Guide to Canterbury's Nightlife
Every year there's question after question from people wanting to know what the nightlife at Kent University is like and people always tend to give quite vague responses so I've decided to just resolve all the problems and write this guide to nightlife in Canterbury. This is a largely factual guide and it should be remembered that this is not the "be-all and end-all" of what you can do to be social at UKC; there're still societies and clubs to get involved in etc. and not to mention the endless house parties or even student politics so don't feel like just because you're not out-going then there'll be nothing for you 
Also bear in mind that this is written from the perspective of a University of Kent at Canterbury (UKC) student so this won't be relevant for people at Medway or one of the smaller schools dotted around Kent but it is still relevant for Canterbury Christ Church (CCCU) people I am, however, excluding mention of the CCCU Union bar because I’ve never been! I hope this helps!
P.S. Excuse my outrageously opinionated bias in places!
IMPORTANT! This descriptive overview of nightlife in Canterbury continues over in the posts below, please refer further down if the section you want isn't in this opening post!
Contents: (In order of appearance...)
(1) Campus Bars:
- Mungos
- Rutherford Bar
- Origins
- K-Bar
- Woodys
- The Attic
(2) Campus Nightclub:
- The Venue
(3) Other Campus Entertainment
(4) Town Nightclubs
- Club Chemistry/The Works/Baa Baas/The Biz
- Studio 41
- Chill
(5) Town Pubs and Bars
- Westgate Wetherspoons
- Northgate Wetherspoons
- The Penny Theatre
- The Cherry Tree
- Bramleys
- Orange Street Music Club
- The Old Buttermarket
- The Seven Stars
- Lady Luck
- Bar Kandi
- The Old Brewery Tavern
- The Beer Cart Arms
- The Jaggy Thistle
- Alberrys
- The Loft
- Canterbury Tales
- The Cricketers
- The Carpenter's Arms
- The Cuban
- The Dolphin
- The Parrot
- Bishop's Finger
- The Rose and Crown
- The Monument
- The Unicorn
- The Hobgoblin
- The Thomas Becket
- The Miller's Arms
(6) Other Big Night-Out Events
- Carnage/Rampage
- Invasion
- Massive Mungos
(7) General Tips about Canterbury's Nightlife
(8) My Review/Opinion
(9) Conclusion
Ok here we go, let's start with places to go on the UKC campus:
(1) Campus Bars:
Mungos
Located in Eliot College, Mungos bar is a modern, slightly space-age, bar-turned-club set up. Most nights it's a relatively peaceful affair with tables and chairs taking up most of the floor and TVs dotted around the walls with BBC News, various sports channels and music channels on. There's a small side room with a pool table, an XBox 360, some cozy little couches and yet more tables - the Xbox 360 comes with several controllers so you and friends can thrash out whatever grudge you have in a digital showdown with whatever games they have (can't remember which ones but I know I've seen a FIFA one played for sure). In terms of events, Mungoes holds a weekly quiz one night and hosts the University improv comedy troupe "Monkeyshine" or "Play It By Ear" (never worked out which one they were) - who're rather good from what I've seen - on another. Finally, on a Friday the tables and chairs are swept aside in favour of a large dancefloor turning Mungoes into an adhoc club which blasts out whatever's on the latest 'Now 4000' CD - known as 'Magic Mungos' this event generally packs out every week. In the daytime Mungo's serve a collection of burgers, sandwiches, salads, chips, a selection of desserts (waffles with chocolate yes please) and a heavenly milkshake (highly recommended) among other things.
Rutherford Bar - Formerly known as 'The Atom'
Located in Rutherford College, Rutherford Bar was recently made-over into a chique cozy modern bar with leather couches and low level lighting. Their TV's typically show BBC news, a music channel or whatever film is on (all subtitled with no actual sound) but otherwise there're no particularly special features to Rutherford Bar but they do have a collection of popular board games you can borrow at anytime - they also serve a variety of cheap cocktail mixes on selected nights. In terms of evening events Rutherford Bar hosts a weekly karaoke event to varying degrees of success - I know the Musical Theatre Society frequently use it as their weekly social. In the daytime Rutherford Bar serves a small selection of tasty paninis as well as various cakes and a stunningly cheap 30p coffee! In the summer/early autumn/spring the light streaming through the roof adds a cozy ambience and makes this an excellent place to chill out during the day as well as night.
Origins
Located in Darwin College, Origins is a Tex-Mex themed bar with two pool tables and a large seating area - it's often considered a bit of a trek for many students as Darwin College is furthest from most of the other colleges and the opposite end of campus from Parkwood. This aside, Origins often feels more like a restaurant than any of the other bars but it still definitely qualifies for a drink in the evening - the TV's typically show a sports channel or whatever big game is on at that moment. Evening events include a weekly quiz and the infamous 'Ruby Tuesdays' indie night which, like Friday's Magic Mungo's, packs out every night. Some argue that Origin's layout makes the Ruby Tuesdays experience cramped and very humid but when you're drunk enough I guess you don't care. In the daytime and early evenings Origins serves a selection of Tex-Mex style food including tortillas, nachos, burgers, meatballs with pasta and others with a few desserts. Did I mention the jukebox? It's usually off on busier nights but on quieter nights I have wasted many a penny subjecting the bar to S-Club 7 tracks.
K-Bar
Located in Keynes College, K-Bar is a slightly grungy, darker bar with two pool tables and a quaint outside seating area. Typically ill lit and with a lot of red couches gives off a bit of a grungy feel and many of the campus sports clubs often have a drink here or watch a match. You can get away from this furore most days by ducking into the small, but quieter, common room just outside K-Bar - it comes with a few cozy booths or some more open couches. Evening events include a Dub-Step night (though whether this will continue beyond the current year is debateable) but other than that little else. As mentioned a lot of sports games are watched in K-Bar with particularly big games being broadcast through a projector just outside K-Bar for the overspill crowd to watch. In the daytime and early evening K-Bar serves pizzas and in the evening their cocktail shots and pitchers list is produced - many a time have I fallen prey to these lists. K-Bar also boasts a jukebox which tends to get used more than the one in Origins.
Woodys
Located in Parkwood, Woody's is a modern take on the 'hunting lodge' style image with lots of wooden beams and just generally wood everywhere - it comes with a pool table and some TVs that typically broadcast a music channel. For anyone not in Parkwood, Woody's is a bit of a trek and it's complete lack of major evening events mean it's generally shunned by anyone other than Parkwood residents who typically use it for a quiet drink or before moving on to somewhere else, and why not? It's food menu consists of the LEGENDARY Stack Burger, made up of enough calories to give you a corollary on the spot but otherwise very filling, but also it does chips and other burgers with a chilli based dish somewhere, quite good all-in-all. It does run a quiz night (a recurring trend it should be noted) and all the big games (or small if you ask nicely) are shown here so it can get quite busy on these nights. I spent the nights before my exams in first year watching the Britain's Got Talent finals - a phenomenal waste of revision time but fun nonetheless.
The Attic - Formerly known as The Lighthouse
Located ABOVE The Venue, The Attic is frequently mislabelled as being part of The Venue itself - rather it shares the same building. It's a fairly bland modern bar with a lot less character than the other bars on campus, it only opens evenings typically hosting live music nights or offering a venue for societies to hold bigger nights out. There're a few leather couches for lounging around on but alas the fast food place The Kitchen which used to be inside is no more! Often when going to the Venue you can choose to pay for access to both the Attic and the Venue - for example if a different event is going on in each but you want to go to both; otherwise just pay for the one you want.
