Bonus! Yates Blackpool

Bonus! Yates Blackpool

 

I know that the blog consists of reviews of bars and clubs in Birmingham but I have decided I will include this venue from Blackpool as a bonus. So, Yates Blackpool is in the "fun" part of Blackpool. It is right in front of the sea and the view is beautiful.
Outside, Yates has quite big garden area with a lot of tables that I bet during the summer are really nice asset to the place. Unfortunately, most of the time they look quite dirty and sticky and I have never seen someone actually cleaning them but at least people have enough place to sit and enjoy their drink or cigarette.
Inside, the venue is pretty big. There are two floors but the second is sometimes closed (I am not sure about the reasons). This is a bit disappointing considering the beautiful view of the sea from the second floor. The place is nice for having some drinks. There is a pool table and slots machines. The music is commercial, pop and R&B. They play a lot of new hits and their playlist is up to date. However, the staff is pretty slow. To work their timing out, better order your next drink right after you receive the first one. The employees are ok but not really involved in making the atmosphere more pleasant.
Yates's drinks menu is wonderful! They have all day everyday happy hour and wide range of cocktails that include sweets, skittles bowls and cotton candy (candy floss) martinis. Yes, they sound wonderful but when you get them they are just ok. Maybe it is because of the staff but the cocktails don't really come up to standard, especially after you read them on the menu. Be careful - some of them are extremely sweet! The prices of the drinks are quite cheap if you use the promotions.
Overall, Yates Blackpool is a decent venue to have some drinks and has a with beautiful view (if available). Not sure if it is good choice for a big party but the cocktails menu is impressive and the music is nice.
Venue score: 7/10
Atmosphere: 6,5/10
Staff: 5,8/10
Drinks: 8/10

Cherry Berry Cocktail

Cherry Berry Cocktail

I decided to start something new along posting bar and club reviews. The new thing is that I will start sharing recipes for delicious cocktails for you to have an idea what I mean when I rate the drinks in the bars and clubs. 

First I will show you a recipe for cherry berry cocktail. It is perfect for every occasion or party. It is fun, easy to make and different than the usual vodka coke.

Cherry Berry Cocktail:

2 shots vodka

3 shots berry wine

1 shot cherry sourz 

1 shot archers raspberry schnapps

200 ml sprite/7up

200-300 ml berry juice

frozen summer fruits/berries

Enjoy!

The Figure of Eight

The Figure of Eight - J D Whetherspoon

 The Figure of Eight is a restaurant and bar on Broad street. The people that visit it vary in age unlike the other venues (clubs) on Broad street that are visited mostly by students and young adults. 

 Outside, the venue looks pretty appealing especially when it gets dark and the lights go on. In my opinion, it has one of the best exterior designs on Broad street. If you are not a fan of clubs with loud music but still want to enjoy few drinks in a nice commercial atmosphere with people around, this is your place. 

 Inside, it looks like a typical pub. However, there are more places for drinks. It is a lively place maybe because of the location. The staff is very efficient. They are nice and usually customers don't have to wait for long. The drinks are decent and probably better than the ones in the other venues(clubs) on Broad street maybe because they don't take advantage of drunk people and the quality is a bar-restaurant one. There is a smoking area in the back which is pretty big and there are tables. Unfortunately, there is no roof over them or umbrellas which make it pointless if it's raining. 

All in all, it is a popular venue and many people go for pre-drinks before heading off to the nearby clubs.

