Shoreside Crewbars

[CasinoChris]

OK so there was the pig & whistle and castaways etc. But what about the popular crew hangouts at each end of the transatlantic?
In Southampton it was the Red Lion pub below the bargate. This is a great old place dating from 1148, back in the late eighties before all day opening the manager who was an ex QE2 crewmember would have a 'lock in' for QE2 crew, basically a private party as far as the cops were concerned, he always made sure that there were cabs on hand to reach the ship before the gangway was removed.
At the New York end it was the Olympic Tavern right across the street from pier 90, there was always a bit of a stampede across the road when the all aboard whistle blew!!!
Fun times, good memories.
Cheers
CasinoChris

[Blue Bombay]

Fun times, good memories.

Yes the good old days. 

Louis

[Beardy Rich]

I remember the bar the crew used to frequent in NY. Didn't realise it was called the Olympic Bar though... I always knew it as the Anchor Bar.
There were also a few bars the crew used in Lisbon. Anyone remember the Texas Bar?

[highlander0108]

Is the Olympic Tavern still open?  Is there any reason for a QE2 fan to step inside beyond getting a beer, such as Cunard or other shipping lines memorabilia?  With that name, I would guess there might be.

Ken

[CasinoChris]

Hi Ken,
the olympic tavern is no longer, I checked the street view on google maps and the whole area around 50th st seems to have been re-developed. Shame as the bar had plenty of ship photos and some really old wooden phone booths in back.
Cheers
CasinoChris

[Nigel (eng dept 1984-1991)]

The 'Anchor Bar' as it was known and the stores that were on that block were all ripped down and a masive UPS depot has been built. Me and the wife were looking at taking the bar over in 1993 but the owner backed out (marco) the guy with the tomato sause stained shirt.
Dose anybody remember Rose, the bar tender. She worked there from 1985 - 1993? we have been married for 15 years now     

[Blue Bombay]

Yes i remember Rose.

Louis

[odkbull]

Used to love spending afternoons at the Red Lion Pub! Remember one afternoon in particular we hit the pints a bit more than normal. Got back on board to welcome the new passengers and the hotel managers daughter stopped by for a chat. She stopped mid sentence and said she would be right back. She came back with a pack of gum and gave me stick. Said it might come in handy with a wink. Guess we had more pints than we thought.

[adlersc]

I remember our leave was due in New York so instead of going with the rest of the crew on the coach to JFK, 4 of us booked a stretch limo to pick us up from the Anchor Bar. It arrived perfectly on time as the coach was about to leave and we waved to the rest of the crew as we sank into our leather seats and helped ourselves to the built in bar!! Great memories

[Beardy Rich]

Too many tips that trip eh Steven 
The rest of us had to slum it on the coach

Returning to the subject matter, nobody has mentioned the 'Grapes' pub in Southampton. That used to be quite popular with some of the crew.