It may be cold outside but it's still good to chill at Popl Nero

By Jonathan Trew

Details Popl Nero  141 Nethergate  Dundee          01382 226 103 With Hogmanay so close to the weekend, it is understandable if you are feeling a bit like the badger's proverbial today. The temptation to party right the way through must have been a strong one. Obviously, it would have been rude and a kick in the teeth for tradition not to go out on Hogmanay. Come Ne'erday, the only sure fire way to clear a fuzzy head, or at least put it off for a while, would have been to head out again. Although leaving it until after lunch might have been a good idea. Of course, yesterday was Friday and who could resist starting the weekend without a little visit to the local for a drink or two? Trouble is one or two can lead on and the next thing you know the lights have gone up at the local sticky disco, the bouncers are sweeping you off the dance floor and your mates have disappeared on a kebab hunt. All of which is a roundabout way of explaining why this week's pub review comes from Popl Nero in Dundee. If your liver is feeling a little tender, then this is the place to chill. I know the name sounds exotic, like a cross between a kids' character from Russian TV and a dodgy Roman emperor, but Popl Nero is reassuringly straightforward. The paint job is a bit on the orange side, which could be a problem if your eyes are a little sensitive to bright lights this morning. But beyond that, everything about the place is calm and simple, and anyway, a pair of dark glasses will take care of the glare. Where Popl Nero really scores is on the big, low sofas that provide much of the seating. Sink into these babies and you won't be getting up for a while, handy for those post- binge recovery sessions. The night we were in, the bar staff brought our drinks over to our table. That was a nice touch and it could prove a necessity if you have really overdone it the last few days. A couple of the sofas are around a huge coffee table. Very useful for spreading the papers over while sipping on a medicinal bloody mary. Equally, you could get a football team worth of mates around the table and between the lot of you there is a vague hope the events of the last few days can be pieced together. The bar is on the main drag of the Nethergate/Perth Road pub crawl route, but is also next door to Dundee Uni. During term, students use it as a daytime extension of the student union, popping in for a coffee or swift half between This Morning and The Weakest Link. Sorry, I mean one vital lecture and the next. The students won't be around at the moment so the only competition for the sofas will be bargain-weary shoppers sharpening their elbows for the next department store sales rammy. Of course, the question you all want answering, apart from where can I buy aspirin, is what does Popl Nero mean? Unfortunately, the dull answer is that it is the name of a typeface but I suggest you make it mean a hair of the dog. "I'm nipping out for a Popl Nero," does have a certain ring to it... Open: Mon-Fri, 8am-midnight; Sat-Sun, 10am-midnight Food: Mon-Thu, noon-3pm, 5-7.30pm; Fri-Sat, noon-7pm; Sun, noon-6pm Drinks: Pint of Carlsberg, £2.15; vodka and coke, £2.10; glass of wine, £2.20. Rating: Three out of five

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