Black Bo’s (Bar)

The 2012 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the 2011 edition.

Bo’s has secured a reputation as a bar dripping with a kind of reliable cool. It counts among its clientele an assortment of wistful students, musicians, artists and journalists; you half hope to see some old Parisian in the corner with a paintbrush, sipping on absinthe. Inside it’s all candles and stark wooden tables: a low-energy décor that is replicated in the service. There is a very respectable selection of interesting bottled beers but only one of each when it comes to wine by the glass, which is in keeping with the ambience of this place: nothing superfluous and no fake smiles. DJs inject some floor-filling energy on Saturday and Sunday nights, summer evenings can be whiled away in the outdoor area at the back, and during the winter drinkers can hide from the weather in the muted confines of this cosy wee bar. Next door is a vegetarian restaurant of the same name (see separate entry under 'Vegetarian').

• High point: Not broken and doesn't need fixing
• Low point: Limited drinks selection