what makes a pub good?

[thembuzz]

what makes a good pub better than a bad pub, then? i'm not a big drinker, so i don't really know. they all seem a bit shit to me

[thepigjockey]

Dunno, but I know that there's nothing quite like the feeling inside an English pub in the winter. Logfire-cider-rollups-peanuts-core. Oh and shit pub microwave lunches. Mmmmmmmm.

[Paddy]

booze, fitbaw and cunts to kick fuck out of eh.

[ivan]

a good pub has the close friends, close beer, close booze, close drugs and most of all good environment, that makes you want to go back to the same place. it is that simple.
cause i know for sho that non want to step foot in galne kocken without knowing the peeps in there.... fo sho.
skit på er.

[thembuzz]

see, i was talking to someone earlier and he's like, "yeah, x is a shit pub, but y is a good pub because they do a good pint there"

good pint? what the fuck is a good pint? they all do the same pints, for fuck's sake. and they all taste like piss

[thepigjockey]

see, i was talking to someone earlier and he's like, "yeah, x is a shit pub, but y is a good pub because they do a good pint there"

good pint? what the fuck is a good pint? they all do the same pints, for fuck's sake. and they all taste like piss

These are the same kind of people who vomit/pass out and then say 'must have had a bad pint'.

[Orang Utan]

I was thinking about that last night actually - my friends wanted to go to a fucking wine bar called The Waterfront in Streatham, where's NO FUCKING WATER. I would have preferred to go to a Wetherspoons cos it's CHEAP. That was the only consideration for me. Both places have unbearable punters, but I don't give a fuck when I'm talking to my mates. The background disappears.

[thepigjockey]

Cheap pubs are good pubs. There are even a few in Soho which is great cos you don't have to go to the posy cunt bars after work.

[nempsey]

good pint? what the fuck is a good pint? they all do the same pints, for fuck's sake. and they all taste like piss

haven't you heard of real ale, lager boy? get with the hip old man vibes

[kupsch]

dominos.

[Loz]

there is such a thing as a bad pint

usually caused by dirty pipes

[thembuzz]

do you shit yourself a lot when you go out?

[terminal viscosity]

definitely dominoes.

people who think going to the pub is shit either have no mates, or
really shit ones with poor chat

[jukka]

a lot of beer or drinks in general, otherwise i am not a big fan of pubs.
qucik answer: beeing drunk

[thembuzz]

terminal viscosity, are your mates all homeless?

[Yer_Maw]

you do get bad pints. But only if its micro brewery local ales, they can go off and its disgusting. Never going to happen with lager though.

[terminal viscosity]

terminal viscosity, are your mates all homeless?

not all of them, no

[thembuzz]

i don't really understand the whole 'going to the pub to see your mates' bit. i can see my mates anywhere. why do it in the most expensive way imaginable? i could probably get six months of flying lessons for the same price as one night in the pub, and a raft of exciting new career prospects at the end of it

i'd rather see my friends in more comfortable places, where i don't have to spend the best part of a day's wages just to keep my mouth wet, or deal with pissed arseholes, sticky tables and the worst kind of students. going out is something i do to meet strangers, really, and clubs are best for that

[terminal viscosity]

going out is something i do to meet strangers, really, and clubs are best for that



creepy fucker

[emef]

definitely dominoes.

people who think going to the pub is shit either have no mates, or
really shit ones with poor chat

aye gotta be the dominoes
roaring drunk in macsorleys, playing for 20 pees, loadsa pals... brilliant

you on again for next friday? :)

[kupsch]

word.

[terminal viscosity]

yep, and ill have been paid next week, so we could play for some real money

like a quid or something

[kupsch]

i don't really understand the whole 'going to the pub to see your mates' bit. i can see my mates anywhere.

what about if you's live in different cities and its an oppurtunity to see them



and gamble.

[JonnySpeed]

nice range of euro lagers, great design, fantasic sounds and a mixed crowd in a central location. Not many, if any I can think of that meets all my requirements. Marquee Cornwallis in Russell Square is pretty good.

[thembuzz]

creepy fucker

do you only meet people in real life once you've got to know them on the internet?

