McHughs, Belfast

McHughs is one of the oldest establishments in Belfast. It’s lately been renovated from a former brothel and has been expanded into the adjacent building. There’s lots of snugs here and hideaway spaces which reflects the pub’s history, but the bar area is very open. It kind of felt like Cheers! only no-one knew our names. We had a pint of Whitewater; another beer that you could get anywhere else in Belfast. We sat on the comfy plush leather sofas near the entrance to the basement bar. It was a modernised area with TVs screening football results. Unfortunately, nothing was on that night. It’s one of the drawbacks of visiting a city in the mid-week. Everywhere is just so quiet and there’s no nightlife whatsoever. It’s hard to imagine that anyone cares about the history of the place. Even the bar staff looked bored. It just needed something else to attract people all week long.