Bars and pubs - Ankara

From TSP Wiki

Contrary to the reputation that the city has in the eyes of some Istanbul types, Ankara has plenty of pubs and bars that cater for most budgets. From the cheap and cheerful bars of Kizilay, to the upmarket and expensive show-off joints at the five-star hotels. In between is a bunch of relatively new bars near Tunalı Hilmi Cd. that are popular amongst the student set.

Contents 1 Cankaya and Gaziosmanpasa 1.1 Amarillo Grill 1.2 The House 1.3 Newcastle Pub 1.4 Knight and Flight 1.5 November 1.6 The Pub 1.7 The Red Lion Club 2 Kizilay 2.1 Chopin Bar 2.2 Kapadokia Bar 3 Tunalı Hilmi Cd. and surrounds 3.1 Cafe Bien 3.2 Corvus 3.3 Golden 3.4 The Old Mariner 3.5 Random 3.6 Kitir Pilic 3.7 IF Performance Hall 3.8 Turunç Bar

Cankaya and Gaziosmanpasa

Amarillo Grill

Kız Kulesi Sokak No. 20/5-6, Gaziosmanpaşa, Tel: (0312) 445 0446

Run by Belgian expat Luke, Amarillo pretends to be Texan. The meals are Tex-Mex cuisine and the steaks juicy. The live band is also loud. Wednesday's happy hour draws many expats from the surrounding area. Expensive.

The House

Ahenk Sokak, Cankaya

Unpretentious darts pub with a random taste in music. Basic and easy-going. Don't go unless you like darts. Moderate/cheap.

Newcastle Pub

Çevre Sok. 7/C, Çankaya, 312 4660575 – 76 (on the map it says Uskup Caddesi but no taxi driver will know it as such)

Located just down the road from November Pub on Cevre Sokak, this place is wilder. They have other renditions of the same place all over Ankara, one of the most popular of which is in Oran (Turan Gunes Blv. 48 Sokak No 7, 312/491-99-66). Expensive.

http://www.newcastle.com.tr

Knight and Flight

Çevre Sok (just next to Newcastle Pub)

Darts and football sums up this pub. The pub is host to one of the teams that plays in the Ankara darts league. For all football matches the pub gets out the big screen. Very popular for big matches.

November

Çevre Sok. No:24/2, Çankaya 312 4676706 (on the map it says Uskup Caddesi but no taxi driver will know it as such)

Great atmosphere, live music. Filled with expats and Turks alike. Expensive.

The Pub

Ahmet Mithat Efendi Sk. (just off Simon Bolivar Blv. near Atakule)

The two-floor eponymous Pub is popular with the "young set" on weekend evenings and during the week hosts darts matches. Loud music. Djs on weekend nights. Moderate. Half price drinks until 8pm Monday to Thursdays.

The Red Lion Club

Sehit Ersan Cd. Cankaya

Located within the grounds of the British Embassy the Red Lion Club bar is open six days a week (closed Sundays) for members and guests. The RLC often opens on special occasions for football, rugby and cricket matches which are shown with English commentary. The RLC also hosts an in-house darts league played over a full-year season.

To become a member of the club you must be vouched for by a current member of the club and one staff member of the embassy. In addition to Efes and spirits the RLC also serves beers from the British Isles. Restaurant serves normal pub-style meals as well as Full English breakfasts on Saturdays. Inexpensive.

The Red Lion Club has also become one of the founding member clubs of the Turkish cricket scene.

Kizilay

Chopin Bar

Inkilap Sokak, (Sakarya), Kizilay

A typical Sakarya bar street-type pub. Plenty of seats inside but especially good for sitting outside and watching people walk past in summer. A number of televisions for watching Turkish football. Limited food, which takes forever to arrive. Efes on tap. Cheap.

Kapadokia Bar

Menekşe-2 Sokak, Kizilay -

Small bar run slightly off the main bar district of Kizilay which is owned by Oktay, a member of the Genclerbirligi Football Club. Upstairs and downstairs (with a covered outside area for summer), the television is only ever on for football, otherwise it is only music. If the mood strikes him, Oktay could well bring out his saz. Food limited. Tuborg pilsener on tap. Cheap.

Tunalı Hilmi Cd. and surrounds

Cafe Bien

Bulten Sokak. Tel: (0312)468 85 78

Perhaps as cool as the Tunali area gets, Bien has long been a favourite with Ankara's moneyed classes and the city's young diplomatic crowd. Weekends are crowded: standing room only often. The music is indie-loungue-cool and the prices are relatively high.

Corvus

Bestekar Sokak. Tel:

A popular drinking den for Ankara's student crowd, Corvus offers plentiful cheap beer and music from a rock and indie playlist that will be familiar to anyone who visited a UK students union in the 1980s or 1990s: The Clash. Loud and a little tattooed. Up one flight of stairs to the first floor. You may have to ring the bell to get in. Moderate.

Golden

Tunali Hilmi Cad. 112D, 312 4271525

In the basement of a building on Tunali, just next to the Is Bank, with a nice outdoor seating area this is a great place for a night out. And if you like darts, boards line one wall. Cheap.

The waiters are a bit slow, so make sure they know exactly how many beers you want.

The Old Mariner

Bestekar Sokak. No 78/B, 312-428-69 06

Yet another of the let's look like an English pub... Not bad though. Moderate

Random

Tunali Hilmi Cad. 114/J1, 312/468 34 20

Great location right next to Swan Park (Kuğulu Park) off of Tunali, nice outside patio, moderate prices

Kitir Pilic

Just above Random (address above). Kitir Pilic is famous for its cheap beers and hot potatoes. Has been a student hang out for years and years. Oz Kanka likes it so much that he took his now wife on a first date to the place.

IF Performance Hall

Tunus Caddesi No:14/A, (312) 418 9506 - 418 5316

Best place for indie gigs in Ankara. Smallish venue. For listings look out for their posters or visit the website here.

Turunç Bar

Tunalı Hilmi, opposite Kuğulu Park

On the first story looking over Tunalı the Turunc is great for watching the world go by... and bloody hell a lot of people walk by here. The beers are cheap 6.50 TL for a 70 cl glass off Efes (as of May 2008). Music is okay, not loud, and the food is also okay, nothing amazing though. A good central place to meet up. And at the beer prices you really can't go wrong.

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