Aysha's reviews
Review of Malmaison Bar & Brasserie
13 Nov 07, 15:28
Malmaison 
Part of the fabulous Malmaison restaurant, the Malmasion bar is always packed full of beautiful people sipping champagne and wearing designer clothes they've just bought from the nearby Harvey Nichols. It's a lovely bar for a few leisurely and luxurious drinks but be warned, they are incredibly expensive on occasion, and the cocktails, at £7.95 each, are ridiculously overpriced. Drinks come with complimentary nuts and olives, which is great if you're feeling a bit peckish. Service is excellent, and once seated, you will always be sure of getting a refill for either your drinks or the nibbles! I'd recommend this place as a pre-night out soiree type place, but not the kind of venue for full on enjoying yourself, as it's just too upmarket for that I think!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Bar Academy
16 Oct 07, 13:12
Bar Academy 
Attached to the bigger Birmingham Academy, Bar Academy is a pre-bar for people going to gigs at the Academy as well as a standalone bar and small gig venue itself. It's pretty tiny, though upstairs there is a larger bar and stage area for acts who in the past have included Amy Winehouse, The Enemy and Embrace. Be warned, this place can get rammed beyond belief. It can be difficult to get in if it's a gig night (though once you're in, and if you've seen a gig upstairs, you'll get a stamp on your hand which entitles you to free/discounted entry to the Academy next door if there's a club night on), and once in, it can be difficult to get out! Drinks are expensive- around £3.20 for a pint in a plastic cup- not good, especially when sometimes the lager comes out of a can rather than draft- particularly galling when the can blatantly cost the club around 60p. It can take ages to get served and even then you can't be guaranteed the drink you want will be there (no tonic water for some reason, and only 'house' whisky on occasion- revolting). I wouldn't go here unless I had to go to a gig to be honest- it gets too busy, the bar staff aren't particularly friendly, given how busy they usually are, and the drinks are far too expensive. Recommended only if you want a quick one before a gig, otherwise walk up the road to the Square Peg and partake in exactly the same beer for less than half the price.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Bar Risa
10 Oct 07, 19:14
Risa 
One word and one word only could fully explain 'Risa' to a new visitor- dive. This place is possibly one of the worst places I have ever had the misfortune to visit in Birmingham. It is situated on Broad Street, but it might as well be in Mordor, given the amount of grossness that seems to emanate from the place. I have been here on a couple of drunken occasions, at the end of a night when there seems to be nowhere else to go. I will tell you now, if there is nowhere else to go other than here, GO HOME. Both times I have been to Risa I have been groped, fiddled out of change from buying drinks, groped again, pushed, started on by groups of lairy girls and generally had a horrendous time. The place is made up of five different rooms, each of which has a different 'theme', so there's the chill out room, dance room and so on. In theory it's a great place- lots of variety and lots of space means there should be plenty of room, right? Wrong. For some reason, the bouncers seem to let an obscene amount of people in, all of whom seem to want to either fondle you or fight you, and as a result, it all starts getting a bit messy. I will say something for Risa though, if you're on a stag night or a hen night, it's probably great fun. The drinks are relatively cheap (about £2.50 for a pint) and there's plenty of bars so you shouldn't be waiting for too long. I personally just find it a bit too 'cattle market' for my taste, and too 'street' too. It is also another venue which insists on employing a lady to hand out hand towels. Not necessary, and rather unfortunate for the lady in question, as she seems to get a lot of abuse of drunken teenagers who take delight in mocking her. I would only recommend Risa to a group of people who have literally no qualms about where they want to go and who don't mind being pushed around by drunken students on pub crawls. If this isn't your bag, avoid like the plague.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Missing
03 Oct 07, 15:16
Missing 