[julian]

I gave up drinking when i was 18 (err... yep) but i still enjoy going to pubs, providing certain 'conditions' are met - generally in the day, or smaller ones in the evening.

For me a pub is about conversing with the people im with. As soon as it gets busy enough that i cant hear what theyre saying, or, indeed, if they start to get drunk, it gets very, very, dull.

Other than that, i guess its just a venue to sit with your friends. Yeah, its by no meens the best, but, if you have friends who are crazed enough to like spending £3 plus per pint, then pubs it is, isnt it?

...one thing i really dont understand though is why people who drink dont have more interest in brewing?

I meen, i know why really, but it all seems a bit odd:

Alchol at home isnt so good, hence no interest in brewing. So, off to the pub where we can be with friends...

Where shall we go to see friends - to the pub so we can drink...

Yep, perfect combination, if it didnt fleese all my drinking palls out of silly ammounts of cash, when they could just get it together, escape the mindset of zombing it off down the pub...

..unless, of course, there is really some unquantifiable love for that enviroment where (at points) not only is your physical comfort diminished, but you cant actually communicate with someone unless theyre ear is less than 100mm from your mouth...


..a bit of an uncohesive post, but im sure you see what im getting at?

[emef]

you sound fun

[Loz]

I don't understand why people go to restaurants. Why don't they just learn to cook and have dinner parties instead?

[julian]

I don't understand why people go to restaurants. Why don't they just learn to cook and have dinner parties instead?


Ive never met anyone with the same obsession with eating out that ive seen in *so* many people with going down the pub...

[julian]

you sound fun


I thought i made the distinction between seeing friends (good) and getting suckkered into needlessly forking over yet more cash to the government (bad)

?

[JonnySpeed]

alcohol is ace and so is being socialable = pubs are ace

[Loz]

why go to a club? they cost money to get in, the drinks are expensive, you can't smoke, and the dancefloor is probably full of idiots so you can't enjoy yourself fully.

just spend that money you've saved on a decent sound setup at home.

[spoon]

i much prefer going out and socializing over a meal and a few drinks. getting drunk for the sake of it stopped being interesting when i was about 20, and as an activity it's not very good value for money. i still get wankered from time to time, but never in the city centre. in a nice little pub or a house with friends is where it's at for me.

i fucking hate mindless drunks/drinking with a passion. and i hate that it's considered normal to behave like a baboon on weekends by so many people.

fuckwit culture.

[thembuzz]

definitely. it's anaesthetic, basically, innit? that's the only explanation i can think of for grown adults being as enthusiastic about alcohol as the average 15yo. because the pain and drudgery of their daily lives is so bad that they need to render themselves semi-conscious with solvent abuse

as for pubs, if the only poison is drink and the only activity is talk then me and my friends have a much better time when we all cram into someone's living room for 10 or 12 hours

[thembuzz]

why go to a club? they cost money to get in, the drinks are expensive, you can't smoke, and the dancefloor is probably full of idiots so you can't enjoy yourself fully.

just spend that money you've saved on a decent sound setup at home.

one of my main gripes with pubs is other people, but other people are one of the things i love most about clubs. i'm just so complicated

[julian]

why go to a club? they cost money to get in, the drinks are expensive, you can't smoke, and the dancefloor is probably full of idiots so you can't enjoy yourself fully.

just spend that money you've saved on a decent sound setup at home.


..unless, of course, there is really some unquantifiable love for that enviroment where (at points) not only is your physical comfort diminished, but you cant actually communicate with someone unless theyre ear is less than 100mm from your mouth...



If people have that unquantifiable love for pubs, then so be it. If the experiance they gain is really worth what i see them paying for it, then fine, who am i to argue.

I just think, in light of the alternatives, its fucking bad value.

[JonnySpeed]

http://photos23.flickr.com/32872403_0ebd5bf938_m.jpg

[Loz]

If people have that unquantifiable love for pubs, then so be it. If the experiance they gain is really worth what i see them paying for it, then fine, who am i to argue.

I just think, in light of the alternatives, its fucking bad value.

