As above really, friend of mine has just got the keys to his first pub in Barnsley town centre, he owns a brewery so apart from the lager the beer is all sorted

So over to you to what else makes a good pub these days or where is your favourite pub and what makes it your favourite?

The customers

Clean, comfortable, good beer, nice food if it provides any if any music not too loud that’s for bars.

Not being in Barnsley town centre.

Good Beer
No telly except for occasional important sports event
Quiet or no music
Dog biscuits / water bowl available free ( always goes down well)
Real fire in winter

No telly except for occasional important sports event

No telly then.

Dog biscuits / water bowl available free ( always goes down well)

You must drink in some rough pubs, I prefer beer and pork scratchings.

Real fire in winter

Ooh yeah good idea.

bouncy bar maids .good peer chat

at least three beers on handpour – a session ale, a tasty one and a porter/ stout
two lagers – one premium, one cooking
selection of bottled beers and lagers
the obligatory guinness
cider for the ladies
full stock of spirits
proper coffee machine
jagerbombs
.
peanuts
scratchings
bombay mix
wasabi peas
.
attractive staff
jukebox

Friendly and lively atmosphere.
Cheap shots.
Good music on the jukebox.

sniggers@Drac

Good staff is very important, bad staff that can kill a pub.

TandemJeremy – Member
Good Beer
No telly except for occasional important sports event
Quiet or no music
Dog biscuits / water bowl available free ( always goes down well)
Real fire in winter

Very much agreed. As long as “important” sports events does not involve soccer! 🙂 This pretty much describes my fave pubs! Most notably, the Malet. Best pub in the world. FACT.

Racist chat.

Dog biscuits / water bowl available free ( always goes down well)

No **** dogs. I HATE dogs in pubs. Especially in wet weather.

Dogs belong outdoors, not sniffing my crotch when I want a quiet beer.

amusing signs on the bathroom doors.

plus one for no dogs!

Chatty and friendly staff
Clean and unsmelly loos
Basic but good food – don’t make it uncomfortable for drinkers to sit at a table (which seems to be happening increasingly)
Guest beers on a regular basis
Lock-ins

No **** dogs. I HATE dogs in pubs. Especially in wet weather.

This is Barnsley though – it’s all rain and whippets up there right?

Good beer & single malt selection
Jukebox
No kids allowed
Real fire
A bar you can sit at

This is Barnsley though – it’s all rain and whippets up there right?

Very good point. 😀

Which pub? I’m from Barnsley.

The key to a successful pub is the licensee and spouse being in the bar 80% of the times it is open.

When they hand over to character-free and conversation-phobic bar staff for most of the time the atmosphere goes down the pan.

These days a pub needs to do something that will prise its customers from in front of the telly at home. All to many just don’t make any effort.

For me – no music o quiet enough music to talk over at a sensible level. A good choice of real ales AND well-kept lagers too (too many pubs concentrate on one to the detriment of the other).

Ample, well designed seating (ie, no seats where you are constantly bumped by others trying to get by).

Clean toilets.

A sticky carpet and almost equally sticky seating (bolted down of course with lightweight aluminium ashtrays)

A Smokey atmosphere to freshen up the lingering smell of stale beer, urine and vomit

Disgusting toilets with a clean surface and straw dispenser in the ladies’.

Lipstick-smudged, plastic glasses filled with rank beer

A duke box with American Pie and Paranoid.

Plastic plants, a dart board and pool room

Short-changing, foul-smelling, alcoholic staff

A clientel made up of bikers, slutty students, dirty old men and women of disrepute.

Good selection of well kept beer
Friendly bar staff
Interesting pub interior (not just a big hall)
No dogs, kids jukebox, video games/gambling machines, TV
Large beer garden for summer

Home Made food, good service, lack of gentrification & good booze.

The Hourglass in Exeter is my fave pub currently. If only it had a beer garden, but then it would be the Double Locks of 1984-1999.

