So, what makes a good pub? Well I suppose it all depends on what you want to get out of the pub. For example are you looking for a pub to watch the football with your mates, perhaps something more romantic is afoot or it could even be a venue for an impromptu business meeting. I suppose what I am saying is that a ‘good pub’ is totally dependent on the occasion.
The Local Pub
Many of us have a local pub or bar that we frequent more than others, a place where everybody knows your name. You know that Tuesday is a quiz night, on Thursday there’s karaoke and on Friday live entertainment. Ok, if you prefer a more relaxed atmosphere where you can sup on a pint of real ale and converse with friends the Saturday night rock sessions might be more akin to ‘bar hell’.
For me a local pub is a place where I feel comfortable, where I can mix with likeminded people, a congregation point but not necessarily the final venue. And yet it’s not really the pub itself that keeps me coming back for more, it’s the regulars. It’s not the bricks and mortar, the fixtures and fittings nor the decor; it’s the people that periodically cohabit that space and time that make all the difference. It’s the software not the hardware that keeps me going back.
Finding a New Local
Two years ago I moved from Scotland to San Pedro de Alcantara on Spain’s Costa del Sol. In doing so I left behind my local and many dear friends. Slowly, as my social circle began to expand, I had the opportunity to visit a few pubs in San Pedro de Alcantara. The first thing I noticed was that smoking is still permitted in bars. This might be a step in the wrong direction for many, but as a smoker it was a pleasant change to the element battling leper colony I used to visit every time I needed nicotine fix.
In truth the climate here is such that there are only a couple of months that you need to move inside anyway. And I have to say that sitting on a terrace watching the sun go down over the Mediterranean beats drinking indoors every time. One habit I did have to break though was drinking pints, I still drink beer but from a canya (a canya is just short of a half pint). The temperature during the summer months can exceed 35c, so if you are ever in the neighbourhood ask for a canya unless you like very warm beer.
One possible problem facing me was that I spoke very little Spanish. Being on the Costs Del Sol its common that bar staff understood English, although not necessarily fluent, ordering a beer and something to eat was actually quite simple. My Spanish has improved since then because my daily activities actually involve more than ordering the occasional beer.
Although I had visited a few pubs with friends none seemed to be a good fit. It took some time before I found a pub that had my name carved on the bar and nothing could be more different to my Scottish local. It is traditional in the sense that they still give free tapas with every canya and have large hams and sausages hanging behind the bar. The regulars are of mixed nationality including Spanish locals, Dutch, German, French, Irish, Portuguese, Italian and Scottish. The beer is inexpensive and spirits are measured at a five second pour which is probably a treble measure in the UK.
With all this cheap booze on the go you might expect a drunken rabble, on the contrary, most Spanish bars are very family oriented and you will regularly find young children accompanying their parents at any time of the day and into the evening.
Anyway I have found my local now; I have been accepted into the fold and have even gained a new nick name… Escocian.