That's all the campus bars outta the way, now for the...
(2) Campus Nightclub:
The Venue
The Venue is the campus nightclub, as mentioned it's being redecorated this coming summer so it might gain more personality than a piece of clear plastic. The Venue typically plays whatever is on the latest 'Now' CD which is great fun for a few nights but many students get tired of it fast and seek out the town nightclubs. The Venue holds two bars (one for each floor) and a shots bar for those quick top-ups. Downstairs there's a moderately large dancefloor and a comfy seating area (though you'll be lucky if you can hear a thing someone says to you), while upstairs there're more seating areas and empty space for mingling as well as entryways to two cagelike booths overlooking the dancefloor below. The Venue holds a variety of themed nights from 80s to indie, Cops 'n' Robbers to celebrity guests, don't be fooled by the themes though - typically the same music as any other night is played with a token track to at least give some vague connection to the theme. On the bright side they do run a silent disco night once every while which is worth going to just for the experience. You can tell I don't hold much truck with The Venue which is a bit hypocritical because I went there a lot in my first year but I'm mainly venting the complaints of people I've spoken to about it who wish it had a bit more of a feel to it and actually tried.
(3) Other Campus Entertainment:
There're other, more sophisticated, forms of evening entertainment on campus, for instance the campus cinema which shows more obscure art films as well as mainstream stuff (though not for a large amount of time so subscribe to the mailing list to know what's coming up!). Located in the same building is the theatre which hosts all sorts of acts from plays to comedians to string quartets. No need to get more detailed here, suffice to say it's there if you don't want to spend another night studying, or drinking, or whatever else it is you get up to in your spare time.
Now that I've covered campus I'd like to move onto the town nightclubs, mainly because while I will touch on the bars and pubs in Canterbury, many first year students resist leaving campus just to go to a bar/pub (it is a fair walk up and down the hill) and would rather go the whole hog and get to the clubs. Fair play, here're the details:
(4) Town Nightclubs:
Club Chemistry/The Works/Baa Baas/The Biz
This nightclub goes by a variety of names (and was recently renamed again to Club Chemistry) and whether you're at CCCU or UKC seems to affect which name it's more commonly known by but I'll call it 'The Works' as it is predominantly known as at UKC. The Works is a three-floor club located opposite the Canterbury East train station on the edge of the city centre. Students typically get here from campus by taxi, though walking is not entirely out of the option just make sure you bring something to drink on the way if you're getting drunk or you might sober up. The Works is most popular on Monday nights (the student night) and is almost unheard of as somewhere to go any other night so I'll focus on the Monday event. The first floor is a rustic wooden indie style environment with minimal seating and a fair-sized dance area, on Mondays it typically plays whatever's in the charts and then as the night goes on it moves into cheese which is always good fun. The second floor reminds me most of Mungo's bar, similar theme so read above for an idea, but it plays R'n'B and hip hop almost exclusively with a large dancefloor and almost no seating. The third floor has a large dance area and a smaller seating area and tends to play electronic and techno music all night. There's not a lot more to say about The Works except that Monday is 'the night to be there' and no-one really goes other days to my knowledge.
Studio 41
Studio 41, located on the far end of town, near Chill nightclub and the Odeon, is an interesting setup in that it houses both a club and a laser-tag arena in the same building, very bizarre. Anyway so far as I know the club itself is only open Mondays and Saturdays. The interior is somewhat more claustrophobic than the other clubs in Canterbury with a low ceiling in the main dance area, but there’s a quieter seating upstairs and with three bars scattered around you can always find somewhere without too big a queue. Mondays’ night is called ‘SOAP’ and I know next to nothing about it, other than they occasionally hold a foam party there which is supposed to be really good. Saturday’s night is known as ‘Girls And boYs’ and is the LGBT night in Canterbury, a town otherwise fairly devoid of a gay scene, ironically though ‘Girls And boYs’ is typically populated by 90% straight people and rather rude, homophobic ones at that. If you put that aside then it’s a good night all-in-all, not much else to say.
Chill
Chill nightclub, literally 20 metres down the road from Studio 41, typically has low entrance fee with high drinks prices, pre-drinking is recommended! The club’s music tastes tend to lean towards dubstep, drum ‘n’ bass and hip hop all shaking the rather small dance floor – on Wednesday's (we believe) big names in the dubstep world have been known to be DJ-ing there, to my knowledge I can only name Jaguar Skillz who apparently plays there fairly regularly, and while this meant absolutely nothing to me everyone else insists he’s a legend of some sort. Otherwise the club interior is fairly classy but for some reason the club insists on roping off the booths for ‘bookings only’ most nights. I’ve heard a fairly mixed reaction from Chill, some people are raving mad about it while others think there’re better places to be. I can’t really comment – I’ve only been once.
Thread continues below! Keep reading!
Also bear in mind that this is written from the perspective of a University of Kent at Canterbury (UKC) student so this won't be relevant for people at Medway or one of the smaller schools dotted around Kent but it is still relevant for Canterbury Christ Church (CCCU) people I am, however, excluding mention of the CCCU Union bar because I’ve never been! I hope this helps!P.S. Excuse my outrageously opinionated bias in places!
IMPORTANT! This descriptive overview of nightlife in Canterbury continues over in the posts below, please refer further down if the section you want isn't in this opening post!
Contents: (In order of appearance...)
(1) Campus Bars:
- Mungos
- Rutherford Bar
- Origins
- K-Bar
- Woodys
- The Attic
(2) Campus Nightclub:
- The Venue
(3) Other Campus Entertainment
(4) Town Nightclubs
- Club Chemistry/The Works/Baa Baas/The Biz
- Studio 41
- Chill
(5) Town Pubs and Bars
- Westgate Wetherspoons
- Northgate Wetherspoons
- The Penny Theatre
- The Cherry Tree
- Bramleys
- Orange Street Music Club
- The Old Buttermarket
- The Seven Stars
- Lady Luck
- Bar Kandi
- The Old Brewery Tavern
- The Beer Cart Arms
- The Jaggy Thistle
- Alberrys
- The Loft
- Canterbury Tales
- The Cricketers
- The Carpenter's Arms
- The Cuban
- The Dolphin
- The Parrot
- Bishop's Finger
- The Rose and Crown
- The Monument
- The Unicorn
- The Hobgoblin
- The Thomas Becket
- The Miller's Arms
(6) Other Big Night-Out Events
- Carnage/Rampage
- Invasion
- Massive Mungos
(7) General Tips about Canterbury's Nightlife
(8) My Review/Opinion
(9) Conclusion
Ok here we go, let's start with places to go on the UKC campus:
(1) Campus Bars:
Mungos
Located in Eliot College, Mungos bar is a modern, slightly space-age, bar-turned-club set up. Most nights it's a relatively peaceful affair with tables and chairs taking up most of the floor and TVs dotted around the walls with BBC News, various sports channels and music channels on. There's a small side room with a pool table, an XBox 360, some cozy little couches and yet more tables - the Xbox 360 comes with several controllers so you and friends can thrash out whatever grudge you have in a digital showdown with whatever games they have (can't remember which ones but I know I've seen a FIFA one played for sure). In terms of events, Mungoes holds a weekly quiz one night and hosts the University improv comedy troupe "Monkeyshine" or "Play It By Ear" (never worked out which one they were) - who're rather good from what I've seen - on another. Finally, on a Friday the tables and chairs are swept aside in favour of a large dancefloor turning Mungoes into an adhoc club which blasts out whatever's on the latest 'Now 4000' CD - known as 'Magic Mungos' this event generally packs out every week. In the daytime Mungo's serve a collection of burgers, sandwiches, salads, chips, a selection of desserts (waffles with chocolate yes please) and a heavenly milkshake (highly recommended) among other things.
Rutherford Bar - Formerly known as 'The Atom'
Located in Rutherford College, Rutherford Bar was recently made-over into a chique cozy modern bar with leather couches and low level lighting. Their TV's typically show BBC news, a music channel or whatever film is on (all subtitled with no actual sound) but otherwise there're no particularly special features to Rutherford Bar but they do have a collection of popular board games you can borrow at anytime - they also serve a variety of cheap cocktail mixes on selected nights. In terms of evening events Rutherford Bar hosts a weekly karaoke event to varying degrees of success - I know the Musical Theatre Society frequently use it as their weekly social. In the daytime Rutherford Bar serves a small selection of tasty paninis as well as various cakes and a stunningly cheap 30p coffee! In the summer/early autumn/spring the light streaming through the roof adds a cozy ambience and makes this an excellent place to chill out during the day as well as night.
Origins
Located in Darwin College, Origins is a Tex-Mex themed bar with two pool tables and a large seating area - it's often considered a bit of a trek for many students as Darwin College is furthest from most of the other colleges and the opposite end of campus from Parkwood. This aside, Origins often feels more like a restaurant than any of the other bars but it still definitely qualifies for a drink in the evening - the TV's typically show a sports channel or whatever big game is on at that moment. Evening events include a weekly quiz and the infamous 'Ruby Tuesdays' indie night which, like Friday's Magic Mungo's, packs out every night. Some argue that Origin's layout makes the Ruby Tuesdays experience cramped and very humid but when you're drunk enough I guess you don't care. In the daytime and early evenings Origins serves a selection of Tex-Mex style food including tortillas, nachos, burgers, meatballs with pasta and others with a few desserts. Did I mention the jukebox? It's usually off on busier nights but on quieter nights I have wasted many a penny subjecting the bar to S-Club 7 tracks.
K-Bar
Located in Keynes College, K-Bar is a slightly grungy, darker bar with two pool tables and a quaint outside seating area. Typically ill lit and with a lot of red couches gives off a bit of a grungy feel and many of the campus sports clubs often have a drink here or watch a match. You can get away from this furore most days by ducking into the small, but quieter, common room just outside K-Bar - it comes with a few cozy booths or some more open couches. Evening events include a Dub-Step night (though whether this will continue beyond the current year is debateable) but other than that little else. As mentioned a lot of sports games are watched in K-Bar with particularly big games being broadcast through a projector just outside K-Bar for the overspill crowd to watch. In the daytime and early evening K-Bar serves pizzas and in the evening their cocktail shots and pitchers list is produced - many a time have I fallen prey to these lists. K-Bar also boasts a jukebox which tends to get used more than the one in Origins.
Woodys
Located in Parkwood, Woody's is a modern take on the 'hunting lodge' style image with lots of wooden beams and just generally wood everywhere - it comes with a pool table and some TVs that typically broadcast a music channel. For anyone not in Parkwood, Woody's is a bit of a trek and it's complete lack of major evening events mean it's generally shunned by anyone other than Parkwood residents who typically use it for a quiet drink or before moving on to somewhere else, and why not? It's food menu consists of the LEGENDARY Stack Burger, made up of enough calories to give you a corollary on the spot but otherwise very filling, but also it does chips and other burgers with a chilli based dish somewhere, quite good all-in-all. It does run a quiz night (a recurring trend it should be noted) and all the big games (or small if you ask nicely) are shown here so it can get quite busy on these nights. I spent the nights before my exams in first year watching the Britain's Got Talent finals - a phenomenal waste of revision time but fun nonetheless.
The Attic - Formerly known as The Lighthouse
Located ABOVE The Venue, The Attic is frequently mislabelled as being part of The Venue itself - rather it shares the same building. It's a fairly bland modern bar with a lot less character than the other bars on campus, it only opens evenings typically hosting live music nights or offering a venue for societies to hold bigger nights out. There're a few leather couches for lounging around on but alas the fast food place The Kitchen which used to be inside is no more! Often when going to the Venue you can choose to pay for access to both the Attic and the Venue - for example if a different event is going on in each but you want to go to both; otherwise just pay for the one you want.
That's all the campus bars outta the way, now for the...
(2) Campus Nightclub:
The Venue
The Venue is the campus nightclub, as mentioned it's being redecorated this coming summer so it might gain more personality than a piece of clear plastic. The Venue typically plays whatever is on the latest 'Now' CD which is great fun for a few nights but many students get tired of it fast and seek out the town nightclubs. The Venue holds two bars (one for each floor) and a shots bar for those quick top-ups. Downstairs there's a moderately large dancefloor and a comfy seating area (though you'll be lucky if you can hear a thing someone says to you), while upstairs there're more seating areas and empty space for mingling as well as entryways to two cagelike booths overlooking the dancefloor below. The Venue holds a variety of themed nights from 80s to indie, Cops 'n' Robbers to celebrity guests, don't be fooled by the themes though - typically the same music as any other night is played with a token track to at least give some vague connection to the theme. On the bright side they do run a silent disco night once every while which is worth going to just for the experience. You can tell I don't hold much truck with The Venue which is a bit hypocritical because I went there a lot in my first year but I'm mainly venting the complaints of people I've spoken to about it who wish it had a bit more of a feel to it and actually tried.
(3) Other Campus Entertainment:
There're other, more sophisticated, forms of evening entertainment on campus, for instance the campus cinema which shows more obscure art films as well as mainstream stuff (though not for a large amount of time so subscribe to the mailing list to know what's coming up!). Located in the same building is the theatre which hosts all sorts of acts from plays to comedians to string quartets. No need to get more detailed here, suffice to say it's there if you don't want to spend another night studying, or drinking, or whatever else it is you get up to in your spare time.
Now that I've covered campus I'd like to move onto the town nightclubs, mainly because while I will touch on the bars and pubs in Canterbury, many first year students resist leaving campus just to go to a bar/pub (it is a fair walk up and down the hill) and would rather go the whole hog and get to the clubs. Fair play, here're the details:
(4) Town Nightclubs:
Club Chemistry/The Works/Baa Baas/The Biz
This nightclub goes by a variety of names (and was recently renamed again to Club Chemistry) and whether you're at CCCU or UKC seems to affect which name it's more commonly known by but I'll call it 'The Works' as it is predominantly known as at UKC. The Works is a three-floor club located opposite the Canterbury East train station on the edge of the city centre. Students typically get here from campus by taxi, though walking is not entirely out of the option just make sure you bring something to drink on the way if you're getting drunk or you might sober up. The Works is most popular on Monday nights (the student night) and is almost unheard of as somewhere to go any other night so I'll focus on the Monday event. The first floor is a rustic wooden indie style environment with minimal seating and a fair-sized dance area, on Mondays it typically plays whatever's in the charts and then as the night goes on it moves into cheese which is always good fun. The second floor reminds me most of Mungo's bar, similar theme so read above for an idea, but it plays R'n'B and hip hop almost exclusively with a large dancefloor and almost no seating. The third floor has a large dance area and a smaller seating area and tends to play electronic and techno music all night. There's not a lot more to say about The Works except that Monday is 'the night to be there' and no-one really goes other days to my knowledge.
