Bollocks 20s / 30s / Alternative / Alternative / Anything goes / Arcade Games / Bands / Boisterous / Casual / Crowded / Darts / Debaucherous / Dive Bar / Foosball / Frat Guys / Grad Students / Graffiti / Hard Rock / Jeans / Live Entertainment / Moderate / No Fuss / Punks / Rock / Rockers / Students / T-shirts / Tattoos / Trashy

Bollocks in Ample has been a semi-regular haunt of mine since its opening, and is one of the most open of Barcelona's rock bars, where local rockers, punks and musicians rub shoulders with the less pretentious tourists. Bollocks shares a grungy, 90's skater-punk vibe with its older sister, Nevermind (Nevermind the..., see what they did there?). The interior is colourful, covered in (often baffling, or amusing, to English speakers) graffiti, various heavy-metal inspired sculptures and knick-knacks to keep any eye with attention to detail amused for a while. There is also usually a photo expo of various rock legends by local celebrity DJ and photographer Marcerock, and a projection of metal music vids on the wall. An advantage it has over nevermind is simply one of room. A larger space allows more more comfortable seating, a long bar and a (very popular) fusball table, and a couple of little nooks with sofas tucked away at the back. There is even a set of large metal stairs used for seating that affords a great view of the game! Prices are reasonable and the selection of drinks is decent. The real star are the speciality cocktails, all with rock-themed names (Black Ice, Ozzy Bourbon, Tekiller, anyone?). All of these are worth a try and are half price before 10pm. For a more relaxed time, it can be fun to head early to lounge around with some cheap drinks and popcorn and maybe some table football while Maiden, Metallica, Motley Crue and all the usual suspects are jamming out in the background. A word about the free popcorn, beware as it is heavily salted and will no doubt get you in the mood for one drink after another. Of course many revellers don't need much encouragement. As midnight approaches Bollocks can become one of the busiest and buzzing bars in the whole barrio, especially on weekends. The staff and most dedicated patrons are typically young, hip, pierced and inked, and usually really nice as well. They love music and they love what they do, and will often strike up friendships, join them in sing-alongs and give out free shots to guests who impress them. Bollocks manages to be accessible as well as alternative and nobody is made to feel unwelcome. Music spans various rock genres but 80s metal and 90's alt-rock /grunge dominate heavily. Dedicated dyed-in-the-wool underground subculture types might it a little lacking in 'edge', as the music stays more or less within the bounds of commercial examples, but it's a great place straddling the point between Barcelona's hedonistic international bar crawls and its underground rock and roll culture.

Bollocks in Barri Gotic has the ability to go from a crawling ants nest full of hard core rock and rollers to a more chilled, laid back bar one goes to in order to shake off the hair of the previous night’s dog. Either way, if you’re up for a debaucherous night of no fuss drinking whilst battling eager opponents in either darts, pin ball or the very popular foosball table, then this is the place to be. Drinks are served with bowls of popcorn and in turn spikes the thirst levels – a sneaky trick to get you to drink more. But luckily the beers are moderately prices at €2 a bottle, so hydrating yourself doesn’t do any permanent harm to your wallet. You will find yourself partying with students who are into the alternative vibe, frat guys, punks, rockers, grad students and some foreigners up for a night of meeting random people and expanding their horizons. Even if this isn’t totally your scene you’re likely to at some point do a stop-over here en route to a less grungy place. The music ranges from hard rock to progressive to a more laid back old school rock – accommodating a varied taste in music. The interior is covered in Graffiti, most of which is only half visible due to the very low lighting. There are some interesting corners to explore, including a random stair case that leads to nowhere, but serves as a nice little private nook that allows you to look down onto the minions dancing, drinking and acting like fools on the bottom level. A keen eye will spot a bike chained from the ceiling and dummy of a drunkard on the toilet with his pants halfway down his legs... I was as baffled as the next guy but appreciated the avant-garde and crude taste in interior decorating. But luckily Bollocks doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not and is quite happy to be the bar people go to in Barri Gotic for a wild night of drinking and throwing your name away.