Venue score: 8/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Staff: 8/10

Drinks: 8/10

Players Bar Birmingham

Players Bar Birmingham
Players is a club on Broad street. It is like the typical clubs on Broad street - mainly students and young people. It gets busy on Fridays and Saturdays. It is very appealing on the outside and looks really good. There is a big enough smoking area facing the street. When you get in it is obvious that there is too much staff on every location possible but not at the bar and they are not really friendly (they don't really care).
Inside is good but mostly in the VIP area. The other part of the club is a bit neglected maybe because they are really trying people to book the VIP tables. Even their main advertising materials and campaigns are all promoting this VIP area. However, many clubs don't reflect on other smaller things that make really a change and only strive for more money. Also most of the materials are using nice quite naked women. You will be disappointed if you expect it when going there. At least they provide some drink offers for the VIP area.
The venue works 7 days a week.The music and the parties are well-thought. You will have fun - they are good in entertaining. The DJs are positioned in the corner in the back of the venue which is a bit pointless. There is no such thing as a basement club or at least is hardly never opened. The drinks are fine and the prices are like all other clubs on Broad street.
Venue score: 8,5/10
Atmosphere: 7,5/10
Staff: 6,5/10
Drinks: 7,5/10

Subside Digbeth Birmingham

Subside Digbeth Birmingham

Subside is a rock bar in central Birmingham. It is in front of the Coach Station. The venue looks good from the outside. It is visible that it is a night bar and the best thing is that it works til 6,30 a.m.Once you are in, the place looks great. There is enough space for everyone to dance, to sit, to drink or even to play pool.
The music is pop-rock, rock and metal. The drinks are nice, on a good price and there is also a cocktail menu. The staff is very friendly and they work fast. The atmosphere is welcoming and lively. There is a smoking area  in the left side of the bar. It is a bit small compared to the capacity of the venue and it becomes a problem when it's raining.
Overall, it is a really good place if you like this type of music and even if you don't, you will enjoy trying it. Just remember, they don't have bracelets or stamps. So, when you go out, the security won't let you back in without paying again.
Venue score: 8,5/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Staff: 8/10
Drinks: 8,5/10

Jekyll and Hyde

Jekyll & Hyde

Jekyll & Hyde is a quite small bar located in the city center. Its design on the outside is eye-catching and it has an amazing garden in the style of Alice in Wonderland. Inside, it is a really small bar and many times there is no place to sit (especially on Fridays and Saturdays). So, before going there I recommend making a reservation. The put off is just that many times they reply that you should go and find a place on the bar by yourself and even the garden has only around 3 tables.
Moreover, the staff is really nice. They are really fun and will make your experience even better. The cocktails are also very good. There are the classic ones but they have also fun variations with candy in it. The music is good for dancing but there isn't enough space for this. The bar is visited by people of all ages but there are mostly younger people.
Venue score: 8/10
Atmosphere: 6.5/10
Staff: 9/10
Drinks: 9/10

Update: There is a new menu. However, there are hardly any new cocktails just some of the old ones are removed. What is more, I have noticed a tendency that even though the new menu is smaller, it takes quite a lot of time for the staff to make the drinks. So, prepare to wait...

Propaganda Birmingham

Propaganda Birmingham

Propaganda is in O2 Academy. The place is near the city center (on Bristol road) and it has quite different vibe than Broad street although the people visiting the venue are mostly students. There is a party every Friday. The place doesn't look very appealing from the outside but you can notice that it is big and there is room for everyone. There are 3 rooms and every room plays different music. In every room there are DJs: in the main room the DJs play Arctic Monkeys, Blink 182, Rudimental etc. , the second room is for Hip-hop and R&B and the third - House, EDM & Dance. Maybe the place is so popular because you can choose in which room do you want to go. However, their events are quite the same every Friday. The only difference is the theme of the party but the music is the same and even many of the themed parties look the same.
I like it inside because you can dance but still have your personal space and no one steps on you. There are several bars but they are usually crowded and I wasn't really impressed with the drinks. Yes, the price is appropriate for students but they shouldn't disregard the quality.
All in all, you can have very good time there and you can dance all night to whatever music do you want but be careful with the drinks and don't expect a big difference on the next Friday.
Venue score: 8,5/10
Atmosphere: 8,5/10
Staff: 7/10
Drinks: 5,5/ 10