Dumfries has a reputation for having many pubs of various sorts, partly due to its status as a hub for the surrounding region. The most prominent is the Robert the Bruce, part of the Wetherspoons chain, located at the north end of High Street, and named after the king who slew his opponent The Red Comyn at a now destroyed church nearby. Like Tesco, its arrival was worried about by independent rivals, and there have been a limited number of closures since then, including Mulligan's and Souter Johnny's. Others in the centre include Baker Street, the White Hart pub/club/venue, The Yard late night pub with music, Dink's music bar, Ma-Donnas lively bar/bristo, Slipstream, The New Bazzar, The Globe, The Hole i' the Wall, The Stag, Dickie's and the Flesher's Arms. As well as those mentioned above, Dumfries has three venues clearly in the nightclub category:
- Jumpin' Jak's, part of a national chain. This has one large room and a wide selection of music. Generally friendly and good atmosphere with crowd members welcomed to dance on stage. This replaced the slightly seedy Junction with a gap between closing and opening in 2002.
- The Venue. Founded as The Loft then closed and re-invented after a drug-related closure, this was at one time the definitive nightspot in Dumfries for young people often suspiciously young but has come under pressure from Jak's, and moved into live events to maintain a distinct image. On weekend nights, it still provides strong competition for its corporate neighbour, with two rooms, one with dance music and the other covering pop, rock, hip-hop and anything else.
- Chancers. This is the longest-established of the three, and aims for an older crowd. Split into two rooms and open all nights of the week.
