Video shop speakeasies in the UK

A look at video shop-themed speakeasies in the UK.

The nostalgia for video shops and the culture they provided back in the day has been translated to some speakeasies, bars and other venues incorporating a video shop theme.

You can't rent any of these films on VHS at RBT Video

These include:

• Bunga 90 in Covent Garden, London - the venue sees you step through a video shop frontage to enter a venue full of retro games, karaoke and more.
• Pixel Busters in Stoke-on-Trent - an arcade and social gaming venue hidden behind a video store.
• RBT Video in Wakefield - take a look at the blog post from our visit.
• Vice & Co in Lincoln - here's a blog post from our visit.
• Rewind NQ in Manchester's Northern Quarter - check out my blog post 'Drinking in a 'video shop'.

Do you know of any other video shop-themed speakeasies in the UK? Do let me know in the comments.

If you fancy actually renting a video there are still several video shops operating in the UK. Check out this blog post taking a look at video and movie rental shops in the UK.

Related blog posts:

• Speakeasy
• Video Shop
• Video Store
• Bunga 90 video shop speakeasy in Covent Garden, London
• Drinking in a 'video shop'
• RBT Video in Wakefield - a video shop speakeasy
• No TV / Audio / Video Sales & Repairs at this speakeasy
• Video rental shops in the UK (January 2026)

Bunga 90 video shop speakeasy in Covent Garden, London

Bunga 90 - a video shop speakeasy in London.

Emily recently enjoyed a short break in London and while there took a look at the Bunga 90 video shop speakeasy in Covent Garden.

Emily was a bit early to go inside as the venue doesn't open until 5pm.

Bunga 90 sees you step through a video shop frontage to enter a venue full of retro games, karaoke and more.

Find out more.

Check out the Bunga 90 website for more information.

Related blog posts:

• Speakeasies
• Video shops
• Video rental shops in the UK (January 2026)

Swing by Golfbaren indoor minigolf and speakeasy in Stockholm, Sweden

A look at the Swing by Golfbaren indoor minigolf and speakeasy in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Swing by Golfbaren indoor minigolf and speakeasy in Stockholm, Sweden was the 800th course we visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Find out more.

Check out the Swing by Golfbaren website for more information.

Drinking in a 'video shop'

Recalling a visit to what is now Rewind NQ in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

Rewind NQ in 2024

Time certainly flies - it's been three years since we first went to Rewind NQ in the Northern Quarter.

The theming is really well done and the bar had a chilled atmosphere. It's worth a visit.

Visit the Rewind NQ website for more information on the speakeasy bar and nightclub.

Video shop hunting in 2025

We're big fans of video, videos stores, retail history and retro stuff and have been visiting and documenting the last remaining traces of the Blockbuster brand in the UK over the last few years. We've seen a number of the brand's shopfronts, signs and QuikDrop boxes. As well as some other video shops.

Video rental shops in the UK

It's very nice to see there are still businesses active in the 'video rental' sector!

Check out this blog post for more info.

RBT Video in Wakefield - a video shop speakeasy

A visit to RBT Video in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

We visited RBT Video in Wakefield while in the city for the Star Walk event at Trinity Walk.

We've wanted to revisit Wakefield and go to RBT Video for quite a while, so it was brilliant to check out the speakeasy and visit the pop culture event at the shopping centre too.

We've been nostaglic for the halcyon days of the video shop for a few years now, and while you can't actually rent out videos at RBT, it is fun checking out the video shop 'front' to the speakeasy.

I don't remember seeing R.B.T. on the shelves at my local Ritz Video back in the day!

Definitely not a Blockbuster Video shop

You don't need to ask Spuds MacKenzie to let you into the bar, but you do need to know the movie codename of the week to gain access!

Inside the bar at RBT Video

Behind this wall of VHS tapes is a bar!

