Where should we go for a drink tonight?

Simple question.

Until somebody answers:

I don’t mind.

Nobody has ever really meant this.

What they actually mean is:

“I don’t mind, provided you accidentally choose exactly the sort of place I’m in the mood for.”

One person wants a quiet pint.

Somebody else wants cocktails.

Another wants somewhere lively.

And then there’s the friend who thinks the evening would be improved by darts.

It will be.

Until they start losing.

So perhaps the question isn’t simply where should we go for a drink?

It’s:

What sort of night are we actually having?

Because these three places give you three very different answers.

Want A Quiet Pint And A Proper Catch-Up?

Try The Bumble Inn

There are nights when you don't need entertainment.

You don't need flashing lights.

You don't need somebody shouting over music.

And you definitely don't need to spend half the evening watching your friend photograph a cocktail that is slowly getting warm.

You just want a drink and a proper conversation.

The Bumble Inn on Westgate is a micropub, with beer and cider at the heart of what it does.

This is the sort of night that starts:

“So, how have you been?”

And two hours later you're saying:

“Hang on. Go back. He said WHAT?”

Sometimes that's all a good night out needs.

A decent drink.

Somewhere to sit.

And enough time to discover that the friend who told you “nothing much has happened” has apparently been living through a six-part television drama that makes even Eastenders look lame.

Want Cocktails And A Bit Of Competition?

Try Tipsy Cow

Then there's the friend who can't simply have a couple of pints or glass of something soft.

There needs to be an activity.

Tipsy Cow combines drinks and cocktails with games including interactive darts.

This all sounds very sociable.

And it is.

For approximately seven minutes.

Then somebody starts keeping score.

The person who announced:

“I'm terrible at darts, I honestly don't care who wins”

suddenly has a throwing technique that would put Luke The Nuke to shame.

They're concentrating.

They're doing maths like the guy on the telly.

They want to know whether that last dart definitely counted.

And apparently your foot was over the line (although they nothing about darts its apparently called an Oche)

Nobody likes this person.

Every group has one.

If you're reading this thinking, No, ours doesn't, there is some unfortunate news we need to break to you.

It's probably you.

Still, cocktails, darts and a little completely unnecessary competition can turn “shall we go for a drink?” into a proper night out.

Just agree beforehand that nobody is allowed to mention the final score on the journey home.

The winner will ignore this rule anyway.

Want Somewhere With A Bit Of Character?

Try The Shed

Sometimes the building itself helps make the night.

The Shed Bar is in a converted railway building near Peterborough station.

And there's something we like about going for a drink somewhere that doesn't feel as though it could have been picked up and dropped into any city in Britain.

It has a story.

It has character.

And being close to the station creates one of the most dangerous sentences in the English language:

“We'll just have a quick one before we go home.”

Of course you will.

One.

Very sensible.

Then somebody gets another round.

Someone decides they're hungry.

A message is sent saying:

“I'll be a bit later than I thought.”

And the early night quietly packs its bags and leaves without you.

So Where Should We Actually Go?

That's why “Where should we go for a drink tonight?” needs another question attached to it.

What do you actually want?

If you want a pint and a proper conversation, The Bumble Inn makes sense.

If you want cocktails and something to do while you drink them, Tipsy Cow gives you the added entertainment and the possibility of discovering unpleasant things about your friends' competitive traits.

And if you want somewhere with a bit of character, The Shed gives you a converted railway setting and a particularly convenient place for that famously unreliable “quick one before home”.

Three places.

Three completely different evenings.

Which is much more useful than declaring one place the “best”.

Because the best place for a quiet catch-up is not necessarily where you want to celebrate a birthday.

And the place you love for cocktails might be exactly the wrong choice when your friend says:

“I need a drink. You are not going to believe the week I've had.”

That person needs a chair.

Possibly two drinks.

And your full attention.

Now We Want Your Answer

Where should someone go for a drink in Peterborough city centre — and what sort of night is it perfect for?

Don't just give us the name.

Give us the occasion.

First date?

Friday after work?

Quiet pint with Dad?

Cocktails with the girls?

Birthday?

One drink that absolutely will not remain one drink?

Tell us by commenting below 

Because your answer might give us the next Peterborough Taste Trail.