First pints pulled at Guildhall Taphouse… Derry’s newest city centre pub

The first pints have been pulled at Derry’s newest bar. The Guildhall Taphouse has began putting them up on Custom House Street, in the building once occupied by the Monico Bar. Taphouse owner Rachael Eastwood said she was delighted to be taking on the new venture in what she described as a ‘beautiful building’, adding that she hoped the bar would offer something new to both city’s tourism and nightlife economy. “It’s such a beautiful building, it’s been around since the1800s and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to open up here,” she said. “The Guildhall itself is now attracting more people than ever since its renovation, and I think that it will be good for visitors to be able to come around the corner and have a drink, or a bite to eat.” Rachael added also hoped to offer local people more choice when it came to visiting the city centre. “I do think that there are people out here who like the thought of coming out to a traditional bar in the heart of the city, somewhere where they can relax and enjoy a night out in comfortable surroundings.” To that end, she said she was determined to keep the character of the building intact. “It’s a fantastic spot, so we opened it up a bit more and used the existing space we had,” she added. “I think we’ve done that well, in that we’ve retained the character of the building, but added something fresh and exciting to what was there.” Rachael also paid tribute to Gerry McCloskey, owner of The Monico Bar, who she described as an “absolute gentleman.”.