Studio 41
Studio 41, located on the far end of town, near Chill nightclub and the Odeon, is an interesting setup in that it houses both a club and a laser-tag arena in the same building, very bizarre. Anyway so far as I know the club itself is only open Mondays and Saturdays. The interior is somewhat more claustrophobic than the other clubs in Canterbury with a low ceiling in the main dance area, but there’s a quieter seating upstairs and with three bars scattered around you can always find somewhere without too big a queue. Mondays’ night is called ‘SOAP’ and I know next to nothing about it, other than they occasionally hold a foam party there which is supposed to be really good. Saturday’s night is known as ‘Girls And boYs’ and is the LGBT night in Canterbury, a town otherwise fairly devoid of a gay scene, ironically though ‘Girls And boYs’ is typically populated by 90% straight people and rather rude, homophobic ones at that. If you put that aside then it’s a good night all-in-all, not much else to say.
Chill
Chill nightclub, literally 20 metres down the road from Studio 41, typically has low entrance fee with high drinks prices, pre-drinking is recommended! The club’s music tastes tend to lean towards dubstep, drum ‘n’ bass and hip hop all shaking the rather small dance floor – on Wednesday's (we believe) big names in the dubstep world have been known to be DJ-ing there, to my knowledge I can only name Jaguar Skillz who apparently plays there fairly regularly, and while this meant absolutely nothing to me everyone else insists he’s a legend of some sort. Otherwise the club interior is fairly classy but for some reason the club insists on roping off the booths for ‘bookings only’ most nights. I’ve heard a fairly mixed reaction from Chill, some people are raving mad about it while others think there’re better places to be. I can’t really comment – I’ve only been once.
Thread continues below! Keep reading!
(edited 13 years ago)
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(5) Town Pubs and Bars:
That’s enough about the town clubs though, time to move to the bars and pubs around Canterbury, which are more numerous than I can possibly hope to do proper justice to here so I’m going to keep the descriptions brief if possible. The order I’m going with these tends to be the more well known big places and then the smaller pubs and bars...
Westgate Wetherspoons (The Westgate Inn)
Every Wetherspoons pub has a normal name to it but everyone just calls them 'Spoons' or in this instance 'Westgate Spoons' because there are two in Canterbury. Located at the bottom of the hill up to the UKC campus the most I can say about this is it tends to be the start point for almost all nights in town, typical of any Spoons the prices are cheapest in Canterbury (though not always as cheap as the University bars) and it’s packed with old, pervy men galore, what Spoons would be complete without them? They do food till 10pm and have free Wi-Fi (though I’ve never managed to get it working). It’s medium sized and has some nice comfy seating at the back with some cosy booths for people to sit in, overall the Westgate Spoons is typically thought of as the ‘Student Spoons’, why? Read on...
Northgate Spoons (The Thomas Ingoldsby)
I’ve always thought of this one as “the one on the other end of the High Street” and I’d just like to put out a general warning to avoid it at all costs. The locals in Canterbury I tend to charitably describe as “rough” but it’s more like “outright bastards” and this tends to be the meeting point of the worst of the worst in Canterbury. I’m not saying it’s horrific and you'll get knifed but... anyway it’s bigger than the other Spoons but it tends to be filled with the sometimes quite scary locals (you try bringing a group of 20 loud gay people in – we left shortly after). In the day it’s not so bad but I never see any reason to go to it if you’re at UKC because the Westgate one is a LOT closer to campus.
The Penny Theatre
I’ve never understood the attraction of Penny Theatre, their Thursday nights are supposed to be legendary but I’ve been and never quite understood. I think it might be the ‘pints for a pound’ thing that happens that night but I may have that wrong. It’s a surprisingly big pub once you get inside but owing to its popularity seating can be hard to find if you don’t get in quick! It’s quite hard to find if you don’t know where you’re looking due to being on the edge of the town centre, look it up on a map but it’s definitely worth a go.
The Cherry Tree
In a word: tiny. This miniscule ‘indie’ style pub has a popular Thursday night event where drinks become insanely cheap and they serve their infamous “pig-******” drink - a deadly mixture of cider, vodka and orange juice I think it is for only £2 or something like that. Other nights it’s a far quieter venue, they sometimes have bands in which leads to an even more over-packed environment but they do have a few benches outside for the masses to spill out onto.
Bramleys
IT’S BOHEMIA! When you walk into Bramleys you can’t help by feel you’ve walked into what classical Bohemia must have been like, spacious with an air balloon style ceiling (has to be seen to be understood). Very cosy atmosphere where you can choose from cocktails, real ales or even the cheese board, for a year it was the place of choice for the Liberal Democrat society meetings, then they stopped opening on Sunday evenings, shame.
Orange Street Music Club
Literally DIRECTLY above Bramleys, (you get in via a door right next to it and go up some stairs), is this quaint little place. In the continuation of the Bohemian theme this rustic bar has musicians from various genres playing little ditties on their instruments for your drunken delight. How nice. Never been myself but I've heard ALL about it from literally EVERYONE so it must be good.
The Old Buttermarket
Situated on the square outside the Cathedral Gates the pub is popular in the daytime with tourists but mostly empty in the evenings. It’s got a very traditional pub feel to it and it’s a lot bigger than you think, find the stair to the back section of it and there’s a lot more seating around. It’s a regular feature on the Real Ale and Cider society’s pub crawl list owing to its frequently rotated real ale selection.
The Seven Stars
On the same road as Bramleys, Orange Street Music Club and Bar Kandi this contemporary pub regularly shows sports channels on the TV and has a really cool 'London Underground' style map of all the pubs/bars/nightclubs in Canterbury, which is kinda like this guide but without my little descriptions. They regularly hold a karaoke night and a quiz night but I don't know a lot more than that.
Lady Luck
Very indie-alternative feel to it, a nice place otherwise though, does an interesting collection of cocktails for cheap prices. One of the few pubs to stay open later than midnight in Canterbury, 1am on weekdays and 2am on weekends so I'm told! More details needed!
Bar Kandi
Located almost opposite Bramleys this bar, despite it’s somewhat off-putting name spelling, has one of the most interesting bar interiors in Canterbury. Very low lighting and soft reds and purples put you in mind of a very ‘boudoir-y’ feel, befitting of a cocktail bar I should think. Bar Kandi serves cocktails primarily and is highly expensive but if you’ve ever wanted to try some of the more exotic drinks out there then it’s always around. Tends to be populated more by the locals than students owing to its prices – they’ve started running an ill-attended gay night on Wednesdays.
The Old Brewery Tavern
Just off the High Street in a side road before you reach @bode (yes that's not a typo) this is a relatively classy modern bar which shoud never have incorporated a dancefloor but did anyway. It's a fairly big place with two bars and a fair amount of seating, but the prices are a bit steep but on the other hand it's usually one of the last places to close in Canterbury.
The Beer Cart Arms
Hidden down a back street a bit beyond the Old Brewery Tavern is The Beer Cart Arms. Generally populated by locals (drunk and friendly ones usually) this pub-turned-bar blasts out cheesy tunes (or at least it did when I was there) with a large array of offers on all sorts of drinks/shots/pitchers etc. All in all it's relatively cheap, the bar staff are friendly and so are the bouncers much to my incredulous surprise - it's a general rule that all the bouncers in Canterbury are complete ******* but these guys were nice. One complaint, the floor is so sticky you literally can't get unstuck if you stand in the same place for a few minutes.
