A quirky, poky dark bar on the Quayside, The Red House is an old curiosity shop of odd delights.

The Venue
The polar opposite of the light and modern Chase across the road, this is a dark, nooks-and-cranny type pub with small rooms and a low beamed ceiling. The cracking black paintwork says it all, as does the ramshackle, faded antique feel of the place.

The Red House is part of the run of bars that includes neighbouring Bob Trollops and Offshore 44 two doors down — indeed, there’s a secret back passageway leading though to Bob’s via a stone alleyway. It has a rough wood floor and the bar is on the left as you come in. There is another narrow small space (this isn’t a place for claustrophobics) which has a low arched ceiling and glass cabinets filled with musical instruments, old 78s and radio paraphernalia.

There are also big beautifully worked and intricately etched mirrors including one depicting this part of town. A metal luggage rack above one of the banquettes compounds its train compartment feel of the place.

The People
The crowd here seems to vary from week to week. Admittedly it does depend on which hen party has just hit town, as well as how many other visitors and local working folk are around, but all in all it's a mixed crowd.

It's a proper pub, attracting all sorts. There are wide-eyed students trying to figure out if this could be their local for the next three years as well as pensioners who are resigned to the fact that the Red House is the lynchpin of their social life.

The Food and Drink
You’ve got a choice on tap of Strongbow, Fosters, Warsteiner, Kronenbourg, Woodpecker, Old Speckled Hen, Foster’s, John Smith’s and Guinness. In bottles there’s Miller, Newcastle Brown Ale, Foster’s, Bulmers, Corona, Budweiser and Beck’s. You can get a range of cocktails for £3.50 each and shooters for £2.25.

Wines are £10.95 a bottle and £3 and £4 for small and large glasses. There are four whites, two reds and one rose and they include brands from Australia such as Wolf Blass and Moondarra Shiraz. You can get sandwiches, jacket, potatoes, salads, burgers and snacks on the menu, as well as main meals.

Bangers and mash is £3.95, a broccoli bake is £4.50 and you can get breakfast all day for £3.75. Sunday lunch, served with a giant Yorkshire pudding, is £5.25 and desserts are £1.95 each.

The Last Word
An historic building, in the heat of the summer it’s a place to rest in the shade, and in the winter it’s a bolthole away from the cold.

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