Double vision and the night hasn't even started yet it's not a good sign.
It's bad enough having two pubs with the same name in the same city, but in the same shopping centre?
Aberdeen's Hogs' Heads, both of them, lie just a couple of hundred yards apart at opposite ends of The Academy shopping arcade.
This particular problem came about a few months back when the owners of The Hogs' Head chain bought over the RSVP chain. They then decided to turn all the old RSVPs in the country into trendy new versions of The Hogs' Head.
So now Aberdeen has two of them one old, one new. The original and an imitation.
But as well as the confusion this offers for customers, doesn't it also throw up some kind of conflict of interest?
No, claim the bars' owners insisting business is booming with both bars successfully attracting a very different type of customer.
Spot the difference? Well it's not all that difficult when you get through the doors.
The Hogs' Head (formerly known as RSVP) has dumped the faux-traditional style of the established Hogshead, opting instead for a more modern arguably, bland look that's all clean-cut wood effect surfaces and green and red leather-look furnishings.
The new bar targets a much younger market and it appears more mature drinkers could well feel a little out of place in the upstairs bar.
Its simple, basic design with pool tables, fruit machines and table football definitely has something of a student-union air about it. And, of course, the bar is a hit with students thanks to this offering enticements such as the Monday Club, where matriculation card waving customers get 50 per cent off everything after 3 pm pints for a pound, jugs of vodka and Red Bull for a fiver.
Hell, you can even get yourself a bottle of Moet for just £15 when that grant cheque finally clears.
In keeping with the overall lack of originality and character at the new bar, the music is correspondingly soul-less with commercial chart hits playing on the video jukebox around the clock.
However, the staff do go all out on the last Friday of every month with a funky '70s night.
The staff don their Afro wigs and the best-dressed customer eventually wins a prize now there's a novel idea.
The main problem with The Hogs' Head, The Academy, is not that people could get it confused with its namesake the same problem that was faced by RSVP in its day.
It seems that while easy access from the shops may lure in some customers, it seems to have the exact opposite effect on atmosphere.
At the weekends, what should be a lively and bustling ambience is sucked out into the cold, white shopping centre beyond the pub doors seemingly lost forever.
Currently, drinkers can shop around The Academy and choose their favourite from old school to contemporary fashion.
But over the next few years, all Hogs' Heads are set to get the modern makeover leaving customers without that choice.
The worry then is that they might just take their custom elsewhere altogether.
Hogs' Head,
The Academy, Schoolhill, Aberdeen Open: Telephone: 01224 625 59011
11am-midnight, Monday-Thursday 11 am-1 am, Friday and Saturday 12.30 pm-11 pm, Sundays.
Drinks: Pint lager: £2.10 Vodka and mixer: £2.15 Glass of wine: from £2.40 Bottle of wine: from £9.50
Rating: Two out of five
Details
01224 625590
The Hogs' Head (formerly known as RSVP) has dumped the faux-traditional style of the established Hogshead, opting instead for a more modern arguably, bland look that's all clean-cut wood effect surfaces and green and red leather-look furnishings.
The new bar targets a much younger market and it appears more mature drinkers could well feel a little out of place in the upstairs bar.
Its simple, basic design with pool tables, fruit machines and table football definitely has something of a student-union air about it. And, of course, the bar is a hit with students thanks to this offering enticements such as the Monday Club, where matriculation card waving customers get 50 per cent off everything after 3 pm pints for a pound, jugs of vodka and Red Bull for a fiver.
Hell, you can even get yourself a bottle of Moet for just £15 when that grant cheque finally clears.
In keeping with the overall lack of originality and character at the new bar, the music is correspondingly soul-less with commercial chart hits playing on the video jukebox around the clock.
However, the staff do go all out on the last Friday of every month with a funky '70s night.
The staff don their Afro wigs and the best-dressed customer eventually wins a prize now there's a novel idea.
The main problem with The Hogs' Head, The Academy, is not that people could get it confused with its namesake the same problem that was faced by RSVP in its day.
It seems that while easy access from the shops may lure in some customers, it seems to have the exact opposite effect on atmosphere.
At the weekends, what should be a lively and bustling ambience is sucked out into the cold, white shopping centre beyond the pub doors seemingly lost forever.
Currently, drinkers can shop around The Academy and choose their favourite from old school to contemporary fashion.
But over the next few years, all Hogs' Heads are set to get the modern makeover leaving customers without that choice.
The worry then is that they might just take their custom elsewhere altogether.
Hogs' Head,
The Academy, Schoolhill, Aberdeen Open: Telephone: 01224 625 59011
11am-midnight, Monday-Thursday 11 am-1 am, Friday and Saturday 12.30 pm-11 pm, Sundays.
