The Student’s Union at Queens

Could be better, though I really enjoyed the metal night there!
I would avoid it on saturdays as it is often packed with drunk kids, but on sundays it is rather enjoyable. The skittles vodka they make is my JAM!

my favourite venue as there is a good space to queue so it’s good for bands that have a dedicated fanbase! BAR SUB is my favourite and the staff are always nice. Mandela Hall is also a good venue as it’s small enough but there can still be a decent sized crowd! The shop is pretty good too. I can’t fault it.

The Students Union is brilliant and you don’t have to be a student to use it. I remember when I was a student (many decades ago!) and students unions happened to be small, dingy places. Not so with QUB! It’s a large building housing a reception desk, shop, Ticket Master, beauticians, book shop, computer supplies shop, cafes, bank, ATMs, bars, upstairs beer garden, concert spaces, places to sit and relax and pool tables etc. QUB Students Union is entirely self funding and it’s a lovely bright, modern building since being refurbished a few years ago. Great spot — but can be very busy during term time which is mid September to June. There are handy recycling bins here too for aluminium cans, paper and plastics.

The Student’s Union is great for students, with bars, a club, live bands, coffee shops and cafes, shops, a bank, and seating areas. It’s also handy for staff or anyone else passing by, as you can just nip in and use a cash machine, buy a coffee or visit the SU shop. The shops is great and sells a range of confectionary, crisps, sandwiches, fruit, clothing, and other accessories like stationery. I often call in to buy my lunch — the meal deal is £2.89 for a sandwich/​salad/​pasta, crisps or fruit, and a drink. Great value!

I’m torn by this place but in general it’s a fair place to spend a little time, student or otherwise (a hack looking for some work?)
When I lived in Stranmillis we often toddled down here for a crafty one, there are a range of bars on offer, Speakeasy being the oldest and largest, with fair prices and a reasonable atmosphere when it’s not too busy.
I do actually quite like Bar Sub in the bowels of the place. A nicely lit, welcoming small bar with a good jukebox and pool tables. What else do you need?

I have been to the Speakeasy twice, once last Valentines day to see Beach House. The band were brilliant but the venue isn’t really up to much. The pints were cheap enough, but the place was a bit dark and dingy with sticky floors. You get the picture.
The bouncers also take to shouting at you «Here Luv!!!» if you try to bring your drinks outside or to the loo or anywhere outside of the main vicinity.
I was here for the second time a few months back to see a friends cousins band, who were great and really got the crowd going. It was part of the BBC Introducing Stage, but the bands who were supporting were absolutely crap. The kinda stuff that wouldn’t even make your local village hall.
Maybe the guys who book the acts just want to fill the place, in fairness there were loadsa grubby looking students swaying away so it’s a win for them. I’d go here again if there was a band playing I liked, otherwise I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here.

I went to the Mandela hall two weeks ago for the first time in years and had the best night out in ages. I was very reluctant to go at first, as a thirty something I felt I’d be too old for this student venue but the mighty Slash was performing and the atmosphere was electric. Although usually a student Mecca; as it is found within Queen’s student union, it does, on the occasional evening, house some great musical legends and there was a real mixture of age groups!
The drinks are cheap, I think I paid less than two quid for a pint of beer. There is the opportunity to stand in among the crowd and mosh or to go upstairs to a less crowded standing area and a less crowded bar. As we went in I was asked if I had a camera and had to hand it in to security — I wasn’t pleased when we got into the gig and nearly everyone inside had a camera! — I’m just too honest ;-)
I was able to get to the very front of the crowd very easily and rocked my little socks off while being drenched by the sweat of the mighty Slash.
Great venue, cash machine on the premises, three really good bars to choose from, clean toilets and decent security — I honestly feel for rock and moshing it’s one of the best venues in Belfast — I’ll be back!

I have a mix of like and dislike for this place, I’m afraid. The manager of its downstairs bar is frankly the rudest man alive and his treatment of the students who frequent the bar tends to be that of a Victorian school teacher to disobedient children even though the disobedient children in question are technically paying his wage. The other café’s and shops in it are fine, but I have serious issues with the bars. They’re known for the frequent sexual assaults that take place there; there is a particular division of the night-​time security staff who frankly don’t do their job, making it easier for sexual predators to attack. This is a place I would really just avoid altogether.

