Name: North Laine Bar, Brighton
Item: North Laine Bar, Brighton
Author: Fiona Jarvis

Blue Badge Style wouldn’t want to reduce an entire culture down to the idea that all they do is drink. Having said that, St Patrick’s Day is coming up on March 17th and we have an audience to cater to, so we thought we should provide a list of good, stylish and accessible pubs and bars that people could go to to celebrate.

Far too often you hear the words ‘Irish pub’ as a description of divey sports bars in touristy and overcrowded areas. So we’ve had a look around for some more stylish places that can rescue the phrase ‘Irish pub’ or are just nice places to go for a drink this weekend. They’re not just places to go and drink more Guinness than is sensible; many of them also have music and other events going on. Paddy’s day is a great excuse to get dressed up in green and go for a raucous night out. Here are our suggestions of the best places to go:

Bison & Bird, Clapham.

The Bison & Bird website says it’s ‘the ultimate party bar’ and that they serve ‘the best Sunday roast and Weekend Brunch South of the river’ both of which are pretty big claims! This is a bar that has been highly recommended to us for its vibrant style and for its access. They have a good cocktail menu – their speciality seems to be making mojitos and you can get a free one if you join their mailing list.

This St Patrick’s Day they are serving Irish themed breakfast, brunch and lunch as well as Guinness, Irish coffee and Irish cocktails. To be honest, if you can’t see any themed food or drink there that you like then maybe St Patrick’s Day just isn’t for you! There’s also going to be Irish music during the day and DJs from 9pm.

It’s easy to get inside the bar in a wheelchair because there are double doors and the access, from the street to the building, is flat. Inside there are some steps, to go up, to get to the back bar but the rest the bar is fine for the less able. They do have a disabled toilet. The room is pretty spacious but it can be busy at the weekend best so it’s best to book a table in advance for this Sunday.

We gave Bison & Bird a provisional 2.5 BBS Ticks.

The Globe, Moorgate.

The Globe’s website says that the pub is famous for “sharing its name with 30 other London pubs in the 19th century” which is perhaps not the most unique of unique selling points. We’re not totally convinced that they’ve quite got to grips with concept of fame there, but we’ll let them off that because this is a really nice, old school pub. It’s traditional in character, with a eclectic selection of real ales and an enjoyable, lively atmosphere.

The layout is a little quirky because it was originally two pubs, (The Globe and The Keats) which have now been knocked together, but the access is pretty good. There is one step to get into the building and there are a few steps inside but nothing too major and they do have a disabled toilet. The Globe gets a provisional 2 BBS Ticks.

The Cow, Notting Hill.

This cool pub and restaurant, near Paddington Station, specialises in oysters and Guinness. For £14.00 you can get the, very Irish, ‘Cow Special’ – a pint of Guinness and a half dozen rock oysters. It tends to attract a variety of actors and musicians – Madonna used to be a regular. So if that’s your sort of scene this could be the place to go for St Patrick’s.

View London says: “The Cow is always busy, the seafood is fabulous and the Guinness is some of the best kept in town. Definitely worth a visit.” On the other hand, Black Book Magazine was slightly less kind.

There are three steps to get into the restaurant and quite a few more to get to the toilets. If you do get down them to the loos, there isn’t a disabled toilet anyway. Which is far from ideal. But it is generally OK to get around when you’re inside.

The access isn’t great but it has to be one of the coolest places in London to visit for a pint of the black stuff. We gave it a provisional 1.5 BBS Ticks, which is sort of a recommendation but mixed with a warning about the toilet situation.

The Alexandra, Clapham.

The Alexandra, right next to Clapham Common tube station, is an old fashioned pub, which is very popular amongst sports fans in particular (but not in the ‘divey sports bar’ way mentioned above!). It’s part of the Capital Pub Company which owns 35 pubs across London and are generally all very nice places to go out.

They have St Patrick’s events going on throughout the weekend. On Saturday they will be showing all the games from the Six Nations (with the final day of the Six Nations taking place on Saturday and St Patrick’s Day on Sunday it’s a bit of a bumper weekend for Guinness!). On Sunday there will be traditional Irish Dancers and a Live Irish Band at 2pm, followed by DJs Nath & Nico rocking it out later on, until till early hours.

Access to the pub, from street level, should not be a problem – there’s just a small bump to get through the door. Inside, the ground floor is totally accessible but the other floors only have stairs to get to them rather than a lift. They warn that it can get very busy at peak times which might make getting around difficult, although that’s probably the case whether you’re in a wheelchair or not.

