Heading west for a night out once involved a host of buzzing nightspots, restaurants and bars. But with most of them now lost to housing or gone altogether, the prospect of an evenings entertainment in St Ouen is not what it was – Toby Chiang reports
ON a glorious summer’s day when the skies are blue and the waves are rolling in, car parks in St Ouen’s Bay fill up, cafés are crammed and prime spots on the beach are quickly snapped up.
But when darkness falls, the hustle and bustle all but stops.
People head off, and apart from a few beach-front sites and a lone nightclub, the bay falls quiet.
Like so many areas of the Island, a huge change has taken place over the last 40 years.
Declining tourist numbers have led to a steady drop in the number of visitor hotspots across Jersey, and mention St Ouen’s heyday in particular to anyone who once proudly proclaimed ‘west is best’, and you will probably hear about a range of exotic-sounding venues.
The Five Mile Road once boasted a bevy of bars, restaurants and clubs, attracting hundreds in search of a drink and a dance at the weekend.
Whether it was the Milano, New Mediterranean, Sable d’Or, Le Relais des Mielles, Château Plaisir or the Bal Tabarin, punters were guaranteed a good night out west.
Taking a trip to the bay of an evening these days is by no means wasted, but there are fewer places to wet one’s whistle.
While that may largely be down to the decline in visitor numbers, it may also be the change in attitudes towards drink-driving.
Sitting behind the wheel after a few drinks was not uncommon in the 1970s, but over the years opinions and behaviour have changed.
Read on to remember some of St Ouen’s best-known night-spots – and if you can’t recall any of these venues, you may just have enjoyed them a little too much in years gone by …
Milano Bars
A favourite among pub-goers, Milano Bars is synonymous with the bay’s busiest period, a golden age when punters tramped along the Five Mile Road, dropping in on their favourite watering-holes one by one.
The flat-roofed Milano was at L’Etacq and, like many of the nightspots in the area, offered a more casual atmosphere than establishments in St Helier.
It was demolished in 1996.
The site remains empty.
Sable d’Or
Once a hotel on the Five Mile Road, the Sable d’Or later became a popular pub.
However, it was demolished in the late 1990s and two modern, timber-clad houses were built in its place.
Punters may recall the 1970s ‘glam-rock’ nights at the venue.
Sands
Sands nightclub was another popular venue in the 1970s and 80s, but had been attracting dancers and drinkers long before that under the title of The Tropicana.
The club, now a private home, could be found close to what is now Big Vern’s café.
Bal Tabarin
Situated on land above L’Etacq, the Bal Tabarin was known for its live music nights.
Plans to develop the site prompted controversy before the States stepped in in 2001 to buy the site for £800,000.
The buildings there were demolished and the plot was returned to nature.
The move was later seized upon by campaigners, who used the Bal Tabarin example to urge authorities to do the same with the former Pontin’s Holiday Camp at Plémont.
L’Etacq trio
Marina Bars and Restaurant, L’Etacquerel Guest House and the Lobster Pot were within a stone’s throw of each other at L’Etacq.
The Lobster Pot was transformed into housing, while the Marina Bars was demolished.
Château Plaisir
Once one of Jersey’s premier nightspot, Château Plaisir was a top tourist destination in the 1960s.
Last year demolition crews moved in to begin the first phase of a project to build three homes at the prime beach-front site.
During the work, a wrecking crew uncovered a water-pumping bunker built by the Germans during the Occupation which had last been seen in the 1950s.
Part of the building was latterly used to provide a temporary home for the Holidays for Heroes Jersey charity shop.
Le Relais des Mielles
Another St Ouen pub that had a strong local following was Le Relais des Mielles.
It closed its doors in 2006 and was later demolished to make way for six houses.
Mielles Developments Ltd, part of the Garenne Group, received planning permission to knock down the pub, in Route de L’Etacq, in November 2008.
The venue was sold by property company Le Masuriers for £1.6 million in May 2007.
New Med
The New Mediterranean was a hotspot for locals and tourists looking for a good night out, but later became a different kind of visitor attraction.
It is currently a base of operations for Jersey Pearl.
Le Chalet
Like many of the venues that offered a drink and a meal overlooking St Ouen’s Bay, Le Chalet was always going to be a prime site for housing.
After the business closed in the 1990s, plans were submitted to develop the plot, and developers were granted permission to build three four-bedroom homes and one five-bedroom property.
Micro World
Although it was never a heaving nightspot in St Ouen’ Bay, Islanders may recall this quirky attraction where visitors could see microscopic statues carved on grains of rice, tips of pencils or within the eye of a needle.
