WE love to shine the spotlight on top venues where we socialise with family and friends in our Pub of the Week feature.

This time we have headed to a cosy local in Westhoughton with a new look.

Name of Pub

The Victoria

Address of the pub:

27 Market Street, Westhoughton

Landlord/landlady name:

John McGinlay

How long have you been the landlord/landlady for?

Two and a half weeks

Bar staff and their names:

Natasha and Lucy

Give us some history about the pub:

The Victoria has been at the heart of the community for a while and we just wanted to get it back to where it should be and that has been our main goal. £260k has been spent on giving it a refurbishment. It now has new fixtures and fittings, chairs and tables and it now has a very homely feel for people to come and enjoy it.

Is there a beer garden?

We have a beer garden and it will be open in two weeks so that is something our customers can look forward to.

Do you have any darts/snooker/pool teams?

We are currently looking for darts players so we can get together a team. If anyone is interested they can talk to us about it

Most popular drink served is:

Fosters

Most memorable moment at the pub:

It was just great to get the pub up and running as a lot of hard work has gone into getting it open again. We also run the Absolute Bar and Bistro next door and when we heard The Victoria was available we went for it as it means customers can go from one to the other and we are creating a busy corner of Westhoughton.

Do you have an entertainment line-up?

We have DJs every Friday night then live singers on a Saturday and this Sunday from 6pm we have Northern Soul and Motown.

Have you faced any challenges within the industry?

We all are having similar struggles with rising costs

The best thing about running a pub is...

Just the day-to-day part of life where no two days are the same. It is about meeting new customers and making sure they are having a good time and also that they want to come back.

The worst thing about running a pub is...

Long hours that are unsociable

The perfect hangover cure is...

Full English breakfast from Absolute Bar and Bistro