Status : Closed
164-166 Ravenhill Road
It used to be called the Parkview Hotel; and operated as such with 6 bedrooms above. It’s well over 100 years old, and one of the brightest, roomy, airy bars I have been in, with huge original windows as high as 20 ft. and original blue and white tiled floor. There is a large mural behind the bar, featuring bowls, golf and soccer, and a cupboard holding many trophies signifying its strong sporting connection; but what surprised me was the variety of sport. Darts, football, their own Golf Club playing on the nearby 9 hole Council course at Ormeau, and even a fishing club with its own boat berthed at Portrush! Did you know that fishing is the largest participant sport in the British Isles?
A final surprise was when Bill McDowell, one of the partners (the other is William Taylor), told me that his clientele were definitely in the 50s age bracket . . . not too many bar owners can state that.