It is, without doubt, one of the most talked about re-openings of any pub in Argyll in recent years.
But the Mantrap is more than a pub – it is an Oban institution.
The Mantrap, known in the past as a perpetual hen night or a place to make friends for a few hours or a lifetime, has finally reopened, but this time there is a twist, as co-owner Daniel MacIntyre explains.
An Oban institution reinvented for new generation
The Mantrap, a few steps from the main drag in Oban was open for decades, closed its doors around 20 years ago – and in the meantime became a shop, a soup kitchen and a cafe.
It eventually closed altogether for around five years until a connected premises upstairs was taken over by new owners.
Named after the ancient poachers net that caught thieves as they stalked the hillside – the bar itself became synonymous with the sheer volume of romances that started, and ended here.
This is a tiny pub, but with a huge reach.
Once owned by the inimitable businessmen the Inglis brothers, the business has kept the name but has moved with the times and is now a place for friends to gather, for groups to hold meetings – and of course it is still a place to belong.
Mr MacIntyre, who owns the business with two other Oban locals Andrew Buchanan and Drew Walker, says The Mantrap reopened to help future proof one of their other businesses, The View, which is linked by a back stair.
Hopes new Mantrap will create opportunities for young locals
At one time the complex of establishments included MacTavish’s Kitchen with the Ceilidh House upstairs.
By night the Ceilidh House was where most of Oban’s “winching” went on. In the mid-2000s it was taken over and became Skipinnish – and was owned by the band of the same name. The establishment downstairs closed and is now a clothing shop.
Markets changed, and Skipinnish the band became internationally famous and that’s when Mr MacIntyre and the team took over.
With the new business, came changes to future proof it.
Mr MacIntyre said: “Between the owners we have eight kids, and we want to make sure they have places to work and to be in this town, their home town. We want to stall the depopulation of the working age in this town whether it is jobs, or having somewhere to go.
“For a long time the only way that people from Oban could get work and get ahead in life was, and still can be, to move away to the city.
“That drain has had a huge impact on the community in Oban. So we wanted to do this place to allow young people to have opportunities here.
“The Mantrap is a place whose reputation goes beyond this town, so reopening it is part of what we want to do to secure jobs.
“With rising fuel costs, and on the back of Covid, there is an ever present risk of not really knowing what might be around the corner in business.
“While it won’t open as a traditional pub right now – it will be the place that we can continue to provide a place for people to meet in Oban.
“I don’t think that at the moment any of the other pubs have a space like The Mantrap where people can hold an evening meeting, host a small party or hold a whisky or gin-tasting event, a Valentine treat, a ladies night. So, as ever, it is unique.
“We are two minutes from the distillery, so we can hold whisky tastings in here. And we have had local craftsman Michael Acey Furniture build us a bespoke drinks cabinet where people can come and mix their own gin and blend using products from Beinn an Tuirc Distillery in Kintyre.
“This place has always been about the people who come here – they are the people that make The Mantrap what it is.”
Latest addition to growing Oban business
The name Skippinnish was changed to The View and a balcony was put in with incredible vistas over Oban Bay and Kerrera to Mull.
A place to watch the world go by with a hot or cold drink and a hearty meal, winter and summer.
The Mantrap is the latest addition to the business.
“We are already getting clubs and groups booking with us, and, we can host small wakes and weddings and family gatherings,” Mr MacIntyre continued.
“I think the days of bodachs coming and sitting in a pub corner every day all day while a constant stream of people come in is over – well other than at a Royal National Mod. So we are thinking of ways to make this place work, and we want to work with groups and the community to do that.
“The Mantrap is open and ready to serve a new generation of Oban customers, and we know it will be different, but it is going to be so much fun.”
Conversation