On the dogs point – I think we know from previous posts that I am no dog lover 🙂

However my local encourages dogs – but they have to be on a short lead in the pub – tiny pub as well – no issues for me.

Definitely agree about no really loud music.
Decent beer garden is always a winner
One of the things I look out for in pubs is a decent single malt selection – even if I’m not drinking it at the time I think it’s a sign of a ‘proper’ pub
Nice ales on tap – WELL KEPT 🙂
Interesting lagers, ciders etc
Live music can be good but usually chilled stuff and again not crazily loud – jazzy or folky stuff is good (others might strongly disagree!)
Fire is a good shout too
Decent pool table

No dogs
No kids
Telly dedicated to sports
Busty serving wenches with some idea on how to pour a pint
Blokes behind the bar you’d happily have apint with
Interesting and eclectic decoration
Four or Five real ales, maybe 2 house ones
A wide range of malts
Some more busty wenches
Background music you can listen to if you’re on your own but doesn’t drown out the conversation when you’re not
No drunks – jakies, winos whatever you want to call them
No happy hours
Did I mention busty serving wenches?

I’m in favour of well behaved dogs and kids being allowed in.

decent lager either on tap or in the fridge.
decent ales on rotation.
Bar snacks

if they are doing food do it properly. have a selection of condiments
veggie option. flexibility. “that doesn’t come with chips”

no ‘roasts only’ on a sunday. if i only get to eat out once a week i don’t want a roast forced on me becasue it is the 7th day of the week.

no snooty **** staff who turn their nose up cos you are a bit muddy from a ride.

comfy chairs
good beer
barkeeps of ample bosom (ideally women, but I’m open minded)

no sodding football on the telly.

no telly.

2 volume settings on the jukebox: ‘quiet’ and ‘off’

lots of lovely beer.

lots of seating.

no dickheads.

all of which is probably very unprofitable…

Dogs, fire, good beer/ale and proper cider and in the middle of nowhere

Are there many middle aged, grumpy, dogphobic, kidphobic, workshy IT ‘professionals’ in Barnsley town centre? If not you might be asking in the wrong place!

EDIT – I missed off titobsessed

Dogs belong outdoors, not sniffing my crotch when I want a quiet beer.

You need to associate with a better class of woman. 😉

town centre changes things a lot.

space. space at the bar to get served, spaces to sit and drink, covered space for the smokers outside without obstructing the door or tainting the view of the pub for incoming customers

bar staff quick, efficient, friendly, conversationally-abled – they must be able to remember a round and regulars favourite tipples

music should suit the time and the clientelle, so louder and livelier during busy evenings is acceptable

secure bike parking

dogs and kids are a no for me in a town centre pub, they should only be allowed under strict control anywhere else.

comfy chairs dont promote drinking, but neither does being forced to stand….. plenty of small tables and chairs that can be regrouped as required

floor should be tiled, and muddy boots, bikers, dogs welcomed

no tv, no quiz, no ‘gastro-pub’

pub should be actively involved in the community as far as possible – but i dont mean a darts league and the sunday football team particularly as this makes the pub seem cliquey to outsiders

Thanks for the comments and glad to see it’s about what we have discussed already but got some good pointers thanks..

Regarding the beer he owns a brewery so there should be good cask beers on and is looking at Premium lager (Bernard)& some good ciders…

Best pub I’ve ever been in:

Local Restaurant & Pub

Cracking beer list, cracking jukebox and possibly the best looking barmaid I’ve ever seen

Regarding the beer he owns a brewery so there should be good cask beers on and is looking at Premium lager (Bernard)& some good ciders

Good brewery beer can fail if the landlord is crap at looking after it though.

Missed it was a town pub.

So dogs limited to beer garde.

Kids until about 7-8pm unless out for a family meal

Music yes depending on day of week and time of day.

Sport on TV might be a necessity then to keep customers.