What: Pub
For: Drinks
With: Friends
Site: They don't have one, but there is a facebook group if you care enough to search for it.
The Alex is a nice big pub in Harrogate, equipped with a giant bar, two pool tables and more TVs than you can shake a stick at. Most often they tend to be showing sport, add that to the pool tables and real ales, and you can see why most of their clientèle are male.
However, they're clearly anxious to cater for the girlfriends who will at some point get dragged along. A fairly standard set of cocktails is available (including pitchers, and some really rather fun shooters) enough to make it better than Wetherspoons, anyway. It also tends to have offers on wines - usually a discounted bottle or the promise that if you buy two glasses they'll give you the bottle for free. Very nice of them.
Another big plus is that they don't have something that the only other big pub offering pool has: Giant squishy sofas. To me, a big squishy sofa can make or break a place, usually it's enough to persuade me to stay all night, so long as no one nicks my seat when I go to the bar. I won't whine about sitting on a normal chair, a bench, or a bar stool, but the sofa is king. If I ever open any kind of pub, bar, coffee shop etc, I will insist upon having as many squishy sofas as I can.
That aside, back to the Alex.
Drink prices are about average, and it's always busy on a Friday and Saturday night. To the extent that there may be three people between you and the bar when you go to get a drink. Fortunately, the bar is massive (as I've said), and the bar staff are very quick. You feel a bit mean asking for three complicated cocktails, until you realise it'll take them much less than three minutes to make them.
Having eaten here once, I can also tell you that the food is quite good. Standard pub fare is on offer, but it's quality is somewhat better, and I'm told they do an enviable Sunday lunch. I suspect that's true, but I also suspect that there will be quite a wait for it, since if it does get busy, they have a lot of tables to serve.
So, in summary, not a bad place to sit with friends and waste a couple of hours, and (usually) big enough to deal with how popular it is.
Showing posts with label Harrogate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harrogate. Show all posts
Friday, 28 August 2009
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Monty's Jazz Bar (Harrogate)
What: Bar
For: Cocktails
With: Friends
Site: Here
Well, first of all, it's not a jazz bar. At least it isn't any more, maybe it used to be once. These days they play rock, and it's variations, from classic rock, to punk, to metal, to emo, and everything in between. Occasionally they have live bands, though I've never gone there to see one.
They do play the music very loud as well. I'm not sure if they're open during the day, or at what time they turn the music up, but whenever I've been there it's loud. Which is a shame, because otherwise it's a really cool little place. Having to shout to my friends is the only thing that stops me from going there more often.
The atmosphere is good, the bar is usually busy, and it's rare to see someone not having fun. There's plenty of tables and so on, a stage, and a football table - which is a lovely addition to any bar, I'm all up for pool and quiz machines, but you don't get to play table football so often, and it's nice to have it. Also, there's a dance floor of sorts, though I've only seen it properly used twice, usually it's got more tables on it.
Of course, you don't go to Monty's to play table football. You probably don't go for the music, because even hardcore rock fans will find some sub-genre within rock that they can't abide, and you can guarantee that they'll play that sub-genre at some point. Oh, and the TV screens always seem to be showing Scuzz, the music videos don't match the music playing, which can be hilarious in itself, but really, no one actually wants to watch Scuzz.
So the reason you go? The cocktails. The list is one of the most extensive I've seen, it's certainly the best in Harrogate (the only other place I know of specialising in cocktails is Moko, and going to Moko always seems to be a great effort). They're even cheap and interesting enough to entice "real men" to try them.
Even more special, is the fact that before 9pm cocktails are buy one get one free. The best way to take advantage of this is like so:
1. Choose a friend with good taste.
2. Say that you'll give them your second cocktail, if they give you theirs.
3. Order a cocktail each.
4. Get a free cocktail, identical to the one you ordered.
5. Swap your free one with your friend.
6. Enjoy.
So, in spite of the loud (and occasionally dreadful) music, Monty's is a lot of fun. It's really unusual that you don't have a giggle there. The cocktails alone keep it interesting enough that if you're out in Harrogate, it would be a shame not to stop there for a drink at some point.
For: Cocktails
With: Friends
Site: Here
Well, first of all, it's not a jazz bar. At least it isn't any more, maybe it used to be once. These days they play rock, and it's variations, from classic rock, to punk, to metal, to emo, and everything in between. Occasionally they have live bands, though I've never gone there to see one.
They do play the music very loud as well. I'm not sure if they're open during the day, or at what time they turn the music up, but whenever I've been there it's loud. Which is a shame, because otherwise it's a really cool little place. Having to shout to my friends is the only thing that stops me from going there more often.
The atmosphere is good, the bar is usually busy, and it's rare to see someone not having fun. There's plenty of tables and so on, a stage, and a football table - which is a lovely addition to any bar, I'm all up for pool and quiz machines, but you don't get to play table football so often, and it's nice to have it. Also, there's a dance floor of sorts, though I've only seen it properly used twice, usually it's got more tables on it.
Of course, you don't go to Monty's to play table football. You probably don't go for the music, because even hardcore rock fans will find some sub-genre within rock that they can't abide, and you can guarantee that they'll play that sub-genre at some point. Oh, and the TV screens always seem to be showing Scuzz, the music videos don't match the music playing, which can be hilarious in itself, but really, no one actually wants to watch Scuzz.
So the reason you go? The cocktails. The list is one of the most extensive I've seen, it's certainly the best in Harrogate (the only other place I know of specialising in cocktails is Moko, and going to Moko always seems to be a great effort). They're even cheap and interesting enough to entice "real men" to try them.
Even more special, is the fact that before 9pm cocktails are buy one get one free. The best way to take advantage of this is like so:
1. Choose a friend with good taste.
2. Say that you'll give them your second cocktail, if they give you theirs.
3. Order a cocktail each.
4. Get a free cocktail, identical to the one you ordered.
5. Swap your free one with your friend.
6. Enjoy.
So, in spite of the loud (and occasionally dreadful) music, Monty's is a lot of fun. It's really unusual that you don't have a giggle there. The cocktails alone keep it interesting enough that if you're out in Harrogate, it would be a shame not to stop there for a drink at some point.
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