A students guide to the bars of Nottingham (Bars & Entertainment)

Member Name: AdvocatusDiaboli

Product:	Bars & Entertainment
Date:	17/08/01 (1024 review reads)
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If you are just about to go away to Trent Uni then you have a decision to make, and you should make it within the first few weeks of joining the Uni - Are you going to slum it with the rest of the students or are you going to blow more money going to classier places?

I chose the latter although there were a couple of student bars that I still enjoyed, I'll start by looking at the best bars in Nottingham (I'll just select a few as there is not enough space to write about all 365 bars in Nottingham):-

~ BARS ~

Templars Bar

Without a doubt the best student bar in Nottingham, the drinks are cheap, the atmosphere is lively and best of all it is open until 2am. When I arrived at Trent (4 years ago) it was the most popular student bar and although it dipped a bit in my third year it came back to the top for my final year through. Renovated within the last year and although it is very basic inside its offers cannot be beaten. Look out for the end of term "14 hours of Sin" all day drinking. 4/5.

The S.U. Bar

If you are here for freshers week thats fine, if you are still visiting it at the end of your first year start to worry, any longer than that and I am sorry to tell you that the social life that you think you have is not actually a life. If cheap drinks surrounded by the dullest of students in pseudo-classy atmosphere is your thing then enjoy your self. Personally I only ever ventured in here after exams in the Byron building. Tried to copy Templar's end of term offers and failed miserably. 2/5.

Horn in Hand & Firkin

They are next door to Templars, unless you are on a pub crawl just go next door. These bars are typical student fair and not to my liking, not the best selection of drinks and you are quite likely to bump into your tutors in here. 2/5.

The Gooseberry Bush

Popular student bar behind the student union building. Again very 'studenty' inside wh
ich I always consider to be a downside but as it is very close to the main student accomodation area a lot of people go there. They offer a good selection of drinks, SKY Sports, an Arcade and have four pool tables (bad ones). I rated this higher than the majority of student bars but it still wasn't what I was looking for. 3/5.

The Market Bar

Situated about halfway into Hockley, I went here in my first year and it was an absolute dive. We went for a friends birthday but left after 15 minutes it was that bad. two years ago it underwent a major facelift and towards the end of my time at University became one of my favourites. More of a nightclub than a bar it has good DJ's and is not too expensive inside. It is open until 2am most days and is available for hire. Some people may be put off by the price but I wouldn't worry about that, just blow your student loans. 4/5.

The Establishment

In the centre of the Lace market around the corner from the Lizard Lounge. This is quite a classy bar frequented by football players and B-list celebrities. There is also a restaurant which overlooks the bar area dn the menu is varied. It is quite expensive in here but it is free to get in. During the week it is open until 11.30pm but at the weekend it is pen until 2am. Downstairs there is a small dancefloor which gets very busy at the weekends. You are unlikely to bump into many students in here so that may put some off, it was a favorite of our house though for the majority of our time at Uni. 5/5.

Indigo

A great bar in Hockley that unexplainably seems to have lost a lot of its popularity over the last year. Insde it is very modern and serves a huge variety of drinks, the prices are a bit steep but not unaffordable. I have never eaten there myself but my friends have told me that it is overpriced and that the food wasn't that special. It is seen as a bit of a 'poser's bar' but its not that bad. 4/5.


Brass Monkey

A relatively new bar situated in the Lace Market. It is very small but very chic inside, reminds me of some of the upscale bars in London. The drinks are expensive but it is a great place to go out during the week. Unfortunately it is only open til 11pm at the moment but I hear they are trying to extend that. Although I love this bar I tended to avoid it at weekends because it is too small and gets so busy you cannot move in there, if you enjoy having people nudge drinks all over you get down there but it wasn't what we were looking for. 5/5 but a 4 at the weekends.

The Pitcher & Piano

The P&P brand is always good but many of their bars are virtually identical, prepare yourslef for a surprise in Nottingham. This P&P is an old churche that has been renovated superbly, The bar is well stocked but unfortunately a bit too small for the amount of customers at busier times. The menu is fairly limited but the food is very good, the prices are high at the P&P but so is the quality (you get what you pay for). It is only open until 11pm but is a very stylish place. At the weekends it can get very busy so we always tried to find a table upstairs where the waitresses come and collect your orders for drinks enabling you to avoid the long queues at the bar. My favorite. 5/5.

Escape

A great new bar situated opposite Nottingham castle. inside it is very modern and minimalistic, the drinks selection is good and the food served in the upstairs restaurant is of the hidhest quality. The prices appear very high but again you get what you pay for. In the summer is when this place really shines as the whole front pf the bar opens out onto the pedestrianised walkways that go past the castle and it gets extremely busy. Its location is it only problem as it is not very close to any other nightspots.

I will continue to update this opinion with more bars when i have time.

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