No. 43 Oddfellows

Visited on 28/4/11. "You're lookin' for Mr. Goodbar ? Here he is ! I bet you're an Italian...  " Another relative newcomer to the Chester scene, this is no ordinary pub. Is it a hotel ? Is it a nightclub ? Is it a bar ? It's actually none and all of those things - a difficult to define quirky amalgam of all three. Housed in a Georgian building and decorated in a variety of styles from contemporary to gothic, it could well have been put together by Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen - after having his drink spiked with baby bio. There are a number of lavishly bedecked rooms, a moodily lit patio area and erm, tents - presumably for private dining. It's almost reminiscent of the party venue in Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut' - without the group sex obviously. At least not while we were there. The only 'live entertainment' we witnessed was a singer and guitarist performing pop standards. Sounds rubbish. Definitely wasn't. I was even tapping my toe at one point. The place had a great atmosphere anyhow - and there's no clever way of saying this, but a big attraction is that it's full of laydees. Oh, the ale ? Well bollocks to real ale - I'm coming back here next week regardless.