Did all the places you mentioned back in the day and it was good at the time, but ended up killing the town as a drinking venue. The fighting, the hostile atmosphere.
It's taken a lot to transform the town and five years ago it was absolutely dead. Foodie Friday and take a lot of credit, but the ball started rolling with places like the Remedy Bar and it's just snowballed with places like St Petersgate Tap, Project 53, Angel Inn, Cracked Actor, the Market Hall etc and you've still got fantastic traditional pubs like the Arden Arms / Railway closeby.