Unfortunately they don’t have a proper disabled toilet there but they say that people have used the toilets for the able bodied, in the past, with a bit of help.

We gave them a provisional 1.5 BBS Ticks because it is a lot of fun there but the accessibility isn’t great.

Waxy O’Connors, Manchester.

The massive Waxy O’Connor’s pub, located at The Printworks, in the heart of Manchester city centre, loves all things Irish. Running through the middle of the pub is a 250 year old decorative tree, imported from the Emerald Isle. The rest of the pub has a rustic design, with a lot of decorative wooden panelling.

St Patrick’s Day will obviously be a pretty big deal at Waxy’s. They’re promising live music, live sport, giveaways and much much more.

The description, on their website, of the pub as “a labyrinth of 3 bars covering 4 levels and 9 separate areas that are linked together by a maze of staircases and passages” does not make Waxy O’Connors sound like the most accessible place in the world. In fact it makes it sound like a bit of a nightmare – for the less able and able bodied alike, you feel a little bit lost just reading it. But apparently the access is really rather good!

The entrance to the building is flat. Inside there is a lift to all of the floors and there is a disabled toilet. There are some steps to get into the side room but the main bar areas are spacious and step free. Waxy O’Connors get a 2 provisional BBS Ticks.

Bell Inn, Nottingham.

The Bell Inn is a historic pub, laying claim to being the oldest in Nottingham. It is, as they say there, a real pub. A proper pub with ale on tap, good food and no gimmicks.

They normally have live music on Sundays so presumably they will just keep this going for Patrick’s Day. They have a special guest ale in for St Patrick’s and they’re currently selling limited edition St Patrick’s Day t-shirts behind the bar (OK – maybe they do have the odd gimmick here and there).

There is a disabled toilet but apparently it “isn’t the most practical” because there is a ramp to get to it and a rolling door, rather than a usual opening one. The entrance to the building is flat though and, although there is one step to main bar, apparently people always help disabled people to get over it. We gave them a provisional 2.5 BBS Ticks.

North Laine Bar, Brighton.

This popular Brighton pub contains a state-of-the-art microbrewery which brews a variety of cask ales for the pub’s customers, including the ever popular Laine’s Best. They’ve only started serving Guinness very recently so the excitement from its introduction should feed into St Patrick’s Day in one way or another.

The North Laine is accessible, although there are two steps up to get to one half of the bar. There are two entrances to the building, one of which is accessible and the other is not – so if you get there and think you can’t get in, you just need to find the other entrance. They have a disabled toilet. We gave them a provisional 2 BBS Ticks.

Octagon Bar, Dublin.

The Octagon is famous for having been so popular with Bono and other members of U2 that they decided to buy the Clarence hotel that it’s situated in. This trendy bar is set in the middle of a dome and is, as you might guess, octagonal. It’s quite a sophisticated bar and features on the World’s Best Bars website but it’s not too fancy. You can still go in there to just relax and have one of the best pints of Guinness in Dublin in traditional surroundings.

We included The Octagon as part of our review of The Clarence which we gave a provisional 2.5 BBS Ticks. The access seemed to be pretty good, with flat floors and a disabled toilet on the ground floor.

Bush Bar, Enniskillen.

A well known name in Fermanagh and the surrounding counties is the Bush Bar and Grill in Townhall St Enniskillen. It is famous for its quality food and a great selection of drinks.

They’ve got loads going on for St Patrick’s over the weekend. On Saturday they’re hosting a ‘Green Party’. On Sunday they have a special St Patrick’s Day menu, live Irish music from 4:30pm and resident DJ Micky Q in their nightclub from 9:30pm.

The access all seems very good and there is a disabled toilet in the bar. We gave them a non audited 2 BBS Ticks.

That’s the end of our list of stylish St Patrick’s Day ideas. If you have any more suggestions, or stories of what you got up to this St Patrick’s Day, get in touch by commenting here, on Facebook or tweeting us!

Wherever you go this St Patrick’s Day, have a great time and don’t do anything you’re going to regret the next day (and remember the next day is a Monday!!). Have a craicing time and, in the words of Homer Simpson on St Patrick’s Day, drink a toast “To alcohol The cause of – and solution to – all of life’s problems!”

North Laine Bar, Brighton

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