Culture - Bar prefrences

[samsa]

What does Swim look for in a bar? Do you prefer an intimate hole in the wall or a busy club environment? What qualities do you like or dislike about a watering hole and what would be your ideal one? We all want cheap drinks, but what about karaoke, darts, a dance floor? Inquiring minds want to know.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Good idea for a thread

[FrankenChrist]

I prefer somewhere to sit down and talk where music isn't too loud and where you can play darts if you want to. I don't have the reflexes for table football unfortunately.

[b3ni]

SWIM prefers a pub to a bar. SWIM generally look for good ales and low low prices.

b3ni added 0 Minutes and 43 Seconds later...

Oh yeah, and a quiz is always good.

[samsa]

Bump.

Any other swimmers?

swim finds that trendy younger crow bars have too much energy for him but old timer bars have not enough energy and a bit of hostility in them.

[old hippie 56]

Small mom and pop bar with cold beer and friendly patrons. Old timer bars will always be hostile to the younger crowd.

[podge]

Good draught beers/stout , an area where music is low so you can have conversations and actually hear other people . The music should be a decent selection of tasteful tunes as opposed playing the usual - mtv / marketed/ fad / lame / pop idol / lip sync ... etc etc.

A live music section.

Outdoor or well ventilated area.

[Nature Boy]

Originally Posted by podge

Good draught beers/stout , an area where music is low so you can have conversations and actually hear other people . The music should be a decent selection of tasteful tunes as opposed playing the usual - mtv / marketed/ fad / lame / pop idol / lip sync ... etc etc.

A live music section.

Outdoor or well ventilated area.

Agreed. And arcade machines! Although we've discussed this at length, for other D-Fers who might live in Ireland or the UK, why the hell aren't there proper arcade machines in pubs anymore?! I don't mean crappy Who Wants to be a Millionaire quiz machines but classics like Street Fighter 2, Golden Axe, Pacman or whatever. I can't understand why bars don't install them. They'd make a killing on nostalgia and drunken rivalries.

[Stradivarius]

If it's beer and maybe some wine then a nice bar with mellow music.If it's getting shitfaced with 40% alcohol stuff then it's a house party.Rarely a club (they tend to get dull after a while).

[nomud]

That's a difficult question.Swim notices a lot of clubs, as in rave clubs, the patrons don't drink and club usually folds.Swim has been to all types of bars.Generally, where swim and patrons have similar tastes in music.Swim works part time in clubs,and goes to same clubs as patron also.Although it's said clubs are a terrible place to meet members of opposite sex,swim has been lucky.Have met mostly nice people.Though depends on mood what type of bar swim goes to.

[Jatelka]

Comfy sofas, a good wine list, music that's low enough to talk over, toilets with loo roll, outdoor area (with plenty of seating),absence of bar staff on tranquilisers, who forget what you ordered as soon as they've turned round! Perfect for lazy Sunday afternoons

[anonuser30500]

Swims local is a nice place, with a community based crowd (locals) but passing strangers and people out of town might pop in.

There are younger people plus older. Generation gaps a bunch of bullshit really when it comes down to having a few pints. We're all the same with alcohol, up to a point!

Some of the locals sneak round the back for a sly reefer. Apart from that (and the ever present bit of coke) its not got a reputation and is family friendly holding events there, birthdays, christenings and suchlike. No bouncers either which is a bonus. Most drinkers know each other and there are enough men to physically keep apart any fighters which is rare. Locals know that there are fields around the corner if you fancy your chances as some kind of big hard man.

There is pool, darts, snooker, plus a few game machines that Swim never really understands and never plays. Also a football team which gets the crap kicked out of them every week. They are still cheered as heroes and drink makes your performance, in hindsight, seem like you were Pele himself.

Beer is priced ok and is usually decent. Three rooms, including a nice bar. Plenty of seating and tables, and a few alcoves for a more private 'thing'. Neck someone discreetly perhaps? I should bloody hope so!

Smoking, of course, is now banned in all UK bars, clubs and pubs. We have to go outside, but that's become a sort of little event as the smokers chat and things happen.

People from out of town or from other nations are always treated as special guests, shown hospitality. There is also plenty of rib pulling if your into banter with the lads in a bar room.

Cheers!

[sirmoonie]

Too wide open a question. It all depends on what your are looking for specifically at the moment, and also generally what stage of your drinking career you are in. Plot that out on a matrix, and you'll see why there are thousands of different types of drinking businesses.

SWIM I mean. All that above is SWIM's stuff.

[IAM.]

First I want to 2nd the longing for real arcade games in bars. Any mention of Street Fighter II gets me just as excited as it did back in '92. Back then I was far to young to find myself in a bar playing those games (in my state you have to be 21 to even enter), but now days you would be lucky to find anything from the 90s in even an arcade... at least where I live. Every now and then I will stumble over a Tekken Tag cab at a wings spot, but usually its just that Golden Tee crap or the touch screen bar top cabs. (Ill admit my friend plays a game frome time to time) Thats why he has about 150 games worth of Capcom, Midway, and Tiato comps stacked by his PS2. Its not the same, but helps him maintain!

Since my friend became addicted to opiates, he no longer enjoys the effects of alcohol (another thread maybe), but is still really into tasting and food pairings... he just has to keep it short of any intoxication (1-2 beers). Its pretty depressing for that reason.

In the States, its surprisingly hard to find establishments that carry small-craft brews or any decent imports (even more rare). While my friend values a quality beer above most else, he would often undure a budweiser or a heineken (usually the only import choice at these joints) at a small, local hole-in-the-wall off the beaten path. These could also be called an "old timer" bar as well I guess. He really just enjoys the low-key atmosphere and the small taste of the small town culture in what may be its rawest form. He usually doesn't recieve the warmest vibe from the other patrons at first, but he almost never leaves without making a few friends.