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For the staff here at Chester@Large, it is customary to start every night out with a couple of drinks at the Shroppy. If ever a pub was set up to act as a kind of decompression chamber or air lock, a safe transit zone from the pressures of daytime life to the easy hedonism of a night on the town, then this was it. Indeed, so fundamental to our nocturnal perambulations has it become, that for a long time we have fought shy of including it on these pages, for fear that the inevitable overcrowding would spoil its effectiveness. But we must play fair. There is room enough for a few more bums on those empty seats. So now the secret is out.
Some will remember the Shropshire as a loud, scruffy place for students, goths, misfits and personal grooming aversionists. A gallery of grunge. A most insalubrious saloon. Well those days are long gone. After a complete decontamination, the Shropshire opened as Chester's first (only) no-smoking pub. This ambitious venture failed immediately though, so the owners installed some air conditioners, distributed some ashtrays and had another go. This time, it seems to us, they got it about right.
Located on Northgate Street, a little north of the Town Hall, it is not exactly out in the wilderness. It is handy for the Odeon and there is passing trade heading for the cluster of establishments at the top of the street. Yet we have never seen it full - even on a race day. We put this down to the fact that though it will suit anyone, it does not target a particular demographic. You can see all sorts in here - all sorts except perhaps the Hollyoaks/Living Room posse, for whom it may not have quite the cachet required to impress their friends. And this is one of the Shroppy's merits: who would want to spend time in a bar where everyone dressed the same, drank the same and talked about the same stuff?
This is the sort of pub that was made for a good old blather. There is a big (huge, actually, and not very good) screen for the football, but this only dominates one area of the premises. The rooms (there is a small but pleasant upstairs room as well) are simply but nicely decorated in muted colours and creams with lots of old style wooden furniture. The brightly lit bar supplies a fairly limited range of alcoholic beverages. Charles Wells Bombardier and Deuchars IPA are the ales on offer, the lager is something utterly forgettable. Wine is served in large glasses only - not a major catastrophe, but one does wonder why.
It is a shame, then, that the staff choose to switch on a music system in the middle of the evening so loud that the convivial mood is killed stone dead. Were it not for this, we might one evening spend the whole session in there!
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