The city: Pubs & Bars - George St & Around
Posted on Sunday, September 19 @ 07:37:57 PDT by poster |
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George St, once the city's most prestigious business address, is changing. Many of the offices are now shops and all the grand old bank buildings have been turned into bars, allowing city wags to make lots of lame jokes about liquid assets, standing orders and export markets.
Bar 38 (tel 220 6180, 126-128 George St). Unisex toilets with a sofa and a fountain? In Bar 38, trendiness extends right into the plumbing. This is a big, busy bar with an excellent range of snack food, from breakfast kebabs of coconut chicken to dim sum and crispy whitebait.
The Standing Order (tel 225 4460, 62-66 George St). One of several converted banks on George St, the Standing Order is a cavernous beer hall with a fantastic vaulted ceiling and some cosy rooms off to the right - look for the one with the original 27-tonne safe. Despite its size, it can be standing-room only at the weekend.
Frazer's (tel 624 8624, 14 George St). Frazer's is the bar at The Dome, formerly a temple to Mammon (OK then, a bank - but it looks like a temple) and now a shrine to Dionysius - stand in the foyer for a moment and be impressed. The gleaming bar is a beautiful Art Deco masterpiece and serves fine real ales as well as pukka cocktails.
Tiles Bar-Bistro (tel 558 1507, 1 St Andrew Square). A regular haunt of city lawyers and accountants, Tiles is a smart and stylish bar in yet another converted bank. It takes its name from the lovely Victorian tiles inside.
The Oxford Bar (tel 539 7119, 8 Young St). The Oxford is that rarest of things these days - a real pub for real people, with no 'theme', no music, no frills and no pretensions. Immortalised by regular Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus novels, the Ox is a place to meet people and have genuine conversations.
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