‘Slow and careful’ the plan for new Monico Bars owner

Veteran publican Padraig Brennan has told LCN he’s looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Monico Bars in Belfast, after taking over the Belfast venue at the start of  June.

Padraig, who also owns Brennan’s Bar on Great Victoria Street, said that while he’s looking forward to the lift that the influx of Ulster University students will give the Lombard Street premises, the plan for now is “slow and careful”.

“It’s just a nice small ordinary pub with food that should be attractive to and welcoming for everyone, It’s uncomplicated, just like my other pub, a place for people who come into town and want somewhere to rest their feet and have a drink while doing their shopping. It’s not a nighttime venue as such.”

Padraig has taken on Monico from landlady Nicole McLoughlin, who herself took the venue on following the death of her father Tony Diver in May 2017.

Asked about his plans to potentially cash in on the new Ulster University campus, Padraig told LCN: “With inflation and prices sky high you have to be very careful, you just have to take it as it comes and settle in. We are looking forward to the  students arriving but there are no radical plans.

“The place was totally refurbished inside a month before lockdown. It has more of a wine bar look than the quaint look it used to have but there is still the football, the bookies next door and we are obviously beside White’s Tavern too, which is a successful operation, and we can all get along and press on together.”