The Jaggy Thistle
Located almost next door to the Northgate Spoons, The Jaggy Thistle is the only full-time LGBT pub in Canterbury, with a slightly intimidating owner. On the bright side it’s almost always empty and they run this amusing deal where they’ll give you a shot of (rather strong) vodka at midnight if you’re still around. Tends to be frequented by quite rough locals I’ve often felt intimidated in there but if you get it on a quiet night it’s a fairly cheap place and quite spacious inside with lots of seating.
Alberrys
Located off the High Street near HMV this small bar/club sells expensive cocktails and other drinks. I can’t remember which day they do it on (think it’s a Wednesday) but whenever it is it’s half price on all their pitchers which is pretty fantastic (still cheaper at Spoons) however after 9:30pm I believe they charge entry. Go below the floor and you’ll find a ‘dive’ style club area (exceptionally small) but I’ve had good nights there so I guess it’s good for a try if you don’t mind bankrupting yourself on their drink prices.
The Loft
I know only that this is situated opposite Alberrys, care to write a review anyone?
Canterbury Tales
I always wonder whether to classify this as a pub or a bar because while it's not rustic enough and has a wider selection of spirit based drinks (as opposed to ale based ones) it's not really classy enough to be a bar and has that sort of slightly shady pub feel to it. Anyway this place is just off the High Street opposite where the Marlowe Theatre is being rebuilt and in a word it's small. It's another of those places that stays open later than anywhere else in Canterbury so it gets a bit full later on, and in a place that was never big to start with then it's a bit hmm. On the bright side they use candles on the tables which is great fun until you get someone like me burning their hair on them.
The Cricketers
Just up the High Street from the Westgate arch, and over the road from The Hobgoblin, is the Cricketer, a very old-man-esque style pub with some friendly bar staff, (though I maintain he was doped up on marijuana). You get an interesting mix of elderly locals and students in here, resulting in some drunk conversations with the locals - not entirely a bad thing but it's not exactly a rave for those that want that either.
The Carpenter's Arms
If you go down the alley next to The Hobgoblin then you'll arrive at this very traditional pub. Despite it's abundance of pool tables I would recommend avoiding this place as its typical clientele is on par with that of Northgate Wetherspoons (see above) and more than once I have felt threatened merely walking past. This said I have seen students in there from time to time so the locals must have off-nights.
The Cuban
Situated about halfway up the High Street, The Cuban is a shadowy doorway into a shadowy-er bar. Aside from that I've never ventured inside, review needed!
The Dolphin
Located a bit out of the way, down a side street near The Penny Theatre, and literally up the road from The Parrot is this typical pub. They have a few board games you can play there and I think they always have the heating up too high but an otherwise nice quiet place.
The Parrot
Just up the road from the Dolphin and near the Penny Theatre this traditional boasts an added attraction (or detraction if it won't shut up) which is a parrot in a cage - as the pub name suggests. It's a very nice little pub and they do a nice student discount but on some days the parrot just won't shut up and it can be a bit shrill on the ear. An otherwise very nice place.
Bishop's Finger
After telling my housemates about this guide one said "You managed to write 5,000+ words about Canterbury's pubs and nightlife and you didn't mention the Bishops Finger!?" So here is it's mention. It's located just round the corner from Westgate Spoons (so near the Westgate arch) but other than that I know aboslutely nothing about it and neither did my housemate apparently because she was so drunk when she went in at Christmas. I had a little look in the other day and it's a lot bigger on the inside than it is on the out, like the Old Buttermarket it extends quite far back into the building. More details please!
The Rose and Crown
This is a typical pub situated just up the road from Bishop's Finger, other than that I don't know anything more about it. Reviews please!
The Monument
A slightly ‘local-y’ pub on the way up the hill to the University, just opposite St Dunstan’s Church. They’ve got a pool table and a big TV but it’s quite a small place so good for quiet drinks if that’s your thing.
The Unicorn
Apparently this is a fairly generic, traditional style pub, small on the inside but with a deceptively large beer garden outside. It is also the local headquarters of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) movement.
The Hobgoblin
Until further notice The Hobgoblin appears to have been repossessed by creditors and so is currently closed. It's not known whether plans for new ownership are in the pipeline.
The Thomas Becket
Located on a side street some way down the High Street this is probably what some people would consider a ‘real pub’ with a fire and cosy atmosphere. Its only concern is it’s a bit small but otherwise very nice.
The Miller's Arms
A fair way up the road from The Dolphin, on your way out of town centre and back to the UKC campus. Aside from being out of the way I know nothing about this pub. Review please!
(6) Other Big Night-Out Events
What do I mean by this? Well throughout the year (at least once a term) big night-out style events get held by various companies around town, typically sponsored by one of the big clubs. Here're a few details:
Carnage/Rampage
Carnage and Rampage are the main big night-out style events and are run by The Works and Chill, (I won't say respectively because I can't remember who owns which one!) The essence of these nights out is that you buy a t-shirt with the clubs name on it beforehand and this gets you drink promotions on various bars round town which the organisers running the event direct you to. At each bar there are various ludicrous and silly challenges you're supposed to do but only the insane really bother doing. Going out on these nights to anywhere considered 'popular' without a t-shirt is probably a waste of time seeing as everywhere packs out on these nights. The University in particular frowns on these events and every year e-mails are sent out reminding students that these events are designed to get people drunk and do silly things and the university doesn't want it's good name besmirched by it's students acting silly. This doesn't stop you going but it did lead the university to create...
Invasion
This was UKC's answer to Rampage/Carnage. I can't remember if this had a t-shirt for it or not and I vaguely recall that the proceeds may have gone to charity, regardless the event worked on the same principle except it was focused on the campus bars and eventually The Venue. This was only run for the first time in 2009/10 (to my knowledge) so it remains to be seen whether it is a permanent fixture or not.
Massive Mungos
While not strictly a big night-out like the previous too, this event is probably far better known than any of the above and is held towards the end of every term hosted primarily by Mungos. While the usual antics occur at the Mungos' bar, Eliot Hall is also converted into a massive dancefloor with a DJ stage and crazy lighting at one end. Everyone closest to the stage dances enthusiastically while those further back mill around and talk to each other (though how, over the noise, is beyond me). Extra bars are set up in Eliot Hall so you don't have to walk over to Mungos to get another drink and can continue the rave all night long (or till 2am when it typically finishes).
Only a bit more now! Keep reading!
That’s enough about the town clubs though, time to move to the bars and pubs around Canterbury, which are more numerous than I can possibly hope to do proper justice to here so I’m going to keep the descriptions brief if possible. The order I’m going with these tends to be the more well known big places and then the smaller pubs and bars...
Westgate Wetherspoons (The Westgate Inn)
Every Wetherspoons pub has a normal name to it but everyone just calls them 'Spoons' or in this instance 'Westgate Spoons' because there are two in Canterbury. Located at the bottom of the hill up to the UKC campus the most I can say about this is it tends to be the start point for almost all nights in town, typical of any Spoons the prices are cheapest in Canterbury (though not always as cheap as the University bars) and it’s packed with old, pervy men galore, what Spoons would be complete without them? They do food till 10pm and have free Wi-Fi (though I’ve never managed to get it working). It’s medium sized and has some nice comfy seating at the back with some cosy booths for people to sit in, overall the Westgate Spoons is typically thought of as the ‘Student Spoons’, why? Read on...
