What is the roughest pub you have ever been to?

NortonExile said:
Cannot believe this thread is eleven pages deep and no mention of the Reindeer in Stockton (Unless I’ve missed it).

Horrendous.
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Went in there once. I think it was one or two nights before I moved away to university and I seem to recall having a good time at the table with the friends of a friend, but going through the bar to the loo was a no eye contact affair.

Definitely not the kind of place where a bloke orders a white wine spritzer for himself.
 
jeff_potato said:
Went in there once. I think it was one or two nights before I moved away to university and I seem to recall having a good time at the table with the friends of a friend, but going through the bar to the loo was a no eye contact affair.

Definitely not the kind of place where a bloke orders a white wine spritzer for himself.
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I order an orange juice in the round in there one night, the barman asked whose got the dose!
 
Quite a few in the Boro when younger ... all mentioned earlier.

The Cannon Hill pub in Balsall Heath, Birmingham was quite an experience in the early 80s. Drugs, prostitution, guns, fencing stolen goods. Someone nicked my film camera from my place round the corner on Cannon Hill Place, and I knew it would end up in there. I went in to retrieve it. That was fun. The line between bravado and getting a hiding is a fine one. Subsequently used it to make the "Rules and Regulations" video for Fuzzbox, ironically enough.
 
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Can't really remember ever being in a really rough pub, but as an away fan I have been in lots of dodgy pubs , main two that spring to mind is one in Swansea - Garibaldi's which was a one drink affair, no talking then waiting for the doorman to open the door so we could leave, we had got in by joining a large group walking in which should have been a warning but we were very sloshed, and the other time was Yates in Nottingham before an FA cup match in the mid 90's against Forest again it was like finding a pub that had the east midland mirror images of the frontline packing it out, one drink affair again, no talking, no eye contact, and then "let's go to Ye olde trip to Jerusalem instead". . I'm sure I have been to most pubs if not all pubs around Ayresome Park, in the town , around the train station and in and off Lini Road before home games, all bit lively back in the 80's and 90's but I felt safe.
 
I must admit wandering around Glasgow and seeing drinking dens with just a few little high windows, flat roofs, very grubby, in semi derelict areas gave me the creeps i.e. you couldn't pay me to go in. I am sure to the regualrs they are fine and the beer is cheap, but they were the least desirable pubs I have ever seen.
 
boropie said:
fffjord green harehills leeds,everytime we played in the north west when you had to go through leeds you would always go past the ffjord green. so one tuesday late eighties we played oldham away on a tuesday night and decided to stop off and have a pint in there.soon as we walked in we realised it was a big mistake,we couldnt just turn round and go out.it was a case of get ya pint sup up quick and get out
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Ahhhh, The Ffordd Green Hotel. I frequented that place a several times in my youth, around 1976/77. They used to have professional live bands on in there. I know it was a dump but i never saw any bother. I don't think it's even there now.

Bo Diddley, Geordie, Def Leppard, Dr Feelgood, Girlschool, Simple Minds, Dire Straits, Whitesnake, Be Bop Deluxe, The Rolling Stones, and Generation X to name but a few all played there.
 
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Another I've just recalled...The Norseman in Liverpool. Opposite Huskisson dock.
A very late night establishment full of knarly old merchant seamen, prostitutes and lowlifes....a proper Star Wars bar.
Mentioned it once in passing to an old Scouse RFA laundryman who said "I got stabbed in the back in there off a Chinaman".
 
There was a few pubs in Redcar in the early 2000s which where quite intimidating, also that nightclub in Southbank(alley cats or something, can't remember it's name) was one of only a couple of times I thought A place could get nasty very quickly.
I also found pubs in the middle of estates could be a bit intimidating when you first walked in when the regulars tried to suss you out, normally once I sat down for a pint the people where friendly enough.
A couple of pubs in Hardwick and Roseworth where a bit tasty but I never had any bother(actually did have a weird bloke once being very weird when I was about 18 or 19, a few of the locals let me sit with them and cleared the strange bloke off).
 
