Provincial pubs serve up a wealth of character and laughter with the ale and food, finds Don Kavanagh.

There is something definitely odd about Ponsonby Rd that confuses me.

Take Don Kavanagh's advice and get out, find a pub, and meet some sociable strangers.

The first time I entered what is now the Zookeeper's Son it was an Irish bar called Finnegan's or Flaherty's or something. And it wasn't a great visit.

Bars and restaurants will stay open longer as special licences are granted for the Rugby World Cup.

Prague is the newest bar I've been into for ages, but it manages to feel like it's been there for a while.

Whenever I walk into this pub I'm reminded that all the great bars I've ever drunk in didn't rest their reputations on looking flashy.

It's always good to drink in a place with a little bit of history around it.

We're not worthy I'd better get Galbraith's out of the way early.

Mandatory closing times is not necessarily the answer to society's drinking problems, says Don Kavanagh.

This meticulously renovated 1876 pub attracts the crowds - some arriving by boat to tie up at the jetty.

There is something simultaneously endearing and depressing about the Speights Southern Man schtick.