The great bars and clubs from Kirkcaldy's heyday

The Lang Toun has seen many great venues come and go over the decades as owners, and often names, change.

But which ones do you miss the most?

Where did you drink – what was your favourite bar from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s which no longer exists?

Society was launched as a style bar and refurbished with a look that would have sat easily among the top end bars of Edinburgh’s swanky George Street.

Before that it was a nightclub operating as Caesar’s or Afterdark, depending on when you were a clubber.

Back in the 1980s it was known as Oscar’s while long-standing Lang Tounians will also recall it as a Rio Stakis steakhouse and even the Old Worlde Inn!

From the outside the building hasn’t changed much, but every new owner made their mark on the decor and layout inside as they prepared for a new era.

Whether it opens once again as a bar or restaurant remains to be seen, but it’s an asset the town cannot afford to see boarded up and empty.

The list of places we once drank and danced in which have now gone is long … who remembers The Dutch Mill up past the train station which hosted many great bands and renowned local DJs, Mullin’s or the Tropicana on the corner of Charlotte street and the High Street?

And how many of us flocked to the legendary quiz nights at Smithy’s on Mitchell Street when it was run by the legendary Mike Gilbert?

The west end used to have Heroes which became Department S and is now closed after a brief spell as an American diner, while Tolbooth street had Fagin’s, and the Bucaneer packed them in up in Templehall.

Even the Port Brae at the end of the High Street is closed.

The list of great pubs now lost just goes on and on ...

And the days when Kirkcaldy’s nightclubs were legendary across the country also hark back to a different era.

Jackie O and Bentley’s dominated the scene for an entire generation - you chose one, and stuck with it - and both brought some of the biggest stars of the era to town.

Both are now demolished with housing taking over the land.

Let’s hope the fantastic building that was home to Society - and Afterdark AND Caesars AND a Rio Stakis! - survives.

Society closes its doors

>> Which Kirkcaldy pubs did you drink in - and what were your favourites?

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