I went into the ‘wrong’ bar in Portadown during the Troubles (I was in Lisburn on business). I also had a very short haircut, which some might consider ‘military‘, although I wasn’t. The atmosphere turned almost lethally cold and belligerent - I have rarely felt so instantly scared In my life. I just cheerily blurted out ‘sorry everyone - wrong place’, pivoted, and walked very rapidly out of the door before legging it off into the distance. When I told my host where I’d been the next day, he just looked at me with a wry smile and slowly shook his head.
 
Druss_The_Legend said:
There was a few pubs in Redcar in the early 2000s which where quite intimidating, also that nightclub in Southbank(alley cats or something, can't remember it's name) was one of only a couple of times I thought A place could get nasty very quickly.
I also found pubs in the middle of estates could be a bit intimidating when you first walked in when the regulars tried to suss you out, normally once I sat down for a pint the people where friendly enough.
A couple of pubs in Hardwick and Roseworth where a bit tasty but I never had any bother(actually did have a weird bloke once being very weird when I was about 18 or 19, a few of the locals let me sit with them and cleared the strange bloke off).
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Was one The Falcon? Was in there a few years ago and the locals were discussing how, the previous night, someone had been tied to a car bumper and dragged along the road. Nice.
 
The Why Not - Hemlington was tasty back in the day. I’m assuming its gone now.

Remember one day when a group of lads in Thorntree pitched up on a lunchtime clearly out to make a mark.

They started to get a bit rowdy and flung a few beer mats around.
The locals reacted with chucking the old glass ashtrays and all hell broke loose.

It wasn’t an isolated instance - it was often targeted by those from out of the area.
 
The Ruthsayer said:
Was one The Falcon? Was in there a few years ago and the locals were discussing how, the previous night, someone had been tied to a car bumper and dragged along the road. Nice.
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I honestly can't remember the name of the pubs, it was about 20 years ago the one in Hardwick with the strange bloke. It was near the hospital.
 
Golden last- now there's a pub! We usually go in on a boxing day pub crawl.
Driven past the Fford green many a time on the way to the headingley test, always looked grim.
Went in the General Elliott in Leeds one new years day before a game as there was little open - nearly as bad as the three legs.
A few seasons back we played at Leicester first day of season. After the game we called in the wheatsheaf right by the station.
The reason was we had a bit of time to kill and it was about to absolutely **** down.
Once our eyes adjusted from bright sunshine to our now dark surroundings we bought a drink then spotted the pair on the the pool table.
Remember its a hot August day. A bloke about 50 in a suit that was ripped and had trainers on was playing a lass about half his age who had on a huge winter jumper and was sporting a black eye. He was drinking wine and she had a pint of guiness on the go.
A few other bemused looking Boro fans watched on!
A couple of us were taking a short cut in Baku (as you do) down a side road mainly full of back street garages/lockups, when we spotted a bar.
Full of old timers playing cards sat at formica tables. It has dried fish hung up as bar snacks. The old dear behind the bar called her daughter down to serve us, she was lovely, beer was about 60p so we stayed for 2😆.
I was in a bar in Sarajevo watched the champions league final in 2014. Didnt seem too bad until some local starting talking to me. It was ok when we talked about football in general, but then he starting talking about the Balkan war and which side he had been on - I decided to move on at half time.
Can think of 1 or 2 in most parts of Eastern Europe and also Belfast.
Great thread
 
The Miners Welfare Social Club in Ollerton Nottinghamshire during the 1984 miners strike. Do not make eye contact with any of the locals including the girls
 
Druss_The_Legend said:
I honestly can't remember the name of the pubs, it was about 20 years ago the one in Hardwick with the strange bloke. It was near the hospital.
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The Falcon was the one over the road from the Hardwick club, was probably the best of the Hardwick pubs in it’s day (70s)! The Sheraton was ok, the Hardwick the roughest, near the shops.
 
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