A cafe in the cutest square in Cuenca serving good coffee and snacks.
Plaza de San Sebastion, Cuenca.
This is a nice little cafe that serves good coffee and a great breakfast, among other things, in a relaxed atmosphere. Open from 9am.
Benigno malo, Cuenca
A fantastic cafe-bar that has live music on most nights, serves excellent tapas, has comfy sofas and a couple of fires for those cold evenings. Open 5pm until late.
Gran Columbia, Cuenca
A rooftop bar with a spectacular view of the Empire State Building. Drinks are expensive, but worth it for the view!
230, Fifth Avenue, at 27th St. www.230-fifth.com
A nice Left Bank bistro, Le Nemrod is in the Rue du Cherche Midi, just around the corner from the Bon Marche.
Good value for lunch or just a coffee or a pichet of wine - good for Beaujolais. A great place for classic Auvergnate cuisine.
51,rue du Cherche-Midi
75006
tel: 00 33 1 45 48 17 05
Along Greenwich Avenue there's plenty of bars and food stops. Enjoyed a cheap Sam Adams during happy hour (forget the name but it was Irish!).
Bleecker Street seems to cater for every type of drinker so if you can't find a decent boozer there, something is wrong with you. Blind Tiger very popular and my sort of place with good range of ales.
The pace here is more laid back than midtown.
Greenwich Ave or Bleeker Street (between 8th Ave and 6th Ave)
Search out your own gem on any of the side streets
Small cluster of Irish bars away from the madness of Times Square. All have bar side and dining side so cater for mix of crowds.
Try Perfect Pint or O Lunneys. Beer served in those not-quite-pint glasses. Adequate, but don't expect to sample the essence of NY as they're in the heart of Tourist Central.
45th St, Midtown Manhattan
Tried two of their premises. One on 44th St near Times Square (I think) and another at a prime spot at the South Street Seaport.
Good pub grub and found both the lager and wheat beer very appealing. Good choice of ales and plenty of seasonal brews. Probably equated to about 3.50-4 quid a pint but hey, good quality microbrews in the middle of NY; you'd pay the same for cooking lager in a generic fun pub, anytown, UK.
44th ish.
South Street Seaport, Lower Manhattan
Other venues across the city (check the web)
The Custard Factory is a large former industrial complex housing creative businesses and a number of nice cafes and bars, including the Medicine Bar and Rooty Fruity.
There a few galleries, shops and showrooms that are also worth a visit.
You don't feel like you're in Brum when you visit this place, which for most people is a good thing.
Gibb Square, Birmingham, B9 4AA
0121 224 7777
info@custardfactory.com www.custardfactory.com/
Like the Anchor down the road, another family run traditional Brummy Irish pub. Nice interior and good, reasonably priced beer.
As with the Anchor, this isn't a cosy gastro pub, but a genuine old fashioned Brummy boozer. In no ways rough, but probably not somewhere to take a date. Authenticity is a real rareity in Brum though, so this place should be appreciated by those who appreciate these kinds of places. If that makes sense.
276, Bradford St, Digbeth, Birmingham, West Midlands, B12 0QY (0121 622 2586)
This is a great little family-run traditional Digbeth Irish pub. They serve a good range of beers. The front bar in particular is notable for its partitioned booths.
This is not some National Trust pub, but a proper old fashioned Brummy boozer. Don't expect to be seduced first time. This is the kind of genuine and authentic pub rarely found in the city. Worth a visit.
Bradford Street, Birmingham
B5 6ET United Kingdom.
Tel: 0121 622 4516
www.the-anchor-inn.fsnet.co.uk/
This historic Grade 2-listed building is Birmingham's finest example of Victorian pub architecture, resplendent in decorative tiles and stained glass.
The pub serves Oakham's award-winning real ales, guest ales from the region and across the country and imported bottled beers from around the world. Authentic freshly cooked Thai food is served from 12 noon-2.30pm and 5.30-10pm Tuesday to Sunday.
One of Birmingham's true gems.
144 High Street
Aston
Birmingham
West Midlands
B6 4UP
0121 333 5988
A great soho bar in Hong Kong that is just enough off of the beaten path of the escalator and hollywood road, but not too far away that you can't get to Lan Kwai Fong in five minutes.
The staff friendly, the nights funky, the drinks cheap, and the atmosphere a little different than most of the surrounding bars/restaurants.
13 Old Bailey Street, Soho, Hong Kong.
www.vodkabar.com.hk
Some really good bars, especially the Alice May, and restaurants and the perfect place to set off and climb a glacier - save the carbon footprint by not using the chopper - it's much more satisfying to get to the top by your own power, helped of course by very good guides. Don't forget to buy the T-shirt.
A really good buzzing little town on the West coast of S.Island.
This is the best Argentinean steak house I've ever been to! The food was unbelievable and the atmosphere amazing. Salsa dancers appeared mid-meal and a band entertained us in the bar afterwards. Mojitos all round!
Great late night bar/club, a local recommended this to us. Everyone spills out onto the steps outside. Lively fun crowd.
alley on right behind Nautica, leading off main harbour. You pass a small casino on your right just before the alley.
A local hotel with plenty of different beers, decent service and an interesting food menu.
157 Moray Street, South Melbourne Tel. 9690 4511
www.melbournepubs.com/v/59/
Beautiful square right in the centre of the old palace walls, with cathedral lit up at night. We passed through at about 11pm and there were loads of people sitting on cushions on the stone steps listening to a woman with guitar accompaniment who was singing from a bar, and waiters were coming round to take drink orders - perfect ambiance in magical setting!
right next to cathedral
Don't rule out evening Eurostar trains to Lille or Paris. Tickets are often cheaper and, despite the clocks being an hour ahead, your break can still start that night, as there's plenty of accommodation near the Eurostar terminals and good restaurants that stay open late.
For example, microbrewery Les Trois Brasseurs (22 Place de la Gare, Lille) has cheap-and-cheerful local dishes, while you might also try the art deco Brasserie Terminus Nord (23 Rue de Dunkerque, Paris).
Café Oz for a brilliant and trendy anglophone bar. Great cocktails, fantastic music, and always packed!
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