What Makes a Good Pub ?



summerisle said:
Posted this in the Beer thread ; what do you think.

It's an interesting observation really, what makes a pub : for me, it's the beer, but there's obviously more to this. Seems a good idea for thread. I think, obviously the ale has to be good, but there's that indefinable ambience, the people, the whole je ne sais quoi. If course, it's horses for courses depending on what you're looking for on a night out.

I remember when I went for an interview for a job in a hotel/ pub in Bury St Edmunds. It was just how you would expect a medieval building to be : black wa ttle and daub outside, and medieval wooden beans inside. I was most impressed. After the interview had finished I was was waiting for the bus to get home. I got talking to this old chap, who told me it was all fake. It was all remolded in the 19900s to appeal for American tourists who visit due to the airfields that were extant during WW2, and were looking for that authentic ''Olde English ' experience.

You'd never have guessed that the hotel wasn't medieval, rather than the nineteenth century construct it actually was. Artificially created, but if nobody knows, does it matter ?
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A licensee with character, who loves his / her pub. They don`t even have to be friendly, just full of character - see the old licensee from the Albion on the City Walls in Chester, proper grump, but highly entertaining.

A licensee and staff, that know how to look after their beer, not just the real ale, all of the beer, including the fizz and Guinness.

The pub doesn`t need to be a palace inside, as long as it`s clean, comfy and warm.

An escape area where there`s no live sport on, somewhere you can go and relax, without having to listen to middle aged fellas dressed like their twenty, screaming at the telly and chewing their gums off from bashed up coke.

They don`t have to serve food, but the likes of the crisps etc should be quality, not generic rubbish.

If they`re going to let dogs in, they must be kept on a lead, not allowed to run all around the pub ( I love dogs, but that does my head in )

Not to be Nazi`s with their drinking up time, call it in plenty of time to let people drink up, without them having to neck a pint in five minutes.

Don`t take the piss with the pricing, everyone knows that pubs are under the cosh at the mo, but charging £7 for a Guinness in a suburban pub is just exploitation and a sure fire way to have no customers.

The age or character of the pub has nothing to do with whether it`s a good pub or not, as a modern pub ( The Augustus John for instance ) can be every bit as good as a really old and historic pub as long as they`ve got the basics right.
 
COYBL25 said:
A licensee with character, who loves his / her pub. They don`t even have to be friendly, just full of character - see the old licensee from the Albion on the City Walls in Chester, proper grump, but highly entertaining.

A licensee and staff, that know how to look after their beer, not just the real ale, all of the beer, including the fizz and Guinness.

The pub doesn`t need to be a palace inside, as long as it`s clean, comfy and warm.

An escape area where there`s no live sport on, somewhere you can go and relax, without having to listen to middle aged fellas dressed like their twenty, screaming at the telly and chewing their gums off from bashed up coke.

They don`t have to serve food, but the likes of the crisps etc should be quality, not generic rubbish.

If they`re going to let dogs in, they must be kept on a lead, not allowed to run all around the pub ( I love dogs, but that does my head in )

Not to be Nazi`s with their drinking up time, call it in plenty of time to let people drink up, without them having to neck a pint in five minutes.

Don`t take the piss with the pricing, everyone knows that pubs are under the cosh at the mo, but charging £7 for a Guinness in a suburban pub is just exploitation and a sure fire way to have no customers.

The age or character of the pub has nothing to do with whether it`s a good pub or not, as a modern pub ( The Augustus John for instance ) can be every bit as good as a really old and historic pub as long as they`ve got the basics right.
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And a sound beer garden on a sunny day! ;)
 

COYBL25 said:
A licensee with character, who loves his / her pub. They don`t even have to be friendly, just full of character - see the old licensee from the Albion on the City Walls in Chester, proper grump, but highly entertaining.

A licensee and staff, that know how to look after their beer, not just the real ale, all of the beer, including the fizz and Guinness.

The pub doesn`t need to be a palace inside, as long as it`s clean, comfy and warm.

An escape area where there`s no live sport on, somewhere you can go and relax, without having to listen to middle aged fellas dressed like their twenty, screaming at the telly and chewing their gums off from bashed up coke.

They don`t have to serve food, but the likes of the crisps etc should be quality, not generic rubbish.

If they`re going to let dogs in, they must be kept on a lead, not allowed to run all around the pub ( I love dogs, but that does my head in )

Not to be Nazi`s with their drinking up time, call it in plenty of time to let people drink up, without them having to neck a pint in five minutes.

Don`t take the piss with the pricing, everyone knows that pubs are under the cosh at the mo, but charging £7 for a Guinness in a suburban pub is just exploitation and a sure fire way to have no customers.

The age or character of the pub has nothing to do with whether it`s a good pub or not, as a modern pub ( The Augustus John for instance ) can be every bit as good as a really old and historic pub as long as they`ve got the basics right.
Click to expand...
I think the top one and the drinking uptime come hand-in-hand, because it drives me bonkers when you're pretty much forced to neck your pint.

They don't want to rush you out and close up quickly if it's a decent pub as they have that relationship with their customers.
 

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