Markie Dans
Markie Dans and music go together hand-in-hand. Ever since it opened in 2007 this has been a music venue and its reputation has grown and grown over the past decade to make it one of Oban’s must-visit destinations for lovers of good music. So much so that Markie Dans holds its own mini music festival every summer; from Friday June 29 to Sunday July 1 the pub will host 12 different acts across the three days. But right now, Lindsay MacMillan and her team are putting the finishing touches to their plans for Oban Live. A malt of the month has been chosen, an Oban Live cocktail is being created and the bottled beers selected for the special offer over the festival weekend. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. ‘We will probably have a special festival burger on the menu for Oban Live a well,’ Lindsay said. The bar food, especially its platters, wins rave online reviews. The bar always has a good variety of real ale and locally artisan-brewery beers and has an impressive collection of more than 100 malt whiskies from which to choose. Markie Dans is also now offering a selection of deluxe gins. Doors open at 11am and food is served from noon to 9pm – the sharing platters are always popular – and for Oban Live Markie Dans will have a late licence until 3am. Oban Live fringe performances at Markie Dans will see Crackin’ Craic play Saturday night, with Crooked Reel performing Friday night and on Saturday lunchtime. The Mad Ferret Band will be Friday night’s warm-up act. The bar’s basement location in Victoria Crescent on the Oban Esplanade means that its beer garden has one of the finest views in Argyll: west-facing, across Oban Bay to Kerrera Island. This is the place to sit and chill, watch the ferries and fishing boats come and go, the yachts head to and from the yacht marina on Kerrera and Oban’s new berths
at the North Pier. The sunsets are provided free of charge and are well worth waiting for. ‘I am biased but I have one of the best teams in Oban, making good food with fast service,’ said Lindsay. ‘We all look forward to Oban Live, seeing old friends return for the festival and making new ones.’