nice. It's a great place for pulling on a Friday or Saturday, with stag / hen parties and the like.

What I like best about Elbow Room is its reliability. When nearbye Upper Street with it's numerous restaurants and bars is closing down for the night, you know you can always rely on Elbow Room for more drinkies and a dancy if you fancy. Walking down a deserted Chapel Market at night you'd be forgiven for thinking there was nowt at the end except Pentonville Road (nice), but perservere until you see those tacky neon lights in the distance. Every time I go there I expect it to be shut, cos that's how it looks. It never is. A great place to go with a bunch of friends, though they're not keen on big groups of blokes on weekends. Grab a couple of girls on the way in!


Mine's a vodka tonic!

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