Sheffield - city of townie bars

[Jonny5]

I presume by saying townie you mean someone who is resident of a university/college city? Or do you have some other skewed view as to what a townie is?

 

A townie is traditionally someone who goes out to get blind drunk and by the by the end of the night has a f** or a fight mentality.

 

Where Sheff does score highly for me is the number of places where I can get a good pint (ie what I am actually going out for in the first place!). There are several in Town and then there is the pleasure drinkers Utopia of Neepsend.

 

But the middle ground between proper-pubs and townie hell-holes is a little thin.

[Unisol]

 

But the middle ground between proper-pubs and townie hell-holes is a little thin.

 

I disagree.

 

I can think of at least 20+ decent bars in the city centre alone which fall very much in between.

 

There will be at least a couple more once Leopold Sq opens too.

[Jonny5]

I disagree.

 

I can think of at least 20+ decent bars in the city centre alone which fall very much in between.

 

There will be at least a couple more once Leopold Sq opens too.

 

I should have added that I haven't been hunting for them for a while (a couple of years).

 

I don't suppose you could list a few could you (btw I already know abou the Wig & Pen)? Might do me good to get out of my Dog & Partridge/Bath comfort zone!

[Unisol]

I should have added that I haven't been hunting for them for a while (a couple of years).

 

I don't suppose you could list a few could you (btw I already know abou the Wig & Pen)? Might do me good to get out of my Dog & Partridge/Bath comfort zone!

 

Not saying i frequent all these places, or that you'll like them, but at least you'll have fun trying!

 

- Runaway Girl (Arundel St)

- boho (Campo Lane)

- Forum (Division St - or is that bit Devonshire St?)

- Common Room (above Forum)

- Halcyon (Division St)

- HaHa (Peace Gardens)

- Sola (down a back st behind Cathedral) - not sure if it's still open?

- DQ including the upstairs bit (next to where Mad Greek was)

- Crystal (Carver St)

- Tequila (West St)

- Bar23 (West One)

- Takapuna (bottom end of West St)

- Ruby Lounge (Carver St)

- The Ivory (off West St) - not a great bar, but the restaurant is quite good

- The Sanctuary (to the left of the Cathedral)

 

That should keep you busy for a while.

 

Most of those places are pretty good if you want to avoid the 'townie' type places i.e. what i would class as Wetherspoons, Yate's, RSVP etc.

 

[Starquake]

I dopubt it will even start before 2012. Given the fact that Embrace is replacing Kingdom, that means it will be at least five years before what was Cole Brothers will be demolished. So you're looking at a start date of at least 2012-13. Now if Leeds Harewood/Eastgate Quarters, plus the Trinity Quarter not only get redeveloped but finished before the former Cole Brothers gets demolished, then that leaves Sheffield further still behind Leeds.

 

Your measurements and criteria for what makes one city better then the other are at the very best shallow. Believe it or not, not everyone wants a city consisting of tall buildings, faceless apartments, 'trendy' shops and over-priced hollow bars. What about nice parks, trees, great views, a sense of space? I could go on.

 

Traditionally Sheffield has been a city of heavy engineering and industry, something many people from here are proud of. Unfortunately much of it was decimated for many reasons over the past 25 or so years. Leeds, whilst having some industry, was much better positioned to build itself around the service sector and thus had an earlier start at recovery. Well done Leeds then.

 

Sheffield Council are also notoriously crap having had long term planning of this City they could have done a far far better job at sorting its problems out. The number of daft expensive headline grabbing projects they have wasted money on is atrocious. This is something the people of Sheffield have only themselves to blame for.

 

Try throwing some brains (borrow some if you need to, preferably some superior Leeds ones) at your rhetoric.

[emmie]

Unisol has just given a very comprehensive list of reasons why sheffield's bars are fab. I'm from rotherham (i know- poor me!!) and i've bought a house in sheff because i love it and everything about it including the bars. Firecracker, i think you need to open your eyes and lower the snobbery because having lived in manchester and have been to living room on numerous occasions i'd sooner not bother having one in sheff thanks. Its bland decor, bland people (i.e.footballers and their shares brain cell and the girls trying to bag said footballers) and completely lacking in atmosphere. To be honest the people are downright rude in there. There are much better bars with their own individual style and quirks if you know where to look............just like sheff. Manchester and leeds are bound to have more bars etc because they are bigger but at the same time it means they have a greater number of trashy townie bars too. Sheffield is much friendlier and you should learn to enjoy not slag it.

[Pipine]

Not saying i frequent all these places, or that you'll like them, but at least you'll have fun trying!

 

- Runaway Girl (Arundel St)

- boho (Campo Lane)

- Forum (Division St - or is that bit Devonshire St?)

- Common Room (above Forum)

- Halcyon (Division St)

- HaHa (Peace Gardens)

- Sola (down a back st behind Cathedral) - not sure if it's still open?

- DQ including the upstairs bit (next to where Mad Greek was)

- Crystal (Carver St)

- Tequila (West St)

- Bar23 (West One)

- Takapuna (bottom end of West St)

- Ruby Lounge (Carver St)

- The Ivory (off West St) - not a great bar, but the restaurant is quite good

- The Sanctuary (to the left of the Cathedral)

 

That should keep you busy for a while.

 

Most of those places are pretty good if you want to avoid the 'townie' type places i.e. what i would class as Wetherspoons, Yate's, RSVP etc.

 

 

 

It all depends on your definition of a townie bar.

 

On a friday or saturday night I'd say most of the places on your list are pretty townie.... I'd say runaway girl, Boho, The Ivory, Wig and Pen and Bungalow and Bears are the only safe havens on a weekend night out...

[digirunoff]

I occasionally like going to the classier places too, but I think the reason that a few places of the calibre you have described have flopped is that sheffield night life during the week relies on students to stay open - if you just look at the amount of student nights - it's nuts!

The classier places also need to make the ale cheaper too - that way people would be more willing to go in them. I know people believe that if your drinks are cheap then you will attract the more "Townie" - as you described it, element into your venue, but a good door policy and aware doorstaff help sort that problem out straightoff

[longiesta]

Calling it townie is just inviting for abuse really. Sometimes I don't get people's perception, but I try to understand it.

 

Did you know that Nonnas used to be in the National Music Centre, and it has now moved to Ecclesall Rd? I would definitely say that the bar side of Nonnas is definitely a "bar", more wine and cocktails sold, and less beer and bottle drinks.

 

If you want classic bar where the barman does cocktails and advice on wines etc. Have you not tried somewhere like the bar in the new McDonald hotel?

 

I sometimes work behind a bar, and to be honest. The type of bars that you have in mind may not work in Sheffield, since people's tastes are not geared towards that at all. I can understand why places like Devonshire Cat works well in Sheffield, and I don't think the likes of Manchester has such places either. Not that I know of... I know I've been out of the scene from Manchester for a while too.

 

I think you just want names and labels.

Well, since there will be a Conran building in this city, maybe there will be one or two type of bars which will be in the new developments. I've recently heard that, the redevelopment of the Cole Brothers area will finish its development by 2010-2012. So, if you can wait til then...!

 

nonnas used to have a small cafe across the road from NCPM, not in it. i think its still a cafe now, not sure though, dont go down that way much