The Phantom

Ahhhh… Unilocal,it’s been months and I’m sorry. I feel more dirrrrty than a Christina Aguilera mud bath; my last review was in April and we’re now half way through September?! Where has the time gone?! To be brutally honest, I’ve missed you, but I don’t know if the feeling is entirely reciprocal. There’s only so much cynicism people can take at once.
Anyway, I’m here for a review, not for hopeless nostalgia. Or perhaps I am, given the pub that I’m reviewing. The Phantom, Loughborough, notorious as much for the behaviour of its clientèle as the pub itself and somewhere I still (for some reason) seem to spend a lot of my time.
I have been a patron of this place for many, many years, as have many of my friends, and I will have to admit that I don’t enjoy it now as much as I used to. It smells, it looks like a toilet (despite the refurbishment), the customers are getting younger, the booze getting worse, the prices going up… in all honesty this place hasn’t got loads going for it.
What it does have in its favour however is a nice, relaxed, friendly atmosphere, (relatively) cheap beer and an air hockey table that must have at least 2 months wages inside — for this alone the pub gets an extra star. Also, the beer garden is absolutely brilliant in the summer. And they’ve recently installed a ping pong table outside. Carnage when you’ve consumed…
OK, so there are a few plus points to The Phantom. More negative, granted, but a few plus points that give it a weird charm which is hard to pin down. You will ask yourself why you’re going there again, especially at 25, but you will still go and you will still have a pretty decent time. It’s quirky, it’s tongue in cheek, it knows it’s not very good, but that’s not the point. Arrive 5 minutes late, grab a beer, plop yourself down on one of the many sinking sofas (or play any number of pub games) and have a laugh. It’s not a serious pub and it doesn’t pretend to be — what it is is an ex-​Scream pub in a student town. And that’s all it wants to be.
And let’s face it, it’s in Loughborough. It’s as good as you’re gonna get. When competition is The Wetherspoons down the road or the nice but extortionate Griffin it’s bound to keep attracting the regulars. Like that one oddball friend we all have, The Phantom is weird, it smells, it doesn’t improve your life, it’s embarrassing… but for some reason you find her a laugh and will keep going there. Perhaps we can all take a lesson from it?

Want a good way to get into trouble for the night? Go into Phantom, order a couple fishbowls of booze, and let the night take you away.
I was pleasantly surprised by this pub while visiting Loughborough. I walked by it a couple times to get food nearby, and figured it was worth a try to go in for a few. They have pretty good deals on their drinks (cheap Jägerbombs seem to be the typical fare of Loughborough — everyone sells these on the cheap), but the atmosphere is what sold it to me.
It’s not what you’d call fancy by a long shot… run down? Maybe, but I wouldn’t be that harsh. What drew me in though was how you can choose what sort of experience you want. Looking for a little privacy for you and a small group of mates? There’s a handful of booths in a corner behind a wall, so you can escape from the larger crowds. Looking for a typical pub feel? Sit on the stools and watch some tele like you would at any other pub. Looking for a beer garden? Phantom has a pretty big one, with ping pong tables set up (should be easy enough to convert into beer pong, right?), and a nice seating area to soak up some sun.
A good pub with surprisingly good atmosphere.

Student pub. Cheap. Noisy. Good.

The Phantom is one of the best student hang outs in Loughborough. They hold quiz nights on a Monday and the music is good. The atmosphere and staff are very friendly and they are willing to cater for groups needs (e.g. BBQ’s, Christmas Dinner).
Given that it is a pub chain their food is pretty good. They have their own take on things like burgers and they do taste good. And you can never go wrong with upgrading to curly fries.