Northgate Spoons (The Thomas Ingoldsby)
I’ve always thought of this one as “the one on the other end of the High Street” and I’d just like to put out a general warning to avoid it at all costs. The locals in Canterbury I tend to charitably describe as “rough” but it’s more like “outright bastards” and this tends to be the meeting point of the worst of the worst in Canterbury. I’m not saying it’s horrific and you'll get knifed but... anyway it’s bigger than the other Spoons but it tends to be filled with the sometimes quite scary locals (you try bringing a group of 20 loud gay people in – we left shortly after). In the day it’s not so bad but I never see any reason to go to it if you’re at UKC because the Westgate one is a LOT closer to campus.
The Penny Theatre
I’ve never understood the attraction of Penny Theatre, their Thursday nights are supposed to be legendary but I’ve been and never quite understood. I think it might be the ‘pints for a pound’ thing that happens that night but I may have that wrong. It’s a surprisingly big pub once you get inside but owing to its popularity seating can be hard to find if you don’t get in quick! It’s quite hard to find if you don’t know where you’re looking due to being on the edge of the town centre, look it up on a map but it’s definitely worth a go.
The Cherry Tree
In a word: tiny. This miniscule ‘indie’ style pub has a popular Thursday night event where drinks become insanely cheap and they serve their infamous “pig-******” drink - a deadly mixture of cider, vodka and orange juice I think it is for only £2 or something like that. Other nights it’s a far quieter venue, they sometimes have bands in which leads to an even more over-packed environment but they do have a few benches outside for the masses to spill out onto.
Bramleys
IT’S BOHEMIA! When you walk into Bramleys you can’t help by feel you’ve walked into what classical Bohemia must have been like, spacious with an air balloon style ceiling (has to be seen to be understood). Very cosy atmosphere where you can choose from cocktails, real ales or even the cheese board, for a year it was the place of choice for the Liberal Democrat society meetings, then they stopped opening on Sunday evenings, shame.
Orange Street Music Club
Literally DIRECTLY above Bramleys, (you get in via a door right next to it and go up some stairs), is this quaint little place. In the continuation of the Bohemian theme this rustic bar has musicians from various genres playing little ditties on their instruments for your drunken delight. How nice. Never been myself but I've heard ALL about it from literally EVERYONE so it must be good.
The Old Buttermarket
Situated on the square outside the Cathedral Gates the pub is popular in the daytime with tourists but mostly empty in the evenings. It’s got a very traditional pub feel to it and it’s a lot bigger than you think, find the stair to the back section of it and there’s a lot more seating around. It’s a regular feature on the Real Ale and Cider society’s pub crawl list owing to its frequently rotated real ale selection.
The Seven Stars
On the same road as Bramleys, Orange Street Music Club and Bar Kandi this contemporary pub regularly shows sports channels on the TV and has a really cool 'London Underground' style map of all the pubs/bars/nightclubs in Canterbury, which is kinda like this guide but without my little descriptions. They regularly hold a karaoke night and a quiz night but I don't know a lot more than that.
Lady Luck
Very indie-alternative feel to it, a nice place otherwise though, does an interesting collection of cocktails for cheap prices. One of the few pubs to stay open later than midnight in Canterbury, 1am on weekdays and 2am on weekends so I'm told! More details needed!
Bar Kandi
Located almost opposite Bramleys this bar, despite it’s somewhat off-putting name spelling, has one of the most interesting bar interiors in Canterbury. Very low lighting and soft reds and purples put you in mind of a very ‘boudoir-y’ feel, befitting of a cocktail bar I should think. Bar Kandi serves cocktails primarily and is highly expensive but if you’ve ever wanted to try some of the more exotic drinks out there then it’s always around. Tends to be populated more by the locals than students owing to its prices – they’ve started running an ill-attended gay night on Wednesdays.
The Old Brewery Tavern
Just off the High Street in a side road before you reach @bode (yes that's not a typo) this is a relatively classy modern bar which shoud never have incorporated a dancefloor but did anyway. It's a fairly big place with two bars and a fair amount of seating, but the prices are a bit steep but on the other hand it's usually one of the last places to close in Canterbury.
The Beer Cart Arms
Hidden down a back street a bit beyond the Old Brewery Tavern is The Beer Cart Arms. Generally populated by locals (drunk and friendly ones usually) this pub-turned-bar blasts out cheesy tunes (or at least it did when I was there) with a large array of offers on all sorts of drinks/shots/pitchers etc. All in all it's relatively cheap, the bar staff are friendly and so are the bouncers much to my incredulous surprise - it's a general rule that all the bouncers in Canterbury are complete ******* but these guys were nice. One complaint, the floor is so sticky you literally can't get unstuck if you stand in the same place for a few minutes.
The Jaggy Thistle
Located almost next door to the Northgate Spoons, The Jaggy Thistle is the only full-time LGBT pub in Canterbury, with a slightly intimidating owner. On the bright side it’s almost always empty and they run this amusing deal where they’ll give you a shot of (rather strong) vodka at midnight if you’re still around. Tends to be frequented by quite rough locals I’ve often felt intimidated in there but if you get it on a quiet night it’s a fairly cheap place and quite spacious inside with lots of seating.
Alberrys
Located off the High Street near HMV this small bar/club sells expensive cocktails and other drinks. I can’t remember which day they do it on (think it’s a Wednesday) but whenever it is it’s half price on all their pitchers which is pretty fantastic (still cheaper at Spoons) however after 9:30pm I believe they charge entry. Go below the floor and you’ll find a ‘dive’ style club area (exceptionally small) but I’ve had good nights there so I guess it’s good for a try if you don’t mind bankrupting yourself on their drink prices.
The Loft
I know only that this is situated opposite Alberrys, care to write a review anyone?
Canterbury Tales
I always wonder whether to classify this as a pub or a bar because while it's not rustic enough and has a wider selection of spirit based drinks (as opposed to ale based ones) it's not really classy enough to be a bar and has that sort of slightly shady pub feel to it. Anyway this place is just off the High Street opposite where the Marlowe Theatre is being rebuilt and in a word it's small. It's another of those places that stays open later than anywhere else in Canterbury so it gets a bit full later on, and in a place that was never big to start with then it's a bit hmm. On the bright side they use candles on the tables which is great fun until you get someone like me burning their hair on them.
The Cricketers
Just up the High Street from the Westgate arch, and over the road from The Hobgoblin, is the Cricketer, a very old-man-esque style pub with some friendly bar staff, (though I maintain he was doped up on marijuana). You get an interesting mix of elderly locals and students in here, resulting in some drunk conversations with the locals - not entirely a bad thing but it's not exactly a rave for those that want that either.
The Carpenter's Arms
If you go down the alley next to The Hobgoblin then you'll arrive at this very traditional pub. Despite it's abundance of pool tables I would recommend avoiding this place as its typical clientele is on par with that of Northgate Wetherspoons (see above) and more than once I have felt threatened merely walking past. This said I have seen students in there from time to time so the locals must have off-nights.
The Cuban
Situated about halfway up the High Street, The Cuban is a shadowy doorway into a shadowy-er bar. Aside from that I've never ventured inside, review needed!
The Dolphin
Located a bit out of the way, down a side street near The Penny Theatre, and literally up the road from The Parrot is this typical pub. They have a few board games you can play there and I think they always have the heating up too high but an otherwise nice quiet place.
The Parrot
Just up the road from the Dolphin and near the Penny Theatre this traditional boasts an added attraction (or detraction if it won't shut up) which is a parrot in a cage - as the pub name suggests. It's a very nice little pub and they do a nice student discount but on some days the parrot just won't shut up and it can be a bit shrill on the ear. An otherwise very nice place.
