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Means “that’s it” in Irish, and, like the name suggests, it’s a no-frills pub that lets the atmosphere do the talking. Usually packed with a good mix of ages and nationalities, with music and comedy gigs, it’s a buzzing place. And that’s it.
Address: Coburg Street, Cork.
Cramped, noisy, with a seat resembling the proverbial gold-dust most evenings, this is where literary hardmen like Brendan Behan and Patrick Kavanagh came to nurse a pint and their talents. Not to be entered lightly, although you’ll probably leave that way.
Address: 3 Harry Street, Dublin 2.
Telephone: (353-1) 6794395
This bar is an air conditioned oasis on hot and sultry nights on Symi. Jean your hostess is welcoming and chatty and knows pretty much everyone on the island. She has contacts for any situation and also manages some rather splendid accommodation. Oh and the bar stays open as long as you are drinking... I don't know where she finds her energy!
Chorio, Symi. Near Square
Santorini has some excellent wines, especially its Vin Santo, a sweet wine. I would recommend visiting one of the many vineyards and trying the various wines, quite an experience - but take a taxi! You can also buy the wines from the vineyards for a very good price as well.
www.santorini.gr-santorini.com/wineries/
www.greeka.com/cyclades/santorini/santorini-products/santorini-wines.htm
www.cyclades-orbit.com/santorini/wine-of-santorini.asp
A truly brilliant little bar at the top of the Kali Strata in Chorio (the old town). It is nothing remarkable to look at but sitting under the giant vine watching the world go by whilst Yanni (the landlord's son) brings you beers and snacks is just like heaven. I don't think I have been happier in any other bar.
Top of the Kali Strata, Chorio. Next to the square.
The best place to meet before and after a test match or one-day international. An institution with the die hard fans of any sport played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG or "the G").
Punt Road, Richmond, next to the Richmond train station and the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Live music - usually Thursdays + Fridays. DJs, electronica and local indie musicans in a relaxed and unpretentious location. Slightly hard to find but this doesn't mean it's exclusive by any means.
219 London Cct Civic
6230 0003
Google map: tinyurl.com/nakzsk
A small and intimate cocktail bar overlooking Garema Place in the City.
A good selection of drinks, music, people and kitsch decor! Jazz on Wednesday nights.
Upstairs, Garema Place, Civic
www.hippobar.com.au
Google map: tinyurl.com/mpxx7y
What could be more pleasant than wandering by the side of a canal on a cool but bright summer’s day watching the gondolas go past and doing a bit of window-shopping? Well, at the Venetian you can do all that – okay the coolness is provided by air conditioning and the bright summer’s day by the painted ceiling of blue sky and clouds but, hey, who cares, it’s still lovely.
The Grand Canal shopping arcade at the Venetian is, like many of the other large hotel arcades, worth visiting even if you aren’t in the mood for retail therapy. It’s a really nice place to have a stroll. Now I have never been to Venice so I can’t comment on whether the buildings are authentic but the European style architecture, the walkways, bridges, streetlights and canal make a very pleasant backdrop. If your wallet is itchy then there a shops selling laces, masks and glass as well as shoes, fashion, jewellery etc..
You can also, if you wish, take a gondola ride. Or sit down, sup a cappuccino and get into that Italian style vibe. Bella.
3355 Las Vegas Boulevard
In the Venetian Hotel
To call the Forum shops at Caesar’s a “Shopping Mall” is a bit of an understatement – indeed the same could also be said of Desert Passage at Aladdin and the Canal Shoppes at the Venetian.
As well as approximately 150 shops and restaurants there are also street entertainers, fountains and the “Lost City of Atlantis” animatronics presentation, making it as much an attraction as a mall.
As for the shops, well for fashion devotees there is Gucci, Versace, Armani and Christian Dior (as well as Banana Republic and Gap for the slightly less well-heeled shopper) for children and the child within us there is FAO Schwartz. For foodies, stop at the Cheesecake Factory or Planet Hollywood. And for those who simply like to window-shop and people-watch, well, the Forum is a great place to do both.
3500 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Next to The Mirage and Ceasar's Palace
This is probably the only place in the Medina, 1 min from Djemma el Fna, where you can get a cheap beer. It has seen better days but has loads of atmosphere. The lounge is full of comfy chairs and ornate plasterwork. Waiters, most of whom have also seen better days, shuffle around taking orders for drinks. A great place to meet other travellers or just lounge around when you are souked out.
