Firebug

You duck down Millstone Lane and find yourself in Leicester's proper rock sanctuary, where the music actually matters and nobody's pretending to like Ed Sheeran. The walls are plastered with band posters, the drinks are properly cheap, and you can nurse a pint until the early hours without anyone giving you grief about it. The crowd's a brilliant mix of metal heads, goths, indie kids, and anyone else who's had enough of sanitised city centre bars playing the same tired playlist. Pool tables keep things interesting when you're not headbanging, and the fact they're open until 4am seven days a week makes this place absolutely invaluable for night owls. It's gloriously unpretentious – just good music, decent drinks, and people who get it.