Bishop's Finger
After telling my housemates about this guide one said "You managed to write 5,000+ words about Canterbury's pubs and nightlife and you didn't mention the Bishops Finger!?" So here is it's mention. It's located just round the corner from Westgate Spoons (so near the Westgate arch) but other than that I know aboslutely nothing about it and neither did my housemate apparently because she was so drunk when she went in at Christmas. I had a little look in the other day and it's a lot bigger on the inside than it is on the out, like the Old Buttermarket it extends quite far back into the building. More details please!
The Rose and Crown
This is a typical pub situated just up the road from Bishop's Finger, other than that I don't know anything more about it. Reviews please!
The Monument
A slightly ‘local-y’ pub on the way up the hill to the University, just opposite St Dunstan’s Church. They’ve got a pool table and a big TV but it’s quite a small place so good for quiet drinks if that’s your thing.
The Unicorn
Apparently this is a fairly generic, traditional style pub, small on the inside but with a deceptively large beer garden outside. It is also the local headquarters of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) movement.
The Hobgoblin
Until further notice The Hobgoblin appears to have been repossessed by creditors and so is currently closed. It's not known whether plans for new ownership are in the pipeline.
The Thomas Becket
Located on a side street some way down the High Street this is probably what some people would consider a ‘real pub’ with a fire and cosy atmosphere. Its only concern is it’s a bit small but otherwise very nice.
The Miller's Arms
A fair way up the road from The Dolphin, on your way out of town centre and back to the UKC campus. Aside from being out of the way I know nothing about this pub. Review please!
(6) Other Big Night-Out Events
What do I mean by this? Well throughout the year (at least once a term) big night-out style events get held by various companies around town, typically sponsored by one of the big clubs. Here're a few details:
Carnage/Rampage
Carnage and Rampage are the main big night-out style events and are run by The Works and Chill, (I won't say respectively because I can't remember who owns which one!) The essence of these nights out is that you buy a t-shirt with the clubs name on it beforehand and this gets you drink promotions on various bars round town which the organisers running the event direct you to. At each bar there are various ludicrous and silly challenges you're supposed to do but only the insane really bother doing. Going out on these nights to anywhere considered 'popular' without a t-shirt is probably a waste of time seeing as everywhere packs out on these nights. The University in particular frowns on these events and every year e-mails are sent out reminding students that these events are designed to get people drunk and do silly things and the university doesn't want it's good name besmirched by it's students acting silly. This doesn't stop you going but it did lead the university to create...
Invasion
This was UKC's answer to Rampage/Carnage. I can't remember if this had a t-shirt for it or not and I vaguely recall that the proceeds may have gone to charity, regardless the event worked on the same principle except it was focused on the campus bars and eventually The Venue. This was only run for the first time in 2009/10 (to my knowledge) so it remains to be seen whether it is a permanent fixture or not.
Massive Mungos
While not strictly a big night-out like the previous too, this event is probably far better known than any of the above and is held towards the end of every term hosted primarily by Mungos. While the usual antics occur at the Mungos' bar, Eliot Hall is also converted into a massive dancefloor with a DJ stage and crazy lighting at one end. Everyone closest to the stage dances enthusiastically while those further back mill around and talk to each other (though how, over the noise, is beyond me). Extra bars are set up in Eliot Hall so you don't have to walk over to Mungos to get another drink and can continue the rave all night long (or till 2am when it typically finishes).
Only a bit more now! Keep reading!
(edited 13 years ago)
(7) General Tips about Canterbury's Nightlife
- Campus bars are the cheapest in Canterbury
- In general Canterbury's quite an expensive place to go drinking, but I think that goes for most cities in the South of England
- If you're going to the clubs in town and you're on campus then make sure you bring money for a taxi back unless you want a long walk up the hill after all that dancing. There're always taxis outside the clubs to take you back.
- Get into town early for the big nights at some bars like the Penny Theatre if you like having somewhere to sit.
- While I haven't bothered to list them in detail I'd recommend Munchies or Subway for munchies on your way out of town after an evening out.
- The buses running into town are about £1.40 one-way from campus, though that may go up beginning of next year. I say one-way because the last bus back to campus is about half-11 so most people don't bother getting a bus back and just walk/taxi instead.
- If you insist on drinking and getting drunk then pre-drinking is your financial friend, I guess this can be said about any uni but stil is worth repeating again!
(8) My Review/Opinion
I've tried to keep this account of the various nightlife-y places in Canterbury to a factual basis but I realised I should probably provide a little review based a bit on my own experience and largely on students I've talked to about what they think of Canterbury's nightlife.
In general a lot of the very party-heavy peope find Canterbury a bit light for their liking - the clubs are plentiful but they're not consistently good and tend to hold one night a week that everyone knows is great but other than that it's a bit "meh" every other day. In terms of bars in town many of the places are quite traditional pub style, the 'quiet drinking hole' type deal, which I know may suit a lot of people but again the party-goers among sometimes feel it's a bit dull for them.
The campus bars are famously priced a bit higher than almost every other university bar in the UK - why? Something to do with the fact that Kent Union's run more like a business than a Student Union and as a result it's one of the few uni's actually in profit rather than debt. So drinks end up being comparatively expensive when compared to other uni's bars but the uni bars still remain the cheapest in town.
Personally I think Canterbury's great, particularly if you're not wildly into the massive party in the town type deal, it's just a bit of a quieter setting. Not to say it's dead but it's not like one of the larger central cities e.g. Leeds, Manchester, London etc. where you might see a hen night drunkenly staggering past every five minutes.
These points aside Canterbury's still a really nice place and you can have some really fantastic nights out, but if you're really into your hardcore parties you might find it a bit lightweight.
(9) Conclusion:
I’m going to stop there because this is already enough of an essay as it is and I can't think of anything more to write! If anyone’s got their own comments or tips to share then post them below and I’ll incorporate them if my own description is a bit lacking as it is with many of the pubs in Canterbury - I did all that I could remember!
Congratulations you're done reading!
- Campus bars are the cheapest in Canterbury
- In general Canterbury's quite an expensive place to go drinking, but I think that goes for most cities in the South of England
- If you're going to the clubs in town and you're on campus then make sure you bring money for a taxi back unless you want a long walk up the hill after all that dancing. There're always taxis outside the clubs to take you back.
- Get into town early for the big nights at some bars like the Penny Theatre if you like having somewhere to sit.
- While I haven't bothered to list them in detail I'd recommend Munchies or Subway for munchies on your way out of town after an evening out.
- The buses running into town are about £1.40 one-way from campus, though that may go up beginning of next year. I say one-way because the last bus back to campus is about half-11 so most people don't bother getting a bus back and just walk/taxi instead.
- If you insist on drinking and getting drunk then pre-drinking is your financial friend, I guess this can be said about any uni but stil is worth repeating again!
(8) My Review/Opinion
I've tried to keep this account of the various nightlife-y places in Canterbury to a factual basis but I realised I should probably provide a little review based a bit on my own experience and largely on students I've talked to about what they think of Canterbury's nightlife.
In general a lot of the very party-heavy peope find Canterbury a bit light for their liking - the clubs are plentiful but they're not consistently good and tend to hold one night a week that everyone knows is great but other than that it's a bit "meh" every other day. In terms of bars in town many of the places are quite traditional pub style, the 'quiet drinking hole' type deal, which I know may suit a lot of people but again the party-goers among sometimes feel it's a bit dull for them.
