I absolutely adore this bar. It's below street level but not at all dingy, a little gem hidden away in the middle of a residential street. It's got great lighting that provides a sort of Christmas-y, sitting-by-the-fire-with-holiday-lights-twinkling-all-around ambiance, and if you've ever loved Watership Down or The Hobbit, this place is exactly what I imagine those warrens or Bilbo Baggins' house to be like. There are tables along one wall and the bar along the other, and neat little restrooms in the back. I've been here several Sunday evenings, and each time I caught a performance by a live Irish band. They are bands actually based out of Ireland - Dublin or Belfast so far, with that gorgeous Irish lilt. I've heard fiddles and guitars and quiet, idyllic voices making beautiful music about love and loss, and even a poetry reading. For me this is the kind of thoughtful place I go to with good friends to wind down the weekend, have a quiet chat over Guinness or scotch, and just enjoy being comfortably silent with people you care about while the murmur of other conversations and lovely Irish music weave their spell about you.
I'm waxing sentimental here, but this is why I love the Scratcher.
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