Rileys American Pool & Snooker Club

Rileys has improved dramatically in the last few years. It used to be smoky and quite dingy, but since the introduction of the smoking ban (and a few coats of paint) it’s a much nicer place to go. It’s ideal for playing pool or snooker, whether you’re a complete beginner who has trouble just hitting the white ball (me, for example), or a pro player. They organise all sorts of tournaments with cash prizes, and it’s good for meeting people or just socialising with friends. It’s particularly good because it also caters for people who don’t like pool but get dragged along with friends — there’s a jukebox and a pub quiz machine, fruit machines and a big screen, which usually shows sports. The bar is decent, with all the usual drinks, and also sells snooker and pool equipment as well as food. It’s quite expensive to play (about £4 an hour I think, although you can get day or evening rates) but I’d say it’s worth it. Rileys is also open til the early hours of the morning, so it’s a good place to go either before or after a night out.