The Pubs and Clubs of Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
Created | Updated Feb 7, 2003
An author’s story
My first entry for the guide was intended to be a hugely lavish affair on my home town of Chesterfield complete with historical facts, interesting titbits and fascinating gems of information people may not have known. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of my hometown and intensely patriotic about the Crooked Spire (see A643673). However on firing up the old PC and flexing the old typing fingers it occurred to me in a horrific vision of uselessness that I don’t actually know a great deal about Chesterfield. The definitive entry I had briefly envisaged would have to wait while I researched and collated information. So, what to do with my time then? I decided to produce an entry based on what I DO know of Chesterfield… Its pubs!
A typical Saturday night in Chesterfield.
Generally an evening starts with a few warm up drinks in the Spa Lane Vaults. This is a Wetherspoons branded pub and therefore the drinks are fairly cheap. There is however absolutely no atmosphere due to the fact that there is no music and there’s only so long you can listen to the white noise of people getting inebriated before it begins to grate. About 4 seconds in my case. That’s why I’m gonna skip the humdrum that is Wetherspoons and move forward in time to approximately 9 o’clock. This is when we make the move to…
Chandlers.
Chandlers is the best1 cocktail bar in the town. Very much a student pub in the day it’s always lively at night. This is due to the mix of great music, great drinks, great prices and wickedly talented bar staff. Yes, I’m very much a fan of Chandlers. It’s where I was introduced to my favourite drink (the Flaming Lamborghini) and where the landlord Roger is currently working on the definitive version of the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster for all the guides researchers. After a couple of drinks here it’s off to…
Ritters.
A smallish pub that plays dance music and seems to cater for the younger drinkers, Ritters CAN be fun, but more often than not it’s just a quick stop in on our way to…
Bar 69.
Another of my favourite pubs, I was once employed here and this was what started my love of the pub trade. Admittedly since it’s been taken over and all the original crew have left it’s gone downhill. (Do I sound biased? Good!) The DJ although good at what he does has no idea how to work a crowd and while most pubs are brimming in Chesterfield by 9.30, you can always walk in here and guarantee getting served almost immediately. Having done so it’s off to…
Bar Rocket.
A very narrow pub with the bar right at the back and the music so loud it must compare to a Disaster Area sound check. Always a laugh though, and a quick bottle here is always a pleasant experience if solely for the amount of ladies present. Time to sup up and make a move to…
The Twisted Pinnacle.
Normally a visit to this pub is a quick affair consisting of 3 shots of Sambuca at £1 a shot. Just enough to ensure that anyone who wasn’t paraletic will soon be on their way. By now it’s usually last orders-ish and if we’ve got time we’ll nip to…
The Blue Bell.
A traditional style pub and very nice with it. A quick shot of whatever’s going to make you hurt in the morning and we’re on our way once again to the night spots.
Chesterfield’s Clubs.
Chesterfield has 4 major late night venues. The Zanzibar is your standard dance-music-downstairs-poppy-crap-upstairs-populated-by-townies-rammed-to-the-rafters-nightclub. It has it’s moments but changes in my musical tastes have forced me to stop frequenting the club. Like wise with the Time bar. This is situated in the basement of the Beach bar (another good bar with great music that I don’t go in as much as I’d like) and is always swelteringly hot. Then you have the slightly out of town Genesis and Liberty’s. Once again a nice place with dance music in one part and pop in the other but having recently become a rock music fan we tend now not to give these clubs a second glance and visit…
The Green Room.
A great atmosphere with classic rock tracks and newer skate music being played all night, the entrance is cheap and the fun is abundant. There’s hardly any trouble and everyone likes to have a good mosh. All in all it’s a great way to cap the evening off.
This is by no means the definitive way to get horizontal in Chesterfield but it's certainly the one we use most often. It's also worth mentioning that Chesterfield has more pubs per square metre of town than anywhere else in Europe!
So, there you have it. Don’t let anyone tell you Chesterfield is a bad place (A130122). In fact, if you wanna test it give me a shout, I’m always looking for an excuse for a knees-up.
Alkland
1. For "best" read "only"
