I haven't been to a folk club in many years.
When I lived in Edinburgh, back in the 60s, I was one of the organisers of a rather good folk club.
We didn't meet in a pub, we rented space in the Canongate Tolbooth, and we charged admission (a shilling more for non-members). There was no bar, but