Lisburn
[Photo: Down Royal Inn, Lisburn.]
Named after the famous race course which is close by, the Down Royal Inn can safely be called unique in one respect; it is the only pub in the land that has its own brewery on the premises to produce its own draught beer, Down Royal Export and Down Royal Special. In fact, as you sit at the long bar of the inn you can see behind the plate glass at the back of the counter the equipment and process, complete with professional brewer. The Down Royal is a purpose built inn, about ten years old, and offering all the quality and services you would expect from a top class modern establishment. The Tudor effect exterior walls are host to a colourful expanse of Virginia creeper, while the flagged patio areas and extensive car parks are kept tidy and clean. Add to this a pretty garden and lawn area, complete with gazebo, and you can see why the Down Royal is increasingly popular for weddings. In good weather the grounds are also excellent as a beer garden. The main bar is long and spacious, with raised snug areas at either end and a hexagonal counter centrepiece. The blue seating, red Sanderson wallpaper and red and blue carpeting create a rich decor complemented by gleaming brass railings in triplicate all along the length of the counter. As you would expect, horse racing scenes dominate the walls, but it is the brewing process that is depicted in the large 26 foot etched glass mural behind the bar counter.
The Silks Night Club is every bit as silky smooth and cool as the name suggests, with silver, black and grey keeping the temperature right down, and glass everywhere …. tables, pillars, partitions, everything seems to enhance the sense of cool, transparent glitziness. The night club can boast that its Miss Silks winner has now been chosen as Miss Northern Ireland. It presents live groups on Friday evenings, and disco entertainment on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Then the restaurant/pizzeria deserves a visit.
Again glass is prevalent, in the glass-topped round and square tables. This is a very elegant room with a light grey and apricot colour scheme, back to back scalloped couches and a large vine stretching up to the ceiling. No, it doesn’t provide grapes for the brewer to have a go at making wine.
If you’re a punter who likes a safe bet it’s odds on that you’ll enjoy your visit to the Down Royal.
FOOTNOTE: For readers specially interested in the Down Royal’s home brewed beer the following details may be useful; there are five large stainless steel vats which brew beer the old fashioned way. The barley is grown locally and the malt comes from the Ards Malting Company. Only the hops are imported, from Kent, and that is simply because they do not grow here. The beer, of course, is brewed to a specific recipe unique to Down Royal.