Katie O'Brien's Irish Tavern Newcastle

You know you're in the right sort of Irish pub when the Guinness takes the proper two minutes to settle and nobody's rushing you. This Collingwood Street spot manages to feel genuinely Irish without overdoing the shamrock-and-fiddle routine that plagues so many themed pubs. The crowd here is a proper mix – students nursing pints before a night out, office workers decompressing after brutal weeks, and locals who've claimed their corner table for the evening. The atmosphere builds nicely as the night goes on, with enough craic to keep things interesting but not so rowdy that you can't actually have a conversation. It's the kind of place where you pop in for one and somehow end up staying until closing time.