The Jack Horner Pub

This chain pub is long indeed, inside its interior is stretched, the queue at the bar, though short has a long wait and the pirces of the alcohols are much inflated. The food is fairly good but in comparison the walk to the toilet down stairs into the vile smelly gut of the place is also long. The centre for scientology sits down the road, constantly a target for protestors so finding this pub swamped with individuals sporting V for Vendetta masks is a common occurence, they are from the group called Anonymous. Basically this venue appears to be a bit of a trap, its hauntingly unsociable, its expensive, its layout is out of date and its clientell and well nourished in meme’s.

Overall Jack Horner sits in the corner with the worst of them, not that this duirect area has much more to offer but its porbbaly best to walk down towards tottenham court road a bit further and into soho to find something with more atmosphere and charm, this has none - 3/10

De Hems Pub

This unwitting dutch palace sits mighty; yet slightly hidden on the edge of soho by the arch entrance to china town. Within it has a large high ceiling ground floor interior and up a smart staircase to the left of all the action is another bar with assorted seating. The downstairs pub tends to get quite crowded with people ending up drinking outside the front in a designated area while upstairs mostly caters for private parties. I come across one barman who opens all the bottles with such force that his performance is almost a show, the bottle opener not denting a single cap and coming clean off with a BANG. The taps serve a good variety of beers including some strong dutch surprises and I come across a 12% beer lurking in the fridge which knocks the socks off most European dark ales, served up in a glass chalice with a gold rim.

Overall the crowds are friendly even if the place is busy and this appears to be the only true beer-house in Soho - well worth the effort to visit, even better if you can found the showman barman - 8/10

Bailey’s Tavern

When there’s radiation raining down from all sides and grenades soaring overheard as you fight for your very existence there’s nothing better than a traditional pint on tap at what could possibly be the last remaining proper pub in post-apocalyptic America, in the town of Jericho. The story of this bar before the war is unclear but the bar woman who runs it keeps a tight shift and although not the strictest bar woman in this world has no problem turning the thirsty out of her establishment if indeed she runs out of beer. The bar consists of a fairly large square serving area with beers on tap and in fridges by the bottle. Around the bar punters sit perched on stools and further back is an assortment of booths where food is available. There are also a couple of TV’s by which one can sit for hours watching the last couple of minutes of valid footage on earth or relax with a game of pool with drinkers who have been back home in weeks.

Overall a dire outpost for the alcoholics that through sheer stupidity continue to drink long after the nukes have wiped out all the breweries, one day this place will be dry but until then it remains surprisingly friendly and stocked and for that all can be grateful - 7/10

Tattershall Castle

Ahoy! Finally an affordable bar in the middle and I mean the middle of London, in fact a ship on the Thames itself moored up by embankment station. The tattershall castle promises amazing views of the river, the London eye and up river the houses of parliament. The boat itself is a large tugboat built up on three floors with a bar to serve each floor and a couple of other private areas. The main deck has a good mix of tables but once the sun comes out becomes very busy and you can make out the slight rusting of the venue and cracking paintwork. Downstairs the place is laid out like a cocktail lounge, with a viewing area on to the surface of the Thames itself, leather seating and quiet popular music playing in the background.

Overall an interesting experience, you certainly feel drunk from the minute you get on board because of the mild swaying but its a lot of fun and turns into a nightclub downstairs later on - 7/10

The Griffin

The griffin could be that wild night you are searching for, needless to say when a friend and I came across this venue by following a stranger (who was very strange) from the Bavarian beer-house, across the old street roundabout to this backstreet pub. Within the griffin is loud and trendy downstairs with flavours of the rough islington community, fruit machines and a pool table while upstairs a more Gothic appeal with very dark lighting, a small additional bar served by a barman who looked too young to be there. The toilets downstairs were rather nasty, the atmosphere of the venue was that of a community bar, packed in with some sleaze and reams of more urban tunes. Our night turned a little sour when a colleague of mine thought the music too foul and was thrown from the premises for air his views, in the darkness of the streets outside I walked into a tree and spent the next day at home with takeaway curry and a minor concussion.