I don't go out to pubs that often. But it's just nice to get out, really. Go somewhere other than your house or your mates' places. Yeah, it's more expensive than buying or making your drinks yourself, but that's not really the point of going out, is it? No one goes out to save money.

[spoon]

i don't know what makes a pub good, but you can tell after about 3 seconds if a pub is bad....

>not enough staff behind the bar or on the floor, nobody collecting empties & cleaning tables. there doesn't need to be an army of people picking up your empties the split second you put them down, but the place should be kept clean.

>gambling machines etc. we don't have them here yet thank fuck, but i've walked into some nice looking pubs in the UK only to find the place full of blinking idiot magnets. just wrong.

>loud music obviously.

>big screens showing sport/news/the shopping channel....why?

>bouncers - if the place needs security than it's attracting the kind of clientèle that i would rather avoid.

>sterile star trek bullshit decor - i don't want to feel as though i'm going for an MRI scan.

>any sort of theme - FUCK THEME BARS TO HELL.

>staff not knowing how to pull pints, maintain lines, serve spirits properly. it's not rocket science - 15 mins of training goes a long way.

anything else?

[JonnySpeed]

miserable cunts who complain?

[spoon]

numpties who settle for mediocrity.

[skosh]

old comfy sofas, i hate standing in a pub

good music but not too loud, loud music is for clubs and dancing to, i like to be able to have a conversation with friends if i'm in a pub

i don't really go to pubs that much actually

[emef]

why go to a club? they cost money to get in, the drinks are expensive, you can't smoke, and the dancefloor is probably full of idiots so you can't enjoy yourself fully.

just spend that money you've saved on a decent sound setup at home.

hehe

[V Knid esq]

I have but one requirement for a good pub:

- Old geezer reading the Racing Post, with a Jack Russell asleep under his bar stool.

Get that and all the other good stuff (friendly barmaids, strangers who you can strike up a conversation with, funny characters, cheap beer, general nice vibe) tends to follow.

[MJimD]

My favourite London pubs tend to be quite small and tucked away down side streets. Highstreet pubs often draw the staggering neanderthal hordes. Fuck Wetherspoons.

[Irrungenwirrungen]

Energy Flash on the jukebox did it for me in the olden days,
Nowadays I settle for anything.

[thepigjockey]

oOOo that reminds me. The Shamen and The KLF on the video (disc) juke box :) early 90's pub vibes.

[bracket]

I love the old git pubs. Sitting is a necessity, fuck standing around. Decent selection of ale is also a must..

Right i'm off to the pub

[emef]

http://photos23.flickr.com/32872403_0ebd5bf938_m.jpg

lol

[kupsch]

I don't understand why people go to restaurants. Why don't they just learn to cook and have dinner parties instead?


hahhaha

why do we bother leaving the house?

[Lighter Thief]

The pub provides an environment where you can sit and have a good natter without the distractions of your usual home comforts, eg computer, video games, TV, workyoushouldbegettingonwith, children, etc. You and your friends have made an effort to go out and meet each other and have a laugh, rather than just sitting about in someone's flat like usual. It's enjoyable, plain and simple.

[terminal viscosity]

alcohol is ace and so is being socialable = pubs are ace

i strongly agree with this statement

[emef]

The pub provides an environment where you can sit and have a good natter without the distractions of your usual home comforts, eg computer, video games, TV, workyoushouldbegettingonwith, children, etc. You and your friends have made an effort to go out and meet each other and have a laugh, rather than just sitting about in someone's flat like usual. It's enjoyable, plain and simple.


what he said

[kupsch]

i second emef.

[V Knid esq]

I like to go to the pub on my own too, especially in the daytime. Newspapers, smoking fags in the garden, light banter with staff or regulars, contemplative moment with a decent ale (Deuchars IPA is my current addiction) and maybe a bacon roll, earwigging other people's deep'n'meaningfuls... great place to clear your mind.

[terminal viscosity]

i drank a glass of old speckled hen at the pub on the park last time i was in london. it was quite nice

[V Knid esq]

I grew up on Old Speckled Hen as Morlands was our local brewery. Lovely stuff, but fucks you up bad if you over indulge.

