BrewDog Dundee, Dundee

This is a pretty nice Brewdog bar with a rather pleasant view across to the McManus Galleries opposite. You enter into a bare boarded room with the servery along the back wall. The bar has a corrugated iron counter front with a thick granite top, perhaps in a nod to the brewery's home city. The bar back has some modest looking beer boards as opposed to the usual back-lit, cinema style boards you usually see, which has been offset nicely by some big steel panels which depict the Brewdog logos and an artistic depiction of a pilot fish. A couple of high tables and stools stand opposite the bar and there is a drinking ledge along the front wall, but the nicest seating options are in the mid section of the room, alongside a fairy-light draped, Brewdog off license. This comprises a caged off space full of craft bottles which is apparently open for off-sales until 22:00 each night. A sofa with comfy benches can be found next to this bottle shop, along with a collection of board games and retro arcade machines. The usual uncovered ceiling with ugly wire trays and piping is present and correct but aside from that, the industrial-style decor is quite restrained, with just a neon 'Craft Beer For The People' sign standing out. A quiet alternative soundtrack played in the background and a few people were enjoying pizzas from the limited menu. I think i counted a total of eleven Brewdog beers listed on the aforementioned boards with five guest beers also available on draught. One of the beers was Live 5am Saint which appears to be some sort of concession to real ale - I tried a pint for £4.55 and thought it tasted like a keg beer, so who knows what they are trying to achieve here. I usually find the staff in Brewdog bars to be very friendly and helpful, but this lot seemed quite brusque and disinterested, which was a shame. I think this place has a winning interior and boasts some good views, making it stand out from a lot of the Brewdog bars around the UK. However, the atmosphere felt a little flat and the miserable service was a bit of a let down too. I'm glad I popped in here to check the place out but I'm not sure I have any urge to rush back again.

Slightly more homely than most of this chain's houses (so still not very), this small-ish bar is housed in part of an imposing building located opposite the McManus Art gallery & Museum. Middling industrial furniture and decor, but with a bottle-shop at one end. Pizza-based menu, with takeaways available. Ten of their own craft keg beers on tap, with a range of unreal guests including a tasty Buxton & Fierce Hepcat (£2.95, half).

Official site of BrewDog Dundee - www.brewdog.com

Official site of BrewDog Dundee - www.brewdog.com