Jetlag Bar

Jetlag was billed as a slightly upmarket sports bar – cocktails and “street food” rather than beer and burgers. In the event it sold both, and was a pretty good venue to watch a game. The screen was huge, and there was plenty of comfortable seating to settle into. The food was pretty good too. On the downside, the place smelled of bleach (mmmm), there were only 2 staff serving food and drinks to a floor of people, and they managed to turn the sound and vision off at key points during the game. Did I mention that it smelled of bleach?

All in all, not a bad venue, but the smell was not very pleasant, maybe they need to improve their ventilation - 4/10

Barrio Central Bar

A small looking venue just down the road from Rupert street - the Barrio Central bar is something of a hawaiian or exotic drinks venue with a restaurant upstairs. The venue is pretty popular, there is a queue outside and after checking our bags we head downstairs to a loud and very busy bar. The room is very narrow and clearly over capacity as we flail and reach over for cocktail menus among the other waiting drinks at the bar. The service is pretty fast even for the stranger additions to the order, they have a good selection of spirits and a happy hour to boot. Within an hour the room is dancing and the odd mud hut mockup next to the DJ booth is teeming with folks heading in and out.

Overall a very good night out, the happy hour really hits the spot and the atmosphere was great - the only drawback is the miniture size - 7/10

Oddfellow Bar

With bouncers on the door and the rain really coming down outside we dash into Oddfellows leaving the miserable northern weather behind us. Heading up a flight of steps we find ourselves in a hallway much like an old fashioned house with a stairwell up one side. The room beyond has a bar to the right which is blooming with a fantastic array of beverages. Stools are parked at the bar which makes accessing it a little difficult. Service is also not particulary fast and strangely there is no music, only conversation. Taking a wander, we stumble into a room which has been furnished upside down, a dining room table and chairs on the ceiling and a lamp share upturned on the floor humorous but don’t do a lot to dispell the glances of arrogant faces turning their noses up in our direction. We promptly finish our drinks and head out to the rain.

Overall a more up market venue but a little too over dressed and with no music even a vast haul of spirits isn’t enough to raise the spirits of this crowd - 6/10

Beirhaus Bar

In keeping tradition with two of the best new yorkers I know, we attended our second global “Beerhouse” this time in New York and in true New York style this medium sized bar is located one storey up, above some other shops. The Beirhaus is very loud, a live rock band are playing away to a room which is not even half filled with people and actually the music drowns out our conversation, much to my disappointment. The bar staff are friendly but take a long time to notice us when we had a query. The beer menu was very limited as they were out of stock of the seasons haul and the food was nothing particuarlly nice (as seems common in all the Beerhouses I have ever visited.

Overall certainly a lively venue with a good atmosphere - perhaps not suited for midweek drinking - 6/10

The American bar

Hale is a quaint little village not too far from Manchester Airport and offering a relaxed but perhaps arrogant invitation to outsiders. It’s 10am when I arrive to find a cafe for breakfast and instead this American bar or rather diner looks rather polished and suggestive. We head inside to find an almost desolate venue and head for a comofrtable looking booth. The waiter catches us on our beeline and remarks that the booth is reserved, showing us to a tiny and rather miserable looking alternative. Two hours pass in which the bar shows no other sign of life and our breakfast arrives cold, and with an even colder look on the face of our host.

Paying up at one of the most expensive meals of my short career, I embark towards the train station, glad to leave hale behind me - 3/10

La Medina Hotel Third Floor Bar

Overlooking the busy Piccadilly high street outside, the La Medina hotel stands majestic and proud with smart door staff and an interior that throws back to the 60’s and 70’s. The mezzanine restaurant and bar sits on the third floor with a very high ceiling and art deco window frontage looking down on the street below. A small bar is set up for our private party and we mill around the venue drinking the limited variety of drinks available.

Overall, nothing spectacular inside, a long climb up some irritatingly shallow steps as the tiny lift doesn’t hold very many people - not a great experience - 4/10

El Barracomde De Las Tapas

In all honesty, sitting down to big tapas after a long day in the Spanish sunshine is a huge relief and a very welcome custom in Elviria, Marbella. This busy but little Tapas bar attracts just as many English folks as locals and offers up a rather broad selection of nibbles. The wine is well priced and seemed to flow rather too well as I noticed I left this restaurant hungry as my relatives had gobbled up every last morsel of Spanish meatball and calamari.

Overall the service was fairly good but the table itself wasn’t the most comfortable and there could have been a wider selection of drinks - 5/10

Bounce Bar

Bounce bar is a lively, loud bar in the middle of Manhattan. Attractive hostesses greet us at the door and show us in to a bustling venue with after-work drinkers knocking back pints fo beer (much to my delight it isn’t too hard to find a real pint in New York). The beer selection is farely good with British friendly additions such as Stella. The bar staff appear to all be female and have certain body preportions which remain appealing to a male-orientated crowd of drinkers. The bar woman offers us a round of low-alcohol shots and with shouts of disappointment from the shooters, we head off in search of similiar watering holes.

Overall a very friendly and inviting venue with a good selection of drinks - 7/10

The Craft Beer Company

Serving up a very comfortable selection of local ales, this reburbished pub on the corner of Hatton garden is filled with regulars throughout the day and has a charming and very agreeable atmosphere. The beers on taps are in many cases independent additions and under the bright light of the extrovert light fixtures we sit and sip pints on high stools at a bench running aklong the back of the pub facing the bar.

Overall a slightly higher than average experience - 6/10

Prince of Wales

One man’s junk is another man’s treasure is one way to sum up this quirky little drinking hole, and in my opinion, it’s certainly more of a treasure chest than anything else. This inviting pub is covered from head to toe in what seems like an endless collection of strange and wonderful items. From stuffed animals, to a dangling canoe, this place and its zany interior is a visual feast. You’re left with a real sense of character, and one that has not been forged artificially.

I’ve been in modern pubs where they have attempted to create this type of eccentric interior and failed. At the Prince of Wales however, you can tell that the vast collection of objects have been acquired over time, which is refreshing, and makes much more of a lasting impression. Motown music often echoes through the place, which adds to the friendly vibe created by the staff and owners. There’s also plenty of outdoor seating in what is one the nicest bits of Clapham.

One the whole I’d strongly recommend getting down to the Prince of Wales. If you’re more of a minimalist then it might not float your boat, but I think for most people this place offers a great place to go for an enjoyable drink - 8/10

This was a guest blog by the job website Adzuna. If you’re looking for pub work then go no further: http://jobs.adzuna.co.uk/pub