Pre Roma - Invisible Wind: loved it as a venue, really like that warehouse aesthetic for bars and they have done a great job making it “Everton”. Was busy enough to make a good atmosphere, but found a table and could get served easy enough. Only minus for the day was that the lager on tap wasn’t great. Not as in “it was a poor lager” but more “this doesn’t taste right”………went on to cans of Red Stripe. Tbf my mate said his Guinness was fine, and I think any problems of that nature can be easily solved, so would definitely give it another go.
Pre Brighton - The Bluehouse: Really loved the look from the outside, and on the inside they have done a stunning job. It’s really very smart in there, and very Everton. No issue with the drinks in there, and prices were reasonable. Minus points were the sheer volume of people in there to get served. Took me ages to get a pint. Tbf to them it’s slap bang outside the ground so this was to be expected, and when other places open this may ease. Second issue was the music…….can’t remember if it was someone playing in person or just music on the speakers, but was extremely loud. Don’t object to a bit of atmosphere but think it needed notching down a bit. Would go in again if I arrived a bit earlier, or in future if more bars and it was just 10% quieter and easier to get served. They have done a great job on it
Pre Mansfield - Ten Streets Social: Best of the lot so far. Similar to Wind Factory, a big warehouse type place but seems even bigger. Initial room as you go in very nice and they have done a fantastic job on the “back” room with all the Everton flags and stuff in there. Sat in the back room, lovely atmosphere in there, and even some Mansfield fans who were allowed to drape their flags as well. Lad doing music was good. Was a perfect mix of being very busy, but you could literally stroll to the bar and get served immediately. £4:50 for a pint of Poretti lager which was absolutely spot on. It was almost too easy to get served tbh as had more to drink before the game than I usually would!
Look forward to trying some of the other existing ones, and it seems a lot of new ones are imminent which is good