Review – The Great Gatsby

Don’t worry – the bar, not the book. The first in our series of freshers’ week reviews of bars and clubs in Sheffield starts with this Division street gem


Price: ££££

Atmosphere: 4 stars

Likelihood of defenestration: Moderate – be vigilant

I’ll be honest. I hated the idea of The Great Gatsby when I first heard of it. At first it sounds like the creative director needs a slap:

1. It’s expensive

2. They have a honky-tonk piano in the corner

3. It’s named after a book you half-read at A-level

4. It’s not a beer garden, it’s a BEARD-GARDEN!!! (haha omg!)

5. It’s expensive

Your first impression as a cynical, debt-ridden fresher is that it’s going to be crap and everyone in there will have better facial hair than you. Aside from the facial hair, it’s one of the best nights out in Sheffield.

Thanks to the friendly staff, brilliant drinks menu and 3 a.m. license, the Gatsby avoids being pretentious. It’s a celebration of a good night out and all its ingredients. You just have to be in the mood for a good night out.

If you want a ‘messy one’, this isn’t for you. It’s not a place to get shit-faced, stagger around, fight and take a fresher home.

Instead you get pretty drunk, crowd surf, stroke your beard and get taken home by an older woman. It’s a bar for enjoying your whole night, and perfect for those who prefer getting drunk in bars and pubs.

It is slightly pricy. The cocktails start at £6 and a large glass of wine can set you back up to £5. This isn’t really welcome news when most of your loan’s just gone towards rent in Endcliffe. Really though these are standard compared with most city centre venues. The drinks menu makes up for the price. There aren’t many bars in Sheffield that serve Punk IPA and this is one of them.

The most you’ll be paying on one drink is for the £8 Zombie cocktail. They set that on fire and serve it in a pint glass. Plus it’s lethal. Definitely worth it if you’ve got money to burn.

The best thing though is the upstairs bar. It’s a tiny hideaway from the rest of Division Street that goes over-capacity almost daily, turning intimate gigs into four walls of bat-shit-crazy. The DJs had a lot of trouble with crowd-surfing fans nearly being thrown out the windows.

 

Keep a beady eye out for our reviews every day in freshers’ week. Tomorrow – The Hallamshire House! Huzzar!