Have you been to a drinking establishment no one else has?

[MrsTerryPratchett]

@Furries suggested this one so if no one replies, it's on her

I'll start:

Raffles in Singapore
Casablancas in Liverpool (the one with the chippy in the basement)
The Underground in Croydon

Trefforest Non Political Club, where I saw the Manics just before they were famous.

The Cockpit under the railway bridge in Leeds was an awesome night out too.

The Pen y Gwyrd Hotel. Long time HQ of the Alpine, where great expeditions were planned, and tales shared, where the boots of great mountaineers now hang off the beams in the Smoke Room.

@Paulrn - I may be familiar with the Sunshine bar but quite how familiar I’m not telling you apart from saying Mombassa is a second home for my family and it never ceases to,amaze me when visitors say - can we go and see the old Sunshine Bar, my dad used to mention it years ago.

@Wiaa It was 2015 I went. It may still have been the same place though. There was a trend for a few years of opening temporary bars in random places like building sites, but I can't remember the name of the trend. They weren't pop up bars, but called something similar.

Anyone for the Bucket of Blood? (Phillack, Hayle, Cornwall).

Simon’s Place, Wexford

1984 - I was in Student halls just down the road!

Another one who loved the roasts at the Spaniards Inn! Also frequented both Flasks (Hampstead and Highgate) and the Old Red Lion, Islington.

I will offer:

Downtown Manhattan, Oxford (RIP)
La Isla Bar, Tsougria, off Skiathos

Not a place you would take Granny

Out of the ones mentioned so far, I've been to:

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem - Nottingham
Raffles - Singapore
Prospect of Whitby - London
Foreign Correspondent Club - Phnom Penh
Downtown Manhattan - 90s night club in Oxford. Happy days

I will present... The Cat's Back in Wandsworth. Used to live right next door to it!

@chatw0o0 I used to live in Wandsworth and loved the cats back - quirky little place from what I remember!
Also used to go to the club down the road in Putney called Fez I think....

Meant to add in Rasputins in Swansea - 50p for a shot of vodka!

Spent many a drunken night at Fez club. Also Cafe Des Artistes, Clapham.

A teenage social life of telling our parents we were absolutely not, no, going anywhere near Union St 🤣 Was a bit scary when the military police came along, tbf.

OK to clarify the rules. You may or can choose not to say if you've been in one of the places named before your 'turn'. This isn't compulsory.

You name 1-3 places which can be obscure but don't have to be and your fellow MNers say if they've been there.

Whomever has one left at the end of the thread with no one who has visited, wins my respect and admiration. If you have all three without cheating is a veritable obscure drinking establishment guru.

No private or members clubs. Nothing that requires signed in. Nowhere that primarily has another function like eating or staying.

Clear?

@backinthebox I have this vague recollection of pear drop vodka. Very vague which may be an indication of the kind of time I had there! The random nature of what you received was entertaining.

Why did my reply get hidden?

I have also been to the FUBAR in Stirling.

Hoot the Redeemer, Edinburgh.

Creepy Wee Pub in Dunfermline

House of Gods Edinburgh

Where you went is so secret no-one can ever know!

Not recognising any of these except The Nutshell in Bury St Edmunds but the problem is, I was usually too drunk to remember the name of drinking establishments I went to!

I can't think of any particularly special places I've been to, forgotten everything except for places that were regular for me so I'll just name them.
The Brewery, Lowestoft (hoping someone else has been, to reminisce - spent my 6th form years there)
Ruma in Tampere, Finland (the name means Ugly, and was a staple for Tampere students, anyone who did Erasmus there likely went)
Kestikeidas in Mänttä, Finland (no one will have been there I'm sure)

Mine are from the 90s

Babushka, Caledonian Road - Friday DJ nights, everyone dancing on tables, the lot!
Over the Hill wine bar, north London. Good times 😍
The Spanish Bar in Bradley St, near Tottenham Court Road

I've been to the Flask and the Spaniards Inn

The Tiv in Buckley

The rat’s castle, the camp, and the philanthropist and firkin (all St Albans, varying eras).

The Dying Cow near Shillelagh co Wicklow.
The British Council Dhaka
The Apple Tree, Bristol. The perfect pub for a first date (not).

The Hope and Anchor, Bristol
The Marisco Tavern, Lundy Island
The Ritz bar, Paris

@MrsTerryPratchett - Blimey, this was started and took off fast! I’ll get my thinking cap on and submit my establishments later.

The Cockpit under the railway bridge in Leeds was an awesome night out too
I was happy in the haze of so many drunken hours in the Cockpit. Saw some amazing bands in there too.
Fab Cafe and the Think Tank were also really good.