Guinness and celídhi all the rage in down-town Kabul

Afghanistan’s only pub, the new Irish Club, has been a runaway success with many foreigners desperate for a drink and a little bit of nightlife.

In the Taliban era, an Irish pub serving whiskey and cold beer in the heart of the ultra-Islamic country's capital would have been unimaginable.

It still is for many Afghans, but the Kabul night-spot has been a life-saver for many expatriates working in the city.

"You'll find a very different world in here," said Allan Ferguson, a 57-year-old Australian businessman, as Irish folk tunes blared out of the bar's speakers.

The Irish Club opened on a secluded side street in the centre of Kabul last month on St Patrick's Day. There is no sign at the front and not even a number on the door.

"We wanted to keep a low profile, so we didn't advertise," said the owner Sean Martin McQuade. "But people know where to find us. News travels fast by word of mouth." Judging by the club's growing popularity, he was right. In a mock-Tudor style house behind the blank outer wall, immaculate Afghan waiters in black trousers, white shirts and black bow ties serve beer for £1.25 and cocktails for £1.90.

Customers mostly aid workers, diplomats and journalists crowd around a wooden bar topped off with green marble imported from Ireland.

"We are the first people to stick our necks out and say this can be a cosmopolitan city," said Quade, who has worked as an engineer in Afghanistan for the last 11 years. "But we don't want to disrespect anybody," he said.

He said he had sought the approval of a neighbourhood mullah to open the bar. In return, he promised to help rebuild the pot-holed road in front of the club and to help relocate an adjacent school to a bigger, better site.

The bar is officially licensed by the state to sell alcohol but only to foreigners.