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Nice summer place in Brick Lane- good happy hour and the best outdoor drinking in London for that pre-clubbing vibe. Right around the corner from your pick of the best South Asian food this side of Bangalore.
Brick Lane
Sleazy little bar with all the essentials: pool tables in the back, small dancefloor and a DJ on Monday nights packin the house. Friendly bar staff and interesting crowd - backpackers up the road ensures continuous variety ;)
Long St.
Tucked down Spring Street, this little brasserie is a great place to rest your weary feet after a hard day's shopping in Soho. It's pricey and you may have to wrestle for a table or a space at the bar but the Bloody Mary's are worth it!
80 Spring Street, NY 10012 212 965-1785 www.newyorkmetro.com/frame/set.htm?site=http://balthazarny.com
Locally brewed and funky-looking, Brooklyn Beer is a tasty alternative to big brand American beer and is made to several different specifications. The perfect end to a sweaty day in the Big Apple.
Most corner shops and bars.
If you crave a night less ordinary in lower Manhattan, the Mehanata Bulgarian Cultural Club on Canal St and Broadway offers a wonderfully twisted and laidback alternative to Soho’s über-fashionable bars and clubs (you can smoke here for starters). The music is a seething hotchpotch of deep Balkan house and stomping folk beats while the bar serves up a strong Bulgarian punch and shows experimental eastern European cinema and Saturday night TV comedy straight from Sofia.
416 Broadway and Canal Street, www.mehanata.com
A good and most importantly, free view over Central Park is notoriously difficult to come accross, unless you live in an apartment overlooking it. However, on a recent trip, I was delighted to find that the excellent Metropolitan Museum of Art has just such a novelty. Notwithstanding the cornucopia of exhibits to look at there is also a staggering view accross the park towards midtown. Especially good if there's a lightning storm approaching - you can take shelter behind one of the dodgy pieces of 'Modern Art' that are sure to get struck before you do. And they serve Mojitos up there too...
1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street. Take 4, 5, or 6 train to 86th Street and walk three blocks west to Fifth Avenue
Friendly, cool, laid-back bar for arty, student types with electronic music. Grab the centre wooden platform to lounge on low-seating with your friends. Open 23 - 2.30 (closed Mondays)
Olmo 31, Antón Martin metro, Info 91 521 48 54
Dublin's best live music venue, in a city which is full of great music, it has been around for years and has live music every night of the week. Also has a great late bar where you never know who you will spot.
25 Wexford Street, Dublin 2; Telephone 4780766; www.whelanslive.com
A Fitzroy institution, this is an eclectic bar, good for long afternoons and even longer evenings.
The Black Cat, 252 Brunswick Street
Dominating Plaza Negrito, Bar Negrito is a Carmen classic - colourful, ever-changing decor and a great summer terraza that always seems to be open. Soak up the lively atmosphere and drink until late. Pity the poor neighbours …
Bar Negrito, Plaza Negrito
For great tapas in a central location, check out El Kiosco bar. The price is very reasonable and the bar is popular with the locals. Its set in an idyllic square in the old town and there are tables outside as well as inside.
Address: Derechos, 38. (On the corner of Plaza Dr Collado) Telephone: +34 96 391 0159
I used be a great fan of the Yates Wine Lodge, a great northern tradition. It used to offer what they called 'champagne on draft', but it always seemed to come from a bottle as far as I could see. There was always something nice about going and having some of their champagne - which you could have used to top up your car battery, it wasn't one of the 'grandes marques' – and eat one of their famous Bosley beef sandwiches. An elderly man stood in front of a gigantic baron of beef and took a white roll, dipped the top of it in gravy, and took a great big slab of fat and gristle with some flecks of meat in it, put it on the lower part of the roll and slapped the slopping gravy-sodden roll on the top. There was enough sheer protein, energy and calories to see you through a long day at conference.
The Promenade
A huge selection of bottled lager, great, unintrusive music and more table football than you could ever reasonably need. This is a refreshing, fun change from the usual London bars.
43 Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell,EC1R 4QL; Nearest tube: Farringdon or Angel; Bus: 19 or 38 from the West End; www.cafekick.co.uk
Popular with the Hollywood North set, the list of celebrities who stay here reads like a Who's Who, and even the doormen look like movie stars. If you can't afford to stay here, head over to the Opus Bar for cocktails and pretend you can.
322 Davie Street; Tel: 642 6787; www.opushotel.com
If you are looking for a place to let your hair down try The Roxy on Granville. It's a bit rustic, but it's also where the BC Lions and Vancouver Canucks players converge. Dentist chair shots at the bar are a must.
932 Granville Street; Tel: 331 7999; www.clubzone.com/c/Vancouver/Nightclub/Roxy.html
An intimate 1950s-style bar with the best cocktails in town. I can’t keep away from the place.
Thorvald Meyers gate 30; Tel: 22 04 13 77
Grünerløkka’s main high street, lined with bars and restaurants. Even in winter, when temperatures drop below –10C, you’ll be amazed to see Norwegians sitting outside drinking beer - as Norway has a public smoking ban, smokers have to go outside to get their fix. Pubs provide blankets and gas heaters.
For drinkers, diners and dancers alike.
5 Parkway, Camden Town; Tube: Camden Town; www.jazzcafe.co.uk/
On the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt hotel in Shinjuku. Made famous by the film Lost in Translation, this rather pricey venue nevertheless offers fantastic views of the city, 235 metres above ground.
Park Hyatt Hotel; 52F Nishi-Shinjuku 3-7-1; Tel: 00 81 3 5323 3458
The Deansgate glitterati all head for The Living Room, where you can’t help sharing the gents and perhaps a table with Manchester United stars. Big long bar downstairs; restaurant and The Study bar (no riff-raff) upstairs.
80 Deansgate; Tel: 0870 44 22 537; www.thelivingroom.co.uk/
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