Da Wheel, Lerwick

Has a bit of a reputation and the faintly foreboding exterior builds the tension for a non-Zetlander excellently. It's fairly basic inside, a single laminate floored room with a dominating pool table which makes finding an inconspicuous perimeter seat difficult. But there were two ladies in situ as well as three different Lerwick brewery beers in the fridge so it can't be all bad. My bottle of Lerwick IPA was £3.20. A couple of extra points of passing interest were the mounted ships wheel and dart board that was linked up to a small flat screen TV. It is what it is – a basic locals boozer.

Formerly known as “P’s Bar,” this is loud, lively, busy and open to 1.00 a.m. most nights. Ships’ wheels on the outer and inner walls explain the name which translates into standard English simply as “The Wheel.” There is a pool table in the middle of the floor and a dart board, games machine and TV around the walls. On draught are Tennent’s lager (at £3.30 a pint), Carling lager, John Smith’s bitter, Guinness, Stella Artois and Magner’s cider. There are nice views from the window over the water to the neighbouring island of Bressay.