Also a gay bar in Birmingham, UK. As with many of the other gay bars, is found on Hurst Street. Is actually more of a cafe bar than a bar, at least in terms of appearance.
Angels is one of the better known gay bars. It's one of the biggest and most open, and can generally be seen as the life of Hurst Street. It has a very central position. Angels is the bar most baby queers (myself included) go to for their first time ever in a gay bar, before they graduate to somewhere more specialised (the Fox for women, and the Village, the Fountain or Boots for men, generally speaking).
Was refurbished just in time for pride a couple of years ago. As a result, has deeply cool, twisted metal furniture. The toilet facilities are, however, still appaling. To my knowledge, has disabled access. I originally thought underage people (under 18) weren't allowed in, but there was a baby in there the other week.
Smoking is permitted although, according to a sign on the door, drugs (use or dealing) are not.
The prices are reasonable - just over £2 for a pint. Compared to pubs such as the Square Peg and the Goose chain, however, this seems extortionate. No real ale; has wine, lager, spirits, cocktails and alcopops. It serves meat and vegetarian food from 'The Devil's Kitchen' from 12 noon until 9 p.m.
The music is very annoying if you don't like crappy pop bands and would prefer some rock or jazz. It's mainly chart R'n'B, with some generic pop.
Has comfy chairs and pretty barkeeps. Recently (2002), it was refurbished to include a stage for cabaret and stand-up comedy.
Update 14/06/02: Angels has now been shut down. According to Hilli at the Fox, there was an arson attack and the landlord freaked out and withdrew the lease. I was gutted by this, mostly because, as I mentioned earlier, Angels may not be much fun (the music and the crowding) for me, but it was my first ever gay bar, and has a lot of sentimental value.
Further update: Angels was reopened to much rejoicing recently. The manager, Gareth Scratcherd, won a court battle to get the lease back if his debts were repaid within two weeks. The first day it reopened was great - it was dark, and only two of the toilets worked, and the only alcohol was bottled. It really was quite fun - no loud pop music, either! In circumstances I don't quite understand, Angels has now been taken over by the owner of Subway City, one of the other gay clubs in Birmingham.