Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Entertainment, Restaurants and Bars in Kingston Upon Hull

Being a port with an ever changing population of seamen and travellers, Hull has plenty of bars, restaurants and entertainment venues to satisfy all of both the visitors and residents in the city; it also offers several 'Hull' festivals throughout the year. Possibly of interest to people who like visiting pubs is that it has one of the highest concentrations of pubs and bars in a UK city. Nightlife is also buoyed up most weeks due to the presence of a university campus at the north of the city boundary. Alternatively, if you fancy something a little quieter it's easy to get out into the county of Yorkshire and sample a having a drink or meal in a village pub.

Bars and Pubs:-
Difficult as it is to pick out any pubs in particular for Hull the following are some of the more established and well known ones. The Olde White Harte on Silver Street is undoubtedly one of the oldest pubs and buildings in Hull. Located in the splendidly named 'Land of Green Ginger' area of old Hull, it is a 16th century courtyard pub and is believed to have once been the residence to the Governor of Hull at the time of the English Civil war. Old and dark wood, stained glass windows and 'sit-in' fireplaces denote the age of this pub which serves an excellent selection of guest beers and a decent range of food in its Pelham's restaurant. Not far way, still the Land of Green Ginger, is an 18th century Grade II listed building that hosts the Olde Black Boy pub on the High Street. This pub is a combination of modern pool tables and live music as well as offering traditional ales and dominoes. Even better it serves Timothy Taylor's Landlord beer! On the northern edge of the Land of Green Ginger, situated in a former Post office building is a Wetherspoons drinking hall called 'Three John Scott's'. This building on Lowgate serves the usual large range of beers and some good 'pub grub' that you'd expect from this national chain of pubs. To the north of the city the Gardeners Arms on the Cottingham Road is worthy of note. It is also housed in an old building and serves guests ales as well as meals all through the week, the pub is regularly featured in CAMRA revues.

Restaurants:-
One of the newer restaurants in Hull is the Boars Nest, on Princes Avenue to the north of the city centre. Jointly owned by top chef Simon Rogers and Dave Stead, from Hull's Beautiful South band, it is housed in an Edwardian butchers building and shares its name with the restaurant from the TV show - The Dukes of Hazard. A three course dinner, without wine, will cost about £30 per person. Mr Chu's Restaurant is John Prescott's, the Hull MP and former Deputy Prime Minister, favourite one in the city. Great Chinese food, excellent service and superb views over the Humber Bridge make the trip out to St Andrew's quay well worth it. Staying with the river theme the Two Rivers Restaurant is at The Deep - an aquarium and tourist attraction - which is at the confluence of the rivers Hull and Humber, off Citadel way. It serves a wide range of European food including meat, fish and vegetarian meals. Being a port close to the North Sea, it wouldn't be right if there weren't some restaurants specializing in seafood dishes. The family owned Old Custom House restaurant at the Market Place offers just such fare. Its house specialty is lobster and it has a wine list of over 50 wines. With a buffet meal available for under £10 per person The Taman Ria Tropicana offers authentic 'Masakan Melayu', which means a strictly Malayn cuisine, as opposed to the more generic Malaysian one. The Tropicana is on Princes Avenue to the west of the city centre. The restaurant offers a reasonable selection of wines at very good prices, but don't expect to sample any vintages here. Of course, just outside Hull at Welton, is the Green Dragon pub and restaurant. This is a very popular venue for people who enjoy and appreciate a night out in a restaurant. The menu is mainly traditional British cooking, but it is exquisitely prepared and presented in a warm and cosy restaurant.

Entertainment:-
Recent changes to UK licensing laws have had the effect of forcing some nightclubs to close; now there is no real incentive to go to a club just so you can have another drink. However, nightclubs still open in Hull include the small Zebra Club near North Bridge. Although only big enough to cater for 160 people it is a popular disco/rave venue. Also still open is The Venue, which is held on Saturday nights at the Welly Ballroom on Beverley Road and can accommodate over 800 clubbers. Hull City Hall on Paragon Street and the Hull Arena are the venues most large touring shows and bands appear at in Hull. Built in 1939 the now somewhat idiosyncratically named New Theatre at Kingston Square is the city's main theatre. Productions of plays, musicals opera and ballet are all performed here including the annual pantomime. With a national reputation, the touring Hull Trucking Company theatre group also has a permanent home venue in Hull in Spring Street. Originally established in 1971 some of the best known names in British theatre and TV have been amongst its actors and crew. A new theatre is currently being built for the company off the Ferensway.

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