Let’s be honest, this place is never going to be more than a student union, but in my opinion, it’s a bloody good one.
There are 3 bars, a music venue and a full on dance nightclub in the attic. Not bad, is it?
My favourite of the bars is the Speakeasy. The drinks offers are usually pretty good. All through the World Cup, it was £2 a pint, and right now it’s £1.80/£1.50 per drink (depending on whether you’re on spirits or not). The music in this bar is slightly more indie pop (think more Killers and less Pussycat Dolls). There’s also usually a great atmosphere in the place and the layout allows most people to have access to at least a table, if not seats as well (BIG plus if you’re getting on like I am. Ahem).
The Mandela Hall is one of the best venues for music in Belfast. It’s small enough to be intimate, but big enough to get a sizeable crowd in. It also attracts a lot of up-​and-​comers, which leads to a lot of cocky «Oh, I saw them aaaages ago» stories!

I find this place hard to review. It is so much of a mixed bag that is pretty hard to say what I feel about it.
The Mandela Hall as a music venue is brilliant, it always puts on a top notch show and has plenty of top quality acts on show. I have seen people from The Cribs to Ryan Adams, from Jenny Lewis to The Super Furry Animals.
The rest of the Union I can’t be as complimentary about. They’re ok and they’re a bit cheap but I can never tell when they’re open. In my day, all the pubs were open all the time and you could always head down for a pint and some banter, even from 11am. The Speakeasy should be better than it is and the music put on is absolutely rubbish.
The downstairs bars, again, are ok but you can never get any phone reception and they’re usually too empty to get any decent atmosphere going.
Maybe its because I’m growing older and like a bit of class about the place but the Union just doesn’t cut it anymore.

The Student Union is the hub for Queen’s students, whether they want a beer, a game of pool, a coffee or a newspaper. The variety offered within the Union epitomises what it is to be a student.
Within the ever changing Union complex, there is a good value shop, a variety of coffee shops and eateries, a number of student bars, chill out areas and a pool room.
Although the pool room is offered to students only, the bars and shops are open to the public and boast very good value.
Upstairs is the Speakeasy, where many local bands have tread the boards on a Monday or Thursday nights. Speakeasy is open during the day and complete with pool tables and jukebox, the Speakeasy offers good value and a fine place to chill.
Downstairs consists of three joining bars, the undiscovered Bar Sub complete with pool tables, the newly refurbished Bunatee and the concert venue of the Mandela Hall. All bars boast the same student-​orientated offers.
I recommend the £1.80 — £2.00 a pint which, when consumed after a hard day’s work (!) is the best way to wind down.
The Union also hosts a number of themed nights, including quizzes and football matches. The staff are pleasant and predominately students so there is a buzzing atmosphere all the time.
It may not appeal to everyone to go to a student bar on a night out, but it is certainly a pleasant place to be and a wonderful insight to what it is to be a student.

Ah, the days are gone when I disgraced myself in the many bars and clubs in the Student’s Union… but others are following in my footsteps and keeping up with the pace — and I’m glad to see it. The Union is the heart and soul of Queen’s University — with students and non-​students alike flocking here to the various watering holes within. You can get all sorts of entertainment and nights out on offer here, from a few pints in the Bunatee Bar (very Irishy), or a more commercial nightclub feel upstairs, and the Mandela Hall which is a biggest part of the building, offers live music gigs and DJs of all sorts, which bring the crowds in from all corners of Belfast. There is also the main nightclub «Shine», which I’ve never been to because it offers much harder music than I’m used to, but it’s extremely popular and has been so for a long time. No matter what your music taste is or what sort of bar you prefer, you are bound to find it in the Students Union.

only going to give three stars, i went to see dragonforce, with turisas as the warm up gig, and to be honest they were miles better, it was a nice enough venue, kinda cramped for the number of people though, and i wasnt happy when i saw that the people in the balconies were drooling down on those below and throwing beers down on us, so for the lack of event staff stopping this they lose a star, and for the cramped conditions, coupled with lack of ID checking that i saw at the gig, they lose another one in my book

The student’s union is a great night out. It boasts several different bars including the Speakeasy, BarSub, BunateeBar and the Mandella Hall on the ground floor, which also hosts various bands and gigs throughout the year. The drinks promotions are very cheap, with various drinks usually costing £1.70.
The Student’s Union also includes various places to eat during the day, including Clements which is rather expensive on a Student budget, however there is also a food hall at the back of the Union with various carts selling both hot and cold food to supplement your needs.
Need second hand books? Chapter One, the bookshop near the back of the Union sells lots of second hand books for all courses at Queen’s University so it may be money-​saving to have a look in there first before heading over to the Queen’s bookshop.

VERY popular with students studying in and around the Belfast area, as well as holding concerts for some VERY popular actssome recent ones have been the wombats, fratellis