No need to be silent here!
This is worth a visit if you ever find yourself in Dublin. Unlike the majority of recommended places to go in Dublin, you won't find this in the Temple Bar area but right in the heart of the shopping district.
This bar/restaurant/club is set in a reformed church and is pretty impressive. Many of the main attractions are still intact including a fairly large pipe organ but it doesn't feel stuffy in the slightest. It's a place to go to see and be seen in without being overly pretentious. It's as good as any reformed church/court room/bank that I've seen in Britain.
The club is open til three in the morning from Thursday to Sunday and there's also a nice area for sitting outside in the good weather/for the smokers which is lit up with fairy lights.
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Step back in time
This 70-year-old Glasgow institution is fitted out with Art Deco fixtures modelled on the original Queen Mary ocean liner which was built in the Glasgow docks on the river Clyde. This is a wonderful place to eat and drink and you'll find the bartenders add to the atmosphere of twenties decadence, with perfectly mixed cocktail classics. The restaurant is particularly renowned for delicious oysters and fish dishes and its clientèle are mainly 40-50 something divorcees, business-people and people who lunch, who are all impeccably dressed.
If you want this sort of class, however, then you have to pay for it. It has the reputation of being one of the best but also one of the most expensive restaurants in Glasgow. If you're not looking to splash out so much on a meal, however, it's worth popping in during the day for a cappuccino which is served in a large cup with a piece of tablet and at a more reasonable price and in much more luxurious surroundings than the Starbuck's next door!
There is also a terrace bar outside which is popular with smokers and non-smokers alike and a good place to be seen right on the edge of the Merchant City.
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The Arches is located in spare ground in the railway arches right across from Glasgow Central railway station and the building is pretty big, accommodating a couple of thousand people on club nights.
The Arches cafe is located at the front of the building which has a decent selection of dishes that are mainly of Italian and Scottish origin and you can pick up some fairly decent deals through 5pm.co.uk website.
The building hosts many different events ranging from visual arts, contemporary theatre as well as the extremely popular 'Celtic Connections' Scottish music festival.
The club is best known for holding dance music events and frequently attracts world class DJs. It has been one of the hippest venues in the city for quite a number of years and the spaciousness of the building being built around the 6 railway arches make it unique in itself.
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The basement is probably one of the coolest places to drink and eat in right in the heart of Edinburgh city centre. It's bright, colourful, vibrant and stylish with funky and upbeat music and a million miles away (in spirit at least) from some of the overpriced places in George Street. The bar staff confirm this with their fun Hawaii-style shirts. Although it's fairly reasonably priced, it hasn't been taken over by students yet and the crowd tends to be twenty-something to thirty-somethings.
The food is great value for money and mostly Mexican, but with pub grub favourites such as posh fish and chips and an excellent steak pie. It can get busy so best to book in advance if you can.
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Tusk is pretty stunning as it is located in a former cinema and pool hall, the ground-floor bar is decked out with mirrors, flowers and reflective lighting and it’s pretty special to set eyes on for the first time. It’s Asian-themed and includes a massive Buddha statue as well as Thai lanterns and long mirrored tunnels. It’s one of those places that you just have to see at least once. The folk who go here are more your Shawlands types rather than more pretentious types that you may encounter in the city centre, and the atmosphere is really good.
The music can be a wee bit hit and miss though. They can play some good dance tunes and R'n'B but it just depends how many cheesy tunes you want to hear on a night out and you sometimes feel like you’re attending a wedding rather than a cool club at the weekend.
It’s a pretty good night out though and this place can definitely hold it's own against many of the clubs in the city centre. The only down side is the drinks are pretty expensive but what you would expect from somewhere that is as stunning as here.
There is also a restaurant which offers Asian style cooking.
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This is good solid cooking at a decent price in a friendly atmosphere right in the Merchant City across from Merchant Square. You'll be served locally sourced food and local artists' work adorn the walls.
It is the ideal place to go to sample the local cuisine with haggis, neeps and tatties on the menu, in addition to cullen skink and Stornoway black pudding as well as many other traditional Scottish delights. They have also added a bar area in the attic where you can go for a drink before or after your meal if you fancy which has a relaxing atmosphere. The furniture is also quite unique and made by local craftsmen which you can also purchase for your own home if you so wish.
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If you're in the centre of Glasgow then the Corinthian is certainly worth a visit. It is a stunning building which is set in a former Bank of Scotland complete with a massive glass dome and crystal chandeliers.
The building is fairly large and has various rooms including a cocktail bar, restaurant, club and a cosy lounge bar. The restaurant serves high quality food I believe although I've never tried it. The club tends to be frequented by slightly older people than the normal Merchant City crowd but worth popping along to even for a quick drink before going on somewhere else. The cocktail bar, called the lite room, is also open to 3 in the morning so if you don't fancy paying to go in somewhere and feel like staying out a bit later than you are able to in the majority of city centre pubs then it's always an option.
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Like its sister restaurant, Straviagin 2, this place has a great talent of mixing different types of food which you think would never work together and getting it just right as they just seem to go together amazingly well. The name of the restaurant means wandering in Scots dialect and they have a theme of putting a global spin on Scottish ingredients.
This is an award-winning restaurant and the quality of the produce shines through. You can also get good pub grub on the ground floor which is less expensive but still pretty impressive. If you're looking to try something that bit different then this is a place is definitely recommended.
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This is a Sex and the City inspired cocktail bar with fancy décor and equally fancy cocktail glasses. It's a fairly swanky restaurant at not too extortionate prices bearing in mind this is a step above your average Glasgow joint and the piano player tinkling away while you are having a bite to eat definitely adds to the ambience. There is good choice on the menu and everything looks really appetising.
If you're not looking of meal, it's worth popping into if you are going out in the city centre for a quick drink (or cocktail if you feel like treating yourself) before you head on to a club. If you don't fancy going on somewhere else you could always stay in there for a few cocktails if you can afford it, although like most places, once the majority of folk head off to the clubs the bar tends to lose its atmosphere a bit.
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Metropolitan is located in Merchant Square and is a pretty swanky cocktail bar as well as restaurant.
Sitting out in the courtyard in Merchant Square you can imagine you are a million miles away and the best part is that it will never rain on you. It's the sort of place where there is always a good atmosphere at the weekend without it being too crowded.
The restaurant has a resident pianist who plays at the weekends and there is a Champagne Bar which offers a la carte dining or canapés. It also features on the 5pm website so if you don't mind going a wee bit earlier you should be able to catch a good deal.
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