The George Orwell, Dundee

Facebook page of The George Orwell - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The George Orwell - www.facebook.com

Although Google says it doesn’t open till 4pm, it definitely looked closed permanently when I took a photo on 25.11.18.

This is a cosy and rather dark student-style pub close to the university which caught my eye in passing and tempted me in when I spotted handpulls on the bar. The pub is decked out predominantly in dark wood which, when combined with the low level lighting on a dark winter's evening, made it incredibly dark inside and required a minute or two for my eyesight to adjust once I was in. There are bare floorboards throughout with cracked leather banquettes under the front windows and a mix of chairs and chesterfields along the back wall. The servery is on the left hand wall and has a nice counter with a curved end plus a rather basic bar back made to look a bit more impressive by being topped with dusty old hardback books. In fact there are loads of these ancient looking tomes dotted around the room and as you might expect, there is a fairly overt Orwell theme to the place including images of his book covers on the walls, some framed '1984' style posters and a few pictures of the man himself. A stylised wooden ram's head seemed like a fairly incongruous stylistic addition and there seemed to be a lot of subversive stickers and flyers stuck to a mirror next to the bar, which I can only assume we put there by visiting students. The place had a very hushed vibe until a group of lads came in and vociferously complained about how expensive the pub is before asking the barmaid for five pints of their cheapest lager. I didn't see any TV screens but there was a very unusual ambient soundtrack playing in the background and I'm fairly sure I could smell incense. The two handpulls I spotted were only partly in action, as one was unclipped leaving Eden Mill Shipwreck IPA as the sole option. I have to say it was a pretty good pint and the quality didn't suggest this was the sort of place that didn't sell any ale. The barmaid who served me was particularly nice and friendly and was very patient dealing with the aforementioned stingy students. This was a bit of a shot in the dark, as I'd not planned to visit this pub, but it turned out to be a pretty good idea to stop off here and check the place out. It's certainly a lot homelier and comfortable than your average student pub and the god pint was an added bonus. A god wildcard on your way to some of the more well known pubs in this part of town.