Overall a night which promises to be eventful, the drinks prices were very good and the crowd actually more friendly than you’d imagine once you get them talking - 6/10

Lord Aberconway Pub

The lord aberconway is an old popular pub very close to Liverpool Street station. Inside the dense crowds gentlemanly accommodate fellow drinkers who find themselves at old fashioned tables, booths and in corners of the soft wooden frame of this place in what feels like a trip back to a victorian era where much of the appeal of this place as a shiny new penny in the pub world is captured alive today as it was back then. Nicely seated on the trot down to bank station little fault can be found with this place except that the toilets are a little too well buried in the pub and the bar service is not fast enough to please the punters.

Overall charm and delight all round but with old age wearing on the bones of this place the sacrifice is queuing for a fair fifteen minute for a brew - 6/10 

The Lodge Tavern Bar

The lodge gets pretty busy at the weekends as one might expect with a bar with relatively good proximity to the rest of town, reasonable prices and light streams of urban music and RnB. Out the front on the mockup veranda are slatted benches with outdoor wooden tables, soft infra red light heating and a quite dark glow about the place. Inside is even darker at night, the decor becomes hidden by the shifting bodies and growing crowd (which isn’t the friendliest) and the selection at the bar is nothing to ring home about. Finding a place to plant your rear is the best idea you can have but again a table isnt always the easiest thing to find.

Overall this place feels like a challenge to enjoy, its there for those who are in the area for the night which much hair being let down but little attention being paid by the management regarding the service though details in the decor like leather sofas inside and idyllic garden furniture outside help to frame this place as one to stop by and drop a shot of sambuca - 5/10

Joe’s Bar

Possibley one of the most unlikely places to host a gathering of people with alcohol is a room that also caters for the fixing of star fighters and weapons. Indeed Joe’s Bar situated on one of Battlestar’s many hanger decks and is almost home for a great many characters in this fictional series. “Starbuck” in particular (the mouthy pilot) is more at home here than anywhere, often being thrown out for lewd behavior and a fracking foul mouth. The bar itself is quite rustic in appeal, the salvages plane parts make the place feel quite industrial yet the music is often instrumental and more classical that a heavy blend of rock that might suit such an environment a little more. Drinks are varied with unworldly cocktails for those with more to spend while many of the crew prefer metal mugs and engine oil.

Overall a good place to let down your hair after a long day fighting toasters and this crew really do know how to celebrate - 7/10
For more information visit - http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Joe’s_bar

The Coronet Pub

The coronet used to be an old cinema screen and a big one at that. The front of the venue remains much as it would have done when functioning as a cinema however many years ago. Inside the great hall is lit up with lined up tables with large capacity and a centrepiece of dining tables in the middle of the room joined by an old projector. The centrepiece dismounts into a pit around it and steps leads up to a glass rear which at one time would have been the screen. The bar lies along the wall on the right as you enter and almost all tables are occupied with individual parties on one or more looking up each time the door opens. In this manner the place has a community feel yet it is one of the largest single-room pubs I have ever been in and possibly the largest wetherspoons.

Overall a friendly and dynamic atmosphere that can hold large crowds and where cheap beer is accompanied by dramatic stage and screen decor in an interesting mix which keeps you looking around in awe - 8/10

Yates Wine Lodge

With another nice location by the river that runs through York, this Yates wine lodge offers an older crowd and a nice selection of drinks. The poles on the dancefloor attract much hilarity from groups that dare to get their groove on. The place quickly becomes very lively and it seems the bar has been too packed full with beverages for it to be the centrepiece of the venue. I arrived here with a friend who owns a student card so it is student friendly which goes hand in hand with the fact that the bar epople are as well.

Overall a certain vibe of night out that you would be grateful for, laid back and fun, I dont think I’ev seen a Yates with as much character as this yet - 7/10