My movie pick - it's no Pulp Fiction though

A poster for RBT Video's events we spotted while at Subs & Suds - a sister venue of RBT Video and part of the Host & Home group. Emily got a delicious Chicken Parm and Fries for lunch there (while I played Street Fighter II on one of the arcade machines)

Take a look on the RBT Video website for more information, opening times, and clues on how to gain access to the bar behind the VHS tape stacked shelves!

NOT a V.H.S. Rental shop

No TV / Audio / Video Sales & Repairs at this speakeasy

Visiting Vice & Co - a TV & Video Repair shop speakeasy cocktail bar in Lincoln.

We visited the very cool Vice & Co speakeasy in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. Like all the best speakeasies the inside 'behind the hidden door' is a million miles away from the exterior and the initial environment when you step into!

Check out the Vice & Co website for further information.

Swing by Golfbaren minigolf in Stockholm, Sweden

Looking back at our visit to Swing by Golfbaren in Stockholm, Sweden.

We visited Swing by Golfbaren in Stockholm, Sweden back in February 2018 to celebrate the first birthday of the course. It doesn't seem like that long ago! It's a superb venue and still going strong. If you're in Stockport it's well worth a visit.

The indoor minigolf course and speakeasy was the landmark 800th course visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and our 31st overseas.

The course has a 1920's theme and is a truly unique layout.

Emily getting into the Art Deco swing of things

There's an 'upstairs' 12-holes open for all to play, while hidden 'downstairs' are a further 6-holes which can be booked for private events.

The upstairs course

The downstairs course

Check out the Swing by Golfbaren website for more information.

From Blockbusters NQ to Rewind NQ in Manchester

The video rental shop themed bar formerly known as Blockbusters NQ is now known as Rewind NQ.

The inside of the bar is still packed with old VHS tapes!

It was fun having a drink in a 'video shop' speakeasy.

Check out the Rewind NQ website for more information.

Making it a Blockbusters NQ night

Drinking in a video store.

We finally made it to Blockbusters NQ in Manchester last Thursday.

Not a video store

It was nice to have a drink in a 'video shop' speakeasy.

It was nice to be on the INSIDE of a new bar for a change!

We first heard about the nostalgia-inducing video rental shop bar last November and have been looking forward to stepping inside since we first saw it.

BE KIND
REWIND

The theming is really well done and the bar had a chilled atmosphere. It's worth a visit.

An eclectic selection

You can never have enough copies of True Lies. I prefer the Laserdisc edition myself

Most of the videos are retail ones rather than ex-rental tapes, but there are some big box treats to find lurking on the shelves.

A look at the cocktail menu and one of the big box ex-rental Blockbuster Video tapes I found on the shelves

The Chase is the best bit of Midnight Express

This big box ex-rental tape is from a Video Box Office store.Video Box Office was the Business to Business part of ChoicesUK and launched in the UK in 1985 when the brand offered video rental services via third-party convenience stores. As the popularity of physical media rentals declined in the late noughties 59 ChoicesUK shops were taken over and rebranded as Blockbuster stores! We found an old Video Box Office presence inside a Happy Shopper in Ilkeston, Derby in 2020

PLEASE REWIND

Check out the Blockbusters NQ website for more information and opening times.

Blockbuster Video

We're big fans of video, videos stores, retail history and retro stuff and have been visiting and documenting the last remaining traces of the Blockbuster brand in the UK over the last few years. We've seen a number of the brand's shopfronts, signs and QuikDrop boxes. As well as some other video shops.

The first of the old Blockbuster locations we found was also in Manchester, just up the road from us at Fallowfield Retail Park.

Blockbuster Video at Fallowfield Retail Park in Manchester, June 2020

Blockbuster Video Stores

The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA in 1985.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500+ of which were in the UK.

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.

There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

However, the UK's high streets, shopping precincts, malls and retail parks still hold traces of the brand. And we've been to most of them!

We've now visited 28 former Blockbuster Video stores since we found the remains of the Fallowfield shop.

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester