The Invasion of Glass & Chrome

Carmine · 14-01-2004, 09:37

Has anyone else noticed the fact that the only (faux) traditional pub on West Street has bitten the bullet? I wasn't a fan of O'Neill's, but after making a few visits to its replacement S1, I have to say that I'd have it back in an instant if I was given the choice. Despite the fact that the pub is still the same size and shape as it was in past incarnations, we now have the addition of bouncers on the door and a young lady who stands with these guys as if to suggest that she's there to check your name against a guest list and might turn you away! The only real chnages that have been made are a coat of paint, a few flat screen tvs, worse lighting and even louder music. I can accept that we might need bouncers on the door of a busy pub at the weekend, but the place has delusions of grandur and seems to think that if it styles itself as a nightclub then people will accept this without question.

Is there anyone else out there who misses the days when the alienating bars which have come to predominate the city centre were the novelty beside the more common public house? The few trad pubs left have to be guarded nihgt and day lest their publicans be cloroformed in the middle of the night and carried off while the welcoming wooden bar and intimate interiors with their tables and jukeboxes that obey the will of the punter are replaced with cold metal, soulless white walls, cocktails and a terminally crap DJ.

Make a stand, patronise and support the few remaining real pubs in the city centre and just say no to shiney new vodka bars and chain pubs from hell.

rinty · 14-01-2004, 10:08

I didn't mind O'Neills because it felt 'real'. Why on earth did they paint S1 that colour though? It looks like an undercoat

I hate all the bars, so it's The Bath, or The Red Deer usually. The Devonshire Cat is fine, but so busy it's difficult to have a proper conversation half the time.

The Washington was the place to go, but it's really gone downhill I'm afraid

Carmine · 14-01-2004, 10:15

Is the Bath the pub visible from the corner of Barcleys as you walk towards the university?

Andy C · 14-01-2004, 11:58

I went to S1 last Friday and was not impressed. Was far too hot and sweaty (are they too tight to switch on the air conditioning?) and it took forever to get served. The music seemed to match the list of songs on Channel 4's top 100 worst ever records program too....

If you want a proper pub in that area they are there if you know where to look, such as the Red Deer, Bath Hotel, Dog and Partridge, Grapes and Frog & Parrot.

Tony · 14-01-2004, 14:02

I think that the Devonshire Cat is the only modern purpose built pub that is a proper pub. It's usually packed, so it show that people still want proper things as well as tricky discos.

jackthedog · 16-01-2004, 08:46

The decor of a place doesnt bother me, but they are definately destroying all the atmosphere in town pubs now.

Me and a bunch of friends went in S1 last week at about 6ish cos it was quiet and we could all chat and have a laugh. Then, it got to 8/9ish and the lights went down and the music was turned up.
Why?
Now we cant see each other, or hear each other, and with nowhere to dance (not that we wanted to anyway) why would the music be so loud?

If I want to stand in a dark corner with music so loud I cant hold a conversation with anyone, i'll go to a nightclub.

Geoff · 05-03-2004, 14:03

I thought I would take this opportunity to mention the interesting fact that Mitchells & Butlers own all of the following bars in Sheffield...

Edward's, Flares, O'Neills (now S1), All Bar One and also It's a Scream (Cavendish)

This makes up the majority of bars on West/Division Street!

See what else they own at:
http://www.mbplc.com/navigator/busin...m?section=pubs

The invasion of the large plcs

goldenfleece · 06-03-2004, 10:05

If they own all these pubs they should rename them all with lovely chrome sign on the front of all of them saying THE CRAP BAR COMPANY all with the same name BLAND BAR

I went to S1 and HATED it......I aslo know someone who applied for a bar job i S1 and they had a 4 hour "interview" consisting of a whole group of would be bar persons seeing how loud they could shout and playing crappy sitting on the floor and rowing games to see how much stamina they had.

Er....dont they just ask you for a name and reference any more and how to pull a pint? Whats all this interactive recruitment and group stuff. APparently all the applicants had no idea they were about to enter a Club 18-30 ice breaker style session, and thought they had solo interviews!!!!

****e beer as well.....

uncleheed · 08-03-2004, 08:20

Pubs are re-furbed now to appeal to the alcopop generation.They don't want beer and lager drinkers now as they don't spend as much.All they wnt in is the £3.50 a bottle crowd.

fnkysknky · 08-03-2004, 12:22

It's all about the money and obviously traditional pubs don't make enough - you all better start spending more if you want to save any of the few that are left

goldenfleece · 08-03-2004, 13:11

Does anyone like ALCOPOPS in this so called alcopop generation. I tired a few (under protest) on a recent DIvision STreet crawl (alsl under protest) and thought they were bland tasteless vomit.....give me a pint of Black Sheep anyday!! Or a Newcastle Brown for that matter.

I asked for Newcastle brown in every place I went in just to see if they had any.......most of the bar bar staff had never seen a bottle of the stuff and went scrimmaging through their alcopop fridges trying to see if they could find one....it was funny. Had to settle for apint of warm tasteless STella or a bottle of pseudo very cheap naff vodka pretending to be orange juice......

Fudbeer · 17-03-2004, 01:08

Got to agree on this one.I can remember starting at the firkin foundry or the beahive as it was then working down to the mail coach both good pubs but with very different atmosphere's then you could slum it for a while in the Hallamshire could be a little weird for some but still interesting and a great juke box,then you had the west street hotel which had some good DJ's playing different music each night (not 70's 80'sEVERY night) loads of others to numerous to mention but the verierty was far greater before and I think made for a much more interesting night.

jake · 17-03-2004, 11:51

Sad fact of life is that the reason you wont like a particular city centre bar - is because its not aimed at you! Some marketing dept will have worked out who gives the most spend per square foot in any area - and for most city centre bars - those are 18-30 yr olds getting bladdered.

The Devonshire Cat is as just as much aimed at a target market as any of the tacky bars - but as I'm obviously in that market - i dont mind too much