Missing is a gay bar in the centre of the gay quarter of Birmingham- Hurst Street. It has been around for a long time, and is consistently great entertainment and a good night out. Gay bars in Birmingham are relatively relaxed about who they let in (except big groups of blokes who are clearly straight) and most of them have a great, up for it atmosphere that you'll only find in a gay bar. Missing is probably top of my list for a simple gay bar- it's pretty small on the inside, but there's a stage for live acts, some room for dancing and plenty of room for standing around. Some nights there is live entertainment in the form of gay comics, transvestites/drag queens doing skits and dancers. There's also a DJ who willingly takes requests, and music can range from current disco/pop to old school classics and gay 'standards' like Kylie, Steps etc. The atmosphere is always brilliant, and generally everyone inside is up for a laugh. There can occasionally be a queue, but you shouldn't have to wait for too long. Be warned, if you are obviously straight, and you are standing at the bar for ages when a gay man comes and pushes in in front of you, he will get served first. This is something that is a little annoying, but then it's not like the regular visitors to Missing ask straight people to come into the bar, so in a way I guess it's to be expected. Generally though, everyone in there is always very friendly and polite, and usually just want to dance and enjoy themselves. I would highly recommend this to anyone who fancies sampling Birmingham's thriving gay scene and trying somewhere not too hardcore first of all. If you're after a good start to your night out that involves a bit of entertainment, a bit of dancing, and a bit of a laugh, Missing is the place to go.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Indi Bar & Lounge
03 Oct 07, 14:26
Indi Bar
Indi Bar is nestled in the middle of the Arcadian and is one of a number of bars in the centre that caters for the young and happening of Birmingham. Indi is your typical 'Saturday Night' bar, with a nice long bar, plenty of space to dance, some seating (though difficult to hold if you leave it for longer than a minute!) and lots of happy people going insane to the resident DJs tunes. There can be queues on a weekend night, and be prepared for a door policy that borders on rude- particularly from the girl who takes your money from you (around £3 if it's after 22:00 for some unknown reason). Also be prepared to have your hand stamped by said girl, without so much as a by your leave. No trainers allowed (although some people do sneak in, though quite how I'm not sure!), and dress code is smart/casual. Much like other bars at The Arcadian, people in here dress pretty smartly but not too over the top- jeans are perfectly acceptable, though girls tend to wear dresses or skirts/tops. The music tends to be your typical dance/house classics, though it is often mixed up with a bit of garage or R&B. There's plenty of room for a dance, and it can get pretty crowded on the dancefloor, though there's a slightly higher platform where you can stand and gaze at your fellow revellers. It is a popular place for townies, so be prepared for some laddish behaviour or girls falling over drunk. Any kind of nonsense is dealt with swiftly by the bouncers, so fear not. As far as drinks go, there's often promotions on early on in the evening for things like alco-pops etc. Spirits and mixers are often served in very small glasses, so I'd stick to pints if you're out for a cheap one. Bar staff are generally friendly and there's not usually that much waiting time at the bar. Toilets are pretty small and there's one of those ladies who tries to sell you lollipops for £2, when they clearly cost 10p in the shops, or she tries to charge you for using the hand dryer. Whilst I understand why some upmarket places have these staff, I'm not entirely sure why Indi Bar has one, as people rarely want to pay to use the facilities. Don't expect anything surprising or new and exciting from Indi Bar, but do expect some good tunes, a it of a dance and some 'interesting' people to talk to!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Arca Bar
03 Oct 07, 10:40
Arca Bar
Arca Bar is one of the more mainstream bars in the Arcadian, though it does seem to cater for the rather more chavvy element than the others. Once you enter the place, you're aware that you are being stared at by the numerous men who seem to be stationed around the place looking a bit suspicious, or by their girlfriends, who eye you with contempt. When you finally manage to get to the bar and order it can be a bit annoying when the bar person either a)ignores you, b)gives you a vodka and coke in the smallest glass in the world or c)tries to get you to buy a vodka jelly, or whatever other promotion is on that week. It's not all bad- there's a great size dancefloor upstairs, and plenty of places to sit. The door staff are friendly (though I am a girl, so this may have something to do with it), and there's a good mix of men/women inside (but only after about 11ish). However, it's loud, the music is for the garage/house hardcore and the lairy attitude of some of the clientele is really rather scary, quite frankly. I have been to Arca far too many times for me to recall now, and have had some okay nights there, but nothing amazing. I would recommend this place for the people who are really into their clubbing type music, and who just want to get drunk and have a proper dance. It's not for those who, like me, can't really tolerate music that isn't my taste, or scary girls who just look like they want to fight.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.