Going out on Halloween in London

Halloween is a fantastic excuse to leave the house have a wander around one of the worlds most haunted cities. It’s ashame London doesn’t rank in the top ten of those cities, but Bar Blog does have some recommendations for those of you looking for a caudron of punch to drink from this evening.

• All year round halloween themed bars in England
• Garlic and Shots to keep those Vampires away!
• Gothic Bars serving up pints of bloody snakebite
• Bars featuring death metal and dark corners
• Ancient haunted pubs in Briton’s basements
• Go Viking at the Nordic bar

Have a great halloween everybody and if you have any other words of advice for drinkers this Halloween please post a comment below.

Best Western Hotel Bar

Best Western is a hotel chain that is really starting let its standards slip in the UK and this addition to the chain is no exception. The reception is difficult to locate when entering this hotel but the bar is far closer to the front entrance. The bar consists of a tiny after-thought addition to the restaurant and being empty round the clock, one is not surprised at the lack of effort that has gone into it. A very limited selection of drinks, bar staff that have been poorly trained to pour a decent pint and frankly, no-where dedicated purely to the bar to sit down and enjoy a drink.

Overall a shameful 2/10 for this declining chain.

The Terrace Bar

In the center of Kings Cross sits a youth hostel above a Cafe (which shortly is turning into an extention of the afore mentioned bar) and the Youth Hostel has an ourdoor rooftop garden (with patio, tables and patio heaters) accessible via a small staircase at the back of the downstairs cafe. The bar room sitting at the end of the rooftop garden offers first floor views onto the street below and a small selection of drinks served by a team of bar persons. The venue is a little small although well hidden and livens up as the night wears on. There is also the great feature of a rooftop bbq. I find myself in attendance at this bar on opening night, the proprietors stand around among the flocks of guests enjoying free jugs of beer and kebabs. Absolutely one of the highlights of the summer and a grateful thankyou to Mr Alexander for my invite!

Overall the Terrace Bar in Kings Cross in a population attraction and with rooms full of travellers who can be surprised. Its great to see another rooftop addition to the London bar scene; worth a visit - 8/10

The Fenwick Hotel Function Bar

The Fenwick Hotel is a beautiful venue to hold a wedding reception in with wonderful views of rolling fields and Scottish sunsets. The main function area plays host to a bar of its own seperate from the bar in the main foyer of the hotel. The function bar offers a reasonable selection of drinks with some personal favourite shots but the drinks are surprisingly expensive for the area, arguably too expensive. The bar staff are friendly however and the black leather effect of the bar makes it quite attractive.

Unfortunately there is limited seating by the bar area and it closes rather early - 6/10

Giant Robot Bar and Restaurant

Giant Robot Bar is not quite as fun and goofy as it sounds. Inside the robot-esque tinkets and diner style decor point to a twisted combination of cheap and retro while trying to be fashionable and different. The menu feels like a diner menu but with just a single burger present and an untold number of combinations of meatballs I am not clear as to what cuisine this is. In venue itself consists of a number fo small tables on a galley surrounding a sunken bar area where a man shaves meat much like a deli, get with the surreal backdrop of a vast array of botttles. There is no draught on tap we are told when ordering our drinks and that can only mean a lower review. The bottled beers are odd american offerings I have never heard of and when the food comes it is unimpressive and over priced. The other drinks and diners are in their twenties and where flat caps and designer sunglasses even though it remains cloudy in the London outside.

Overall a stuck up venue which makes the experience of drinking and eating inside it uncomfortable. One of our table staff dares not break a smile and looks like he has been living on the street for some years - I wont be going back - 3/10

The Chameleon Bar

Walking through the various fields of Glastonbury one comes across a whole spice of different bars and drinking holes. The Chameleon bar was one of the most lively additions to the scene in the first few days of the festival that we found. Inside, a DJ played popular tunes including big band and latin based music with a big dance floor serving up Glastonburys finest cider and beer at reasonably steep cost. Arriving at the festvial a couple of days before the real start we actually found that Chameleon bar was a great place to stop off up until about 1am.

Overall the Chameleon bar is a lively experience and totalyl worth stopping in for drinks if it appears in the years to come - 7/10

The Yard Bar

With patio and flaming towers out front, the yard, sandwiched between commercial premises joins the Soho bar scene with more of a theme than the pubs over the road. The yard is literally a strip of decorated garden followed by a two part room, at the back is a bar spanning with width of the venue. Drinks are fairly well priced and bar service is fairly swift although there are lot a large number of places to sit and the venue is fairly crowded and rather dark with a low light blue glow about the place.

Overall an small and simple addition to the Soho gay bar scene, no room for dancing despite catchy music and a good bar selection - 6/10

The jolly anglers

The Jolly Anglers is the staple in the diet of Wood Green drinkers the world over. Well established as a venue of debauchery for young woman and men to congregate in drinking very close to the age of consent into the small hours. The jolly Anglers guarentee’s a busy local pub with loud music, late opening and a bar sticky with the rainbow of shooters available on the menu. One of the few pubs I have been in with almost every flavour of Aftershock, sourz and Corkies; the venue attracts some of teh slimiest men, hard rockers, barely dressed young girls and a whitewash of north london brutes. The quaint beer garden to the side of the pub sports a field gate and watching the drinkers flock out of the open gate once the bar closes, over the road to the chicken shop is reminiscent of a troop of wild animals let loose onto Wood green - with some straying up to the Nelson.

Overall Jolly Anglers is one of my favourite Wood green pubs, it has a culture of its very own and a heritage of excess drinking, famous across North London - 7/10

Nolita’s Club

A very popular Hertfordshire nightclub, Nolita’s is set in the surprising location of the Hatfield countryside and I am driven by a friend with a group of well dressed drinkers in a sportscar through Hertfordshire to approach a populous scene. There are dozens of suited up cars populating the car park and with no public transport to find this venue on the map, it is no surprise that this venue has a very VIP feel about it. The burly bouncers stand at the doorway under the eaves of climbing wall plants about the front patio and once inside the heaving crowd just barely give me room to skirt past black marble walls and wooden finishings to start five strong at one of the tiny bars to get served among the suited wasters. The music is loud and few are dancing with the table area at the back of the club almost empty as the bar staff bring us over bottle after bottle of champagne and we continue drinking as I begin bumping into old school friends from Hertfordshire in the crowd. They gloat about lives of luxury. A few more drinks and it’s time to leave at around 3am, our driver sits sober in the car park as we try to steer out of the jam of money-fat hummers and Aston Martins while those of us that had drank too much grappled withthe bouncer to retrieve abandoned bottles of Champage in the now unreachable limits of Nolita’s club.

Overall an eventful evening and a rather stunning venue. Of course over rpiced and pompus but it is refreshing to see that there other other places out there - 8/10

The Fenwick Hotel Bar

The Fenwick Hotel, just off of the dual carriageway , is set in the beautiful countryside, a few miles from Kimarik. Tucked down a village road, the venue boasts a white marble reception with restaurant to the left and a bar straight in front. In attending a wedding I spend the best part of a few hours over two days frequenting this small bar which offers fairly nimble service, a short (but adiquate) food menu and drinks that sit on the expensive side. hang around late enough and private lock-ins might be on the cards..

Overall a very small bar to play host to any party of people but despite being expensive and well stocked the staff are attentive and the servcie can be fast depending on who is working the bar - 6/10