Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits
A mere salmon toss away from Bergen's harbor fish market is the hybrid Irish pub/sports bar phenomenon known as Scruffy Murphy's. You know you have to investigate any pub with a name like that...especially when a five o'clock shadow is involved (though it's not required for admission). We had plans for dinner elsewhere, but decided to pop in for a quick drink and to check out the scene.
Things were looking a bit hairy as to whether or not we'd find seating with the front patio full, and with most of the tables occupied on both floors of the dimly lit pub. We hoped to score one of the cozy nooks with a couch, but we settled with snagging the last window-side high top facing the fish market instead. It turns out we had prime pedestals for viewing the fishy pedestrian traffic, even if we felt a bit crowded in our spot.
Surrounding us was a rowdy gaggle of locals watching the World Cup on several large screen TV's, some surely "Liverbirds" (the local Liverpool F.C. fan club that meets at the pub regularly.)
"Liiiiiiiiverpooooool!"
Service was prompt, and within minutes, I was drinking a Bavarian Erdinger Weissbräu while listening to country music in an Irish Pub in Norway! Jawohl! Prost!
Others in our group ordered Hansa to restore our Norwegian street cred crushed by my German order, and a couple pints of Guinness crowned with shamrock foam art completed our round.
Our only complaints were that our table was too close to those neighboring us, and we didn't find the bar stools to be comfortable. Other than that, we enjoyed our time at Scruffy's, though we aimed to find less touristy pubs for the remainder of our stay in Bergen.
The drinks and laughs poured freely, we appreciated the casual vibe and built-in entertainment between the window and soccer fans, and the location was perfect for taking a break from sightseeing and shopping downtown.
Check it out...it just might grow on ya.
I give this bar 3.4 Liverpool fan shouts of "You'll Never Walk Alonel!" read more