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Globe (Belfast)
by OwlishArgento
As a frequent explorer of one too many pubs around Belfast, I seem to have gathered some degree of experience in spending time there. During my four years at Queen's, The Globe has become one of the places I have frequented most often, and has also been one of the most increasingly depressing places to go. ...
Positives:
A delicious lunch with a drink for £5 is not something to be scoffed at by the student population. This is an excellent offer and one of the best, and most influentially, cheapest lunchtime dining experiences to be had in the Queen's area. The burgers, lasagne and sausage and mash are all of proper pub grub standard. The portions are exceptionally good value for money. My personal favourite, the Mexican Chicken Wrap, has gently spiced chicken wrapped with lettuce in a flour tortilla and flavoured with sweet chili/mayonaise on top, served with a hefty portion of home made chips. It's a lot of food (many a time, I have had to run to class on the top floor of the PFC with a very full stomach which was not a happy experience) and when it is good, it is excellent.
The cocktail list is adequate if not a little unimaginative. They have some good weekly offers on jugs (Appletini, for example, was £7 for a large jug) and the atmosphere is always an interesting mix between students in a rush for class, and older people lounging at the bar. The staff are usually pleasant and friendly, although in my last visits I have noticed there is a greater turn over and a lot of the new staff are not as good as the older staff.
Negatives:
When it is bad, it is seriously bad. The food takes a very long time to come out, the staff take a long time to take the order, and the food can be of very bad quality. The chicken can be extremely overcooked, dry and tastless. The burgers; sloppy presentation and, more often than not, not available. The lasgane can be dry and taste like cardboard. Obviously, this is a serious problem, to the extent that the place is no longer somewhere I would consider visiting unless there is a serious revamp of the food and service.
This is not a place I would even consider visiting on a night out unless I have been there from lunch time. It is empty, dark and dreary with very little to appeal to a more active crowd.
Overall:
A place I have spent many a happy time here enjoying the cheap offers, and the food when it is good, is very good. It has gone seriously downhill in recent months and I really hope that it picks up because it would be a shame to see such a popular student haunt facing closure.
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Crown Liquor Saloon (Belfast)
by julwhite
This review is of the Crown Liquor Saloon, a public house in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The pub is a Victorian bar, which has fine decoration and is situated at 46 Great Victoria Street.
The first visual impressions of this bar are that it is simply amazing, beautiful decorations wherever you look, whether it's the bar, the ... back bar, the floor or the ceiling. It is a very traditional pub, built in Victorian times, and with Victorian decoration all around. The history of the building can't really be under-stated, and it is a Grade A listed building which is owned by the National Trust.
The pub layout isn't what you would usually expect, although it's a traditional Victorian set-up. There are ten snugs, or booths, which you can go in and shut yourselves off from the rest of the pub. Originally the booths were often used by those who didn't want to be seen in an establishment such as a pub, and wanted a drink in quiet and could then sneak out again.
In these booths are bells where you can summon bar staff, although they only respond at lunch-times, and original striking plates for matches. My favourite is situated near the main door, tucked away in the corner, and is a great meeting place for groups and wonderfully secluded.
The pub is both a locals pub and a tourist pub, but it can be just too busy. The booths often fill up quickly and although you can sit at the bar for a drink, if you're in a group, it's often difficult to either find seats or enough a place to stand which isn't in the way. A busy pub isn't necessarily a problem, but remember to get there early, or go at a quiet time if you want to really investigate the decoration in the pub.
I didn't have food in the pub, but the prices seemed quite reasonable and the portions on the plates going by seemed very reasonable. Meals include traditional favourites such as fish and chips, burgers, sausage and mash and so on. Expect to pay around eight to ten pounds for each main course. The bar doesn't have bar snacks other than hot nuts from a machine, which seemed a little strange as numerous customers asked for snacks when I've been sitting at the bar.
In terms of cleanliness, the pub was fine, it was clean throughout, and the toilets were in a reasonable state of repair, although not quite as decorative as I had expected given other parts of the pub. Bar service was quick and prompt, and it was nice to see that the Guinness was both perfectly poured and had a shamrock poured into the top. The range of drinks was good, and the quality of the Guinness superb.
There was one complaint I could raise, the prices were a little above average for Belfast pubs (expect to pay around 3.80 pounds for a Guinness), which I fully understand in a venue such as this, but the price of the two rounds for the same product, served by the same barman, was over one pound different, so something has gone wrong with the way they charge. Many other pubs in Belfast give a receipt with the drinks so you can check the barman hasn't made a mistake, and this would have be helpful here.
If you want more information about the pub, you can visit the web-site at http://www.crownbar.com/.
In summary, this was a great pub to visit, and if you're visiting Belfast it's a wonderful place to come if you like both history and pubs, as I do! The pub can get busy, so arrive early if you want to look closely at the building, but even when busy, it has a great personality with a mix of locals and visitors. The National Trust have spent hundreds of thousands on this building, and it appears to have been well worth it, a definite place to visit at least once.
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Lavery's Gin Palace (Belfast)
by rebenectomy
There would be some who would argue that Lavery's isn't the bar it used to be since it's refurbishment a few years ago, and they would be right, but that's not to say it's any worse. It's simply different, and had to move with the times. When the smoking ban came in Lavery's put many of their competitors to shame by preparing sensibly, ... with a beer garden, heaters and plenty of outdoor TVs. Following the recent completion of the upstairs beer garden, 3D Football and refit of the pool hall, the bar has really come into it's own in terms of offering something alternative for it's customer base (with the exception of the Pavilion on the Ormeau Rd, I'd be hard pushed to think of more bars that offer a good few pool tables in the Central-South of the city).
Drinks prices are about average, even better when there are a few offers on, and the food is better than your run of the mill bar snacks, with the pizzas in particular being of a very high standard. It is a perfectly acceptable place to take children during the day for something to eat, though you may want to ship them out as the post work crowd starts to gather.
Yes the bar does get a young crowd in at peak times, you'll find very few that don't, but the crowd is a loyal one that often sticks with the bar for years on end (those 'kids' will be the ones in a few years time complaining about all the kids and so on and so on), which is I think a testament to its character. You'll also find a fair crowd of older regulars there during the day and weekends to even things out.
Music has always been a strong point for Lavery's, mixing popular indie, rock and electro alternative in the back bar and upper floors, to something for the older crowd in the public bar. Also a great venue for watching sport, indoors or out.
One of the best bars in the area by a long way.
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