[JonnySpeed]

numpties who settle for mediocrity.

i rather not drink with cunty baws who think they are above having a few pints with the proletariat in fear that they don't play abstract electo and live some alternative freestyle existance anyways...

[nempsey]

why go to a club? they cost money to get in, the drinks are expensive, you can't smoke, and the dancefloor is probably full of idiots so you can't enjoy yourself fully.

just spend that money you've saved on a decent sound setup at home.

heheh, thats how i mostly feel about clubbing these days :)

[bracket]

Deuchars IPA is my current addiction

Yeh mine too :)

It has been my favourite tipple since getting intoduced to it in Edinburgh by Goonie and Virus in the Sheeps Heid (which is a proper nice pub) a few months back. Have just discovered it in a few pubs in London. I love the stuff - quaffed 4 pints of it with lunch yesterday.

[grobelaar]

I don't understand why people go to restaurants. Why don't they just learn to cook and have dinner parties instead?

Totally bogus analogy - I'm a great cook, but I'm not in the same league as a decent talented chef, so every once in a while it's good to go to a decent restaurant for some top class food.

I mean you could say, why go to expensive gigs, you can mix, you've downloaded all the tunes off the interweb - lets get Gay for the Loz Weekender.

[phil2]

local ales is wot is good

[emef]

Totally bogus analogy - I'm a great cook, but I'm not in the same league as a decent talented chef, so every once in a while it's good to go to a decent restaurant for some top class food.

I mean you could say, why go to expensive gigs, you can mix, you've downloaded all the tunes off the interweb - lets get Gay for the Loz Weekender.

i might be wrong but my take on loz's post was that he was being sarcastic
if you read the rest of his similar posts in this thread you'll see the sarcasm emerging

[Goonie]

cocktails served in teapots

or a pint of I.P.A.

[grobelaar]

i might be wrong but my take on loz's post was that he was being sarcastic
if you read the rest of his similar posts in this thread you'll see the sarcasm emerging

Point taken, I'm immune to sarcasm at the best of times - and even more so when it's in written form.

[KuffDam]

Energy Flash on the jukebox did it for me in the olden days,
Nowadays I settle for anything.

I was in a pub recently and saw one of those internet jukeboxes for the first time... I was really tempted to put 'Quoth' on 15 times :)

[thepigjockey]

internet jukebox

Whaaaaaaaaaaat? Sounds like witchcraft to me. No, I mean , reaalllyyyyy? No! I don't BELIEVE YOUUUU!!! f u c K!

[KuffDam]

It had fucking Merzbow on it.

[julian]

cylob's industrial folk songs? ; )

[Irrungenwirrungen]

I was in a pub recently and saw one of those internet jukeboxes for the first time... I was really tempted to put 'Quoth' on 15 times :)

It'd be nice if you could bung 3 quid in for your fave 2hr dj sets.

[Orang Utan]

Have you guys not heard of Wyatting?

[joe pinapples]

my local pub is good -

Krušovice normal and dark/Addlestones cider/weissbier on tap

+

coal fire

=

brilliant. Mon The Belle

[nempsey]

where's that joe? i'm always on the hunt for a pub with an open fire, especially at this time of year

[joe pinapples]

The Belle is on great western rd next to the little sad travel agent and the terrace that has the hotels on it. used to be a jake pub for ages with really shite kareoke all the time and wallopers all over the pavement. its still kept some of the regulars so its not become some hipsters gaffe and its well good.

bad points: chairs/tables a bit wobbly, not much space - but this adds to the warm factor and they cant make it any bigger anyhow.

[Yer_Maw]

thats something they do well down here. Roaring wood fire and local ales. Nice.

[nempsey]

The Belle is on great western rd .

ah the old western bar...pity my work moved to the dead zone or that woulda been a nice post-work pint venue.

[Tec]

You gotta have a local pub nutter for a pub to be good

[joe pinapples]

the western bar! i'd forgotten its name. thank fuck they got rid of the kareoke machine

[dave_m]

cocktails served in teapots

or a pint of I.P.A.

Aha! You've been in the pub i work in then :)