Ha! Ha! Bar & Canteen

Lacrimosa

Windsor pulling joint 5th September 2008

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I've been to Ha! Ha! a few times over the years, most lately with friends last night. It's got a nice location in Windsor's pedestrianised shopping area, right next to Windsor Central Station. (For the curious, the uninitiated, or the plain confused, there's two train stations in Windsor. This one is for the little one-stop-wonder train that shunts between Slough and Windsor. The other, just a few minutes' walk away, goes into London.)

Ha! Ha! is a big and handsome place, set in what used to be part of the Victorian station - all red brick arches and wood floors. There's a large bar area with plenty of seating and standing space, a smaller dining area beyond - where you'll also find the toilets - and loads of chairs and tables outside, all set underneath the iron and glass canopy of Jubilee Arch and nicely sheltered from the rain. Inside, there's two or three smaller rooms off to the left where you can sit and eat or drink. Here, if you look closely, you'll even find a preserved water closet last used (possibly) by Queen Victoria.

Be warned, however, that this place simply SCREAMS "pulling joint" in the evenings, especially on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. If you're a woman, men will brazenly make eye contact with you even while they're slipping their wedding rings into their pockets. If you're a man, you'll think your luck is in - perhaps with good reason. As a single gal myself, I wouldn't mind all this once in a while, if it weren't for the ear-splitting music that seems to go hand in hand with this type of place. It's like they're saying "You want to meet someone? Sure! We'll crank the music up sooooooo loud you've got absolutely no chance of talking to them... but then you didn't really want to TALK, right?" *wink* *nudge*

Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid, but not a bad choice if you've been out shopping and fancy a bite and a drink in lively surroundings. Just don't say I didn't warn you.