Manhattans

First time trying bottomless brunch here, and it was canny. We arrived at 7pm, got seated, and the drinks came soon after, with a good flow through the evening. The food was nice enough too. The music was the one letdown. They need to switch it up instead of playing the same sort of thing.

My grandparents Kit+George Heslop were the landlord and lady when this pub was called the Jolly Sailor's Inn, opposite the Ritz. I spent a lot of time there growing up. In the 60s and 70s, Lindisfarne used to come in regularly, before their pop music came out. 'Fog on the Tyne' was probably their best. When closing time came, we were allowed downstairs to help clear up, and later I did some bar work for extra money. Some older locals might remember the family.

The music is great and it's a good venue, but a few people spoil it. The tall doorman and the barman with glasses come across as oppressive and overbearing. They need retraining, or it reflects badly on the owner and managers. Wil, the other barman, is polite and efficient, and should be made manager. He's a breath of fresh air among people who aren't fit to manage a club. The shorter doorman is a gentleman and excellent at his job. Such a shame about the idiots on the door and behind the bar.

It feels more like a nightclub than a pub. In the daytime, a pint costs 2.30p and a double spirit is two pounds eighty pence. After 9pm, there's live entertainment and a disco, so it livens up. But the place is dirty and scruffy, and I've seen more fights and antisocial behaviour here than at any other bar in Wallsend.