Eastway Social Club is commonly known as 'The Alpha.' It's situated in the middle of Rathcoole…read moreestate and in bygone days once housed the local cinema (called The Alpha) but is now home of the locals watering hole. It's a pretty basic bar, not great but by no means the worst I've ever been to. They're a chatty bunch, good service, good craic. Honestly though you need to be careful in this area . You probably wouldn't want to head here unless you come invited. I'm not a regular or know it all about the area, but I would reckon that's your safest bet. If you're interested talk to someone local about it. I don't want to put any one off but just be mindful of the area you're in if you decide to nip in. Rathcoole is a predominantly Loyalist estate so be careful. It falls under the category of a 'Blue nose bar' and is known as a Loyalist, members only working mens club.

This is a good honest social club, cheap drinks, live sport and live music. The British Legion is…read moremembers only so unfortunately you can not just pop in for a casual drink. But I was lucky enough to attend a Birthday party that was held in the upstairs function suite. This is not going to be a very good review on my part because I can not tell you much about the night. What this tells you is that it was very very cheap drinks, £1.50 for a draught lager and 80p for a Bacardi. No wonder I was such a state. One thing I do remember is there was flashing disco lights and noise, so there must have been a DJ but I doubt he was a resident. All in all this is an honest working mans social that doubles as an excellent function room.

The welders is exactly like the club from peter kays phoenix nights but without the entertainment…read more Its about as traditional and old fashioned as any old clubhouse gets and not being a regular there's that feeling of being watched all the time. When there's food on its good quality pub food. The decor inside is old fashioned and there's loads of old trophies in glass cabinets, one did make me laugh as it had a teddy of bully from bullseye in it. There's plenty of pictures of the shipyard and ships built in Belfast.

Located in East Belfast, the outside of the Welder's Club does not look like a restaurant or pub…read more In fact, it resembled a long-closed Blockbuster Video store; it's metallic facade as uninviting and archaic as the thought of actually travelling to a store to rent movies in 2015. Standing in the shadows of Samson and Goliath, the twin shipbuilding gantry cranes that built the Titanic, this social club gives no outward evidence of it's storied and welcoming interior. We entered and I was surprised at how busy the establishment was for a Saturday afternoon; a typical, yet very welcoming pub with plush red seating, the odd gambling machine and that one guy at every bar in Ireland that is so blitzed that one of his eyes looks consistently inwards. I was also taken aback by the amount of families with small children in the place. But tripping over pint-sized Irish children wasn't going to deter me from my mission - to eat dat gravy. Seeing as it was already 2:30pm and I hadn't eaten since my son woke me up for breakfast at 6am, I was starving. Barely looking at the menu I was sure if I just ordered Fish and Chips I would be just fine, and sure enough, I was. The order was placed with a side of house gravy, and the wheels were set in motion. Within about 15 minutes our food arrived, and perhaps it was my anxiousness to dig into the gravy, perhaps how hungry I was, but I decided to just dip a fry into that boat of goodness and go to town. Except you know how when the Terminator dies at the end of Terminator 2 by being dipped into a vat of molten lava? Yeah, that on my tongue. Oh how it burned. After the sauce had cooled down a bit, I took another bite and discovered that while it had the starchiness and beefy ruggedness needed after a long day toiling at the docks, what it lacked (in contrast to the lively establishment) was any character. Even though I would say there was about a 70% opacity on the chip, a hearty number by any means, It was an entirely forgettable gravy experience. In an establishment with such a rich history and filled with such character (and characters), it's unfortunate that the gravy was barely a step above Tesco brand granules slow cooked over the oven while Downton Abbey plays in the background. For more gravy reviews, visit https://gluttonforgravy.wordpress.com/

This is a private members club so only open to members and their guests. Outstanding building on…read morethe corner of Main st and Lorne street by renowned Glasgow architect H Clifford I believe. Enter up a flight of stairs then turn right into the lounge which is roomy and recently decorated and carpeted. Off this room is a tiny bar area with seating for around ten or so. The main longe has a dart board and large screen tv as well as numerous comfortable tables and chairs. The most impressive feature of this building though can be found upstairs in the snooker lounge. Two full size snooker tables and plenty of room to sit and watch the games on this floor. There is also a novel way to get your drinks from the bar. A dumb waiter downstairs to the bar and then back up.

The Whitehouse Working Mens Club (a.k.a. The Workies) is, as far as I've seen, a bar which is…read morepredominantly reserved for locals (if you're not a member you have to sign in upon arrival ) but the wee old man who sits at the front desk is the best of banter (He used to be my milk man!) he's still very pleasant and accommodating. The bar certainly can get busy over the weekends but I'd say it's pretty quiet for the rest of the time. It's a good bar for an older crowd to enjoy a quiet drink at the weekend. The bar itself is split in to various floors and sections so you can experience different surroundings. It's nothing fancy but no over the top airs or graces. It does what it says on the tin, a club for working (wo)men to come relax, have a drink or a meal. The restaurant has only opened a short while ago (then closed, apparently over row with chef, now reopened under new management) and although it is now a little more pricey it still does the same job. You can come and enjoy your Friday lunch here and won't have to worry about breaking the bank. You won't come any where near. Bonus, did I mention how cheap the pints are? Your round! Cheers!

I suppose I still don't fit the criteria to go in here but I did anyway and I wasn't expelled…read more It's been around for all my lifetime too - a bit like a credit union in that I thought one had to be a member, Catholic, a man and a worker as with credit unions here one has to be a member and meet the geographical criteria to be so. I think one of the biggest credit unions in the world is the American navy for which one has to be in Uncle Sam's navy. However I digress. I can tell you that this august establishment isn't a throwback to the 1960's as they couldn't now care less if you are agnostic, a Jain or Zoroastrian. Nor do they mind if you've never worked and as for men, well don't get me started, but again it matters not a tinkers curse if you are a man, woman, pan, bi or any other sexual or like me assuredly agnostic in all such matters. It is a comfortable place, it is friendly and I guess what matters most is darn good cheap alcohol. What's not to like. Local hotels here will rip you off but here you can get the same alcohol at about half hotel prices and usually they make you feel welcome, unlike bar staff in the nearby canal court hotel who seem not to fully grasp that customers make paydays. As we are Irish it's important that they deliver great craic (not to be confused with the other sort of crack) banter, frivolity, self deprecating humour or, if the mood takes you, to discuss how you'd change the world so long as the beer is cold and the welcome warm. They had two guys on singing which was a nod to normality and I can think of worse places to be on a cold, damp Saturday night.