Corner of Ave El Mouahidine and Rue Bab Agnaou.
I had an image in my mind of the quintessential Roman pizzeria: a narrow side street, tables packed with locals, buzzing with conversation, great pizza and pasta at a reasonable price. And then, walking along Via Corso Vittorio Emmanuelle, I glanced left and there it was. Service was fast and unforgiving – you threw that order at a flying waiter and hoped it stuck – the decor simple and the demand huge, as locals lined up three-deep along the wall, looking enviously on as we lucky ones tucked into wood-oven pizzas and cheap beers. All the while the owner – only slightly less intimidating than Tony Soprano – directed the chaos like a cigar-chewing maestro. Great food, drink, company and entertainment. When in Rome...
Address: Vicolo Savelli 13, Rome.
Tel: (39-6) 6861877
Only in Rome does service barely above curt and drinks for a single-figure amount cause an enthusiastic stir. But Enoteca Antica gives both, and much more besides. Reasonable and tasty food, great Erdinger beers for 5 Euros, and – hang on to your seats – service that is genuinely friendly. And then there’s the location – a stone’s throw from the Spanish Steps, in an old wine cavern so atmospheric you can smell the Chianti in the air.
Address: Via della Croce, 76/b, 00187 Rome
E-mail: enoteca.antica@tiscalinet.it
Telephone: (39-6) 6790896
Fax: (39-6) 6797544
It may not quite live up to the name, but there is something regal about The Palace. Maybe it’s the high, vaunted ceilings. Or perhaps the tiled floors lend it that touch of royal class. It could be its impeccable breeding, dating as it does back to Victorian times, and once the haunt of Yeats, Behan, Kavanagh and other illuminati of Irish literature. But probably it’s the presence of all those pretenders, perched on their thrones, issuing one edict after another.
Address: 21 Fleet Street, Dublin 2.
Telephone: (353-1) 6779290
Mentioned more than once by Joyce, it is a true Dublin literary pub. That said, it hardly looks the same as it did in the great man’s time – the decor a bit reminiscent of a 70s cruise ship disco. But it has great seafood and pints, and the soundtrack is the hum of strong opinions strenuously aired. Joyce would approve.
Address: 21 Duke Street, Dublin 2.
Telephone: (353-1) 6775217
The brew house next to the Augustiner Abbey on Lindhofstrasse. A traditional beer hall (garden in summer) with terrific beer brewed by the monks. Open from 3:00 pm we went about an hour later and it was surprisingly busy for a weekday. A great social affair although I imagine it could get a bit 'lively' by late evening!
Lindhofstrasse 7
www.augustinerbier.at/pages/ebrauerei/index.htm
This is a pub very close to the city centre, near the Institiute of Welsh Sport and Sophia Gardens cricket ground. It has a good choice of real ales, mainly from Wales. If you'd like to hear Welsh spoken, all staff are fluent and this is a popular pub among the Welsh capital's sizable Welsh speaking community.
Y Mochyn Du
Sophia Gardens,
Cardiff,
CF11 9HW
Tel: 029 2037 1599
Part bar, part puppet show, this one-man-cabaret of a dining experience is for anyone who likes to eat out in truly surreal fashion.
It's the choicest blend of beer, bar snacks, party games and singing lavatory available in Tokyo, though definitely not recommended for the overly self-conscious.
Hanasada Bldg. B1F 5-12, Shinbashi 2 -Chome, Minato-Ku, Tokyo.
homepage: www1.ocn.ne.jp/~kagayayy/index_e.html
review: metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/448/bars.asp
A sheesha bar on the river-front. Run by a friendly bloke and not too expensive, a good way to relax after an exhausting day shopping or seeing the sights of Singapore.
As an Aussie student, just want to say, make sure you know how much your drink costs before you order. Most places are good (Slovak pub, bar across from charlie's) but in other bars, the bar tenders will take what you give them and walk off, it may not be much but it adds up. In just over two drinks in BAROK CIRCUS i paid sk100 (euro3) too much. It's not much, but honesty goes a long way. I took another traveller's tip and asked for a bill, but got some random bill for sk 430. So, just pay with whatever it says on the menu in exact change if possible, it's a pain in the ass but will save you over the night.
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