The campus bars are famously priced a bit higher than almost every other university bar in the UK - why? Something to do with the fact that Kent Union's run more like a business than a Student Union and as a result it's one of the few uni's actually in profit rather than debt. So drinks end up being comparatively expensive when compared to other uni's bars but the uni bars still remain the cheapest in town.
Personally I think Canterbury's great, particularly if you're not wildly into the massive party in the town type deal, it's just a bit of a quieter setting. Not to say it's dead but it's not like one of the larger central cities e.g. Leeds, Manchester, London etc. where you might see a hen night drunkenly staggering past every five minutes.
These points aside Canterbury's still a really nice place and you can have some really fantastic nights out, but if you're really into your hardcore parties you might find it a bit lightweight.
(9) Conclusion:
I’m going to stop there because this is already enough of an essay as it is and I can't think of anything more to write! If anyone’s got their own comments or tips to share then post them below and I’ll incorporate them if my own description is a bit lacking as it is with many of the pubs in Canterbury - I did all that I could remember!
Congratulations you're done reading!
I only wish I could be more detailed about some of the places in town! I'm not much of a pub person but if anyone else has something they want to add - details of what ales are available where etc. I would gladly add them in!
Mungos food is amazing 
Fridays there are actually really good as well.. Rutherford need to expand their menu and their nachos are overpriced.
If you go to Woody's make sure you have the Stack burger.
Mondays at Studio are pretty cool imo.
Fridays there are actually really good as well.. Rutherford need to expand their menu and their nachos are overpriced.If you go to Woody's make sure you have the Stack burger.
Mondays at Studio are pretty cool imo.
Nice guide, you have better nightlife than at Brunel It's basically the two bars on campus, a crappy nightclub in Uxbridge or some really, really awful pubs. Hoorah for the tube and nighbuses.
fallen angel9
Mungos food is amazing Fridays there are actually really good as well.. Rutherford need to expand their menu and their nachos are overpriced.
If you go to Woody's make sure you have gthe Stack burger. Mondays at Studio are pretty cool imo.
Fridays there are actually really good as well.. Rutherford need to expand their menu and their nachos are overpriced.If you go to Woody's make sure you have gthe Stack burger.
Mondays at Studio are pretty cool imo.Yeh too true on the Rutherford menu, it used to be bigger last year but there's basically nothing on it now and the serving times have been truly horrific on occasions (35 minutes for a panini?).
Thanks for reminding me about the Stack Burger and Woody's food in general, forgot to put that in.
Faustus Fotherby
I only wish I could be more detailed about some of the places in town! I'm not much of a pub person but if anyone else has something they want to add - details of what ales are available where etc. I would gladly add them in!
Good thread!
I can confirm that Allberry's do change for entry. I can't remember how much, but I don't think it's much. Their cocktail pitchers are also half price before midnight.
The Loft and The Cuban might also be worth a mention?
fallen angel9
Mungos food is amazing Fridays there are actually really good as well.. Rutherford need to expand their menu and their nachos are overpriced.
If you go to Woody's make sure you have the Stack burger. Mondays at Studio are pretty cool imo.
Fridays there are actually really good as well.. Rutherford need to expand their menu and their nachos are overpriced.If you go to Woody's make sure you have the Stack burger.
Mondays at Studio are pretty cool imo.Yes!
It's a complete beast though! I can eat one at lunch time and be so full I won't eat anything until the next day.>Anna<
Good thread!
I can confirm that Allberry's do change for entry. I can't remember how much, but I don't think it's much. Their cocktail pitchers are also half price before midnight.
The Loft and The Cuban might also be worth a mention?
I can confirm that Allberry's do change for entry. I can't remember how much, but I don't think it's much. Their cocktail pitchers are also half price before midnight.
The Loft and The Cuban might also be worth a mention?
Oh yes good point! I must confess I had The Cuban in mind but couldn't remember it's name, I struggled for about 10 minutes then gave up. I know absolutely nothing about either other than where they are. Want to write something and I'll edit it in?
I've added in the stuff on The Stack, can't believe I missed that! :O
you missed the cuban (maybe that was on purpose, it's RUBBISH)
maybe you could add wednesdays @ chill (it's not every wednesday, not really sure of the rotation) some fairly well known dubstep names are usually for 'we <3 dancing'
maybe you could add wednesdays @ chill (it's not every wednesday, not really sure of the rotation) some fairly well known dubstep names are usually for 'we <3 dancing'
brokenheroes
you missed the cuban (maybe that was on purpose, it's RUBBISH)
maybe you could add wednesdays @ chill (it's not every wednesday, not really sure of the rotation) some fairly well known dubstep names are usually for 'we <3 dancing'
maybe you could add wednesdays @ chill (it's not every wednesday, not really sure of the rotation) some fairly well known dubstep names are usually for 'we <3 dancing'
Yeh I wrote above about the Cuban mistake - I don't really know anything about it tbh.
I knew there was something Dubsteppy about Chill I just couldn't remember what, thanks!
Faustus Fotherby
Oh yes good point! I must confess I had The Cuban in mind but couldn't remember it's name, I struggled for about 10 minutes then gave up. I know absolutely nothing about either other than where they are. Want to write something and I'll edit it in?
I've added in the stuff on The Stack, can't believe I missed that! :O
I've added in the stuff on The Stack, can't believe I missed that! :O
Yeah, sure! I don't know either very well but I'll try to write a little tomorrow (feeling a bit too tired at the moment
) and post it on here for you to edit it in.The stack is good. Might have to get one when I'm back in Canterbury!
Lmao to the person who just repped me for this thread and used my real name, you didn't leave your username so I can't guess who you are and I can't get on Facebook to find you! 
Added it to the sticky for you
Yaaay, nice one
I've just remembered there's this pub opposite the bus station near the level crossing but closer to Westgate Towers... near the Coral betting shop, round the corner from Westgate Spoons - can't remember what it's called for the life of me.
The Unicorn is the local CAMRA headquarters if any of you's like your ales. It's fairly small but has a deceptively large beer garden. Otherwise your generic locals pub that occasionally gets crashed my KURACS
Also The Lady Luck, IIRC it opens 'til 1'ish weekdays, and 2'ish weekends, though don't hold me to that. I've usually drunk way too much by the time it gets to that point
.
Also The Lady Luck, IIRC it opens 'til 1'ish weekdays, and 2'ish weekends, though don't hold me to that. I've usually drunk way too much by the time it gets to that point
.Twozzok
The Unicorn is the local CAMRA headquarters if any of you's like your ales. It's fairly small but has a deceptively large beer garden. Otherwise your generic locals pub that occasionally gets crashed my KURACS
Also The Lady Luck, IIRC it opens 'til 1'ish weekdays, and 2'ish weekends, though don't hold me to that. I've usually drunk way too much by the time it gets to that point.
Also The Lady Luck, IIRC it opens 'til 1'ish weekdays, and 2'ish weekends, though don't hold me to that. I've usually drunk way too much by the time it gets to that point
.CAMRA? I'll add it in but I've nay a clue what CAMRA is!
Btw were you the one to rep me? I know you know me IRL Michael :-P I'm really confused because someone repped me and used my name, trying to work it out!
EDIT: I Google'd 'CAMRA' and got 'Campaign for Real Ale' which explains it but I'm still dying to know if it was you that repped me. I added in your closing times for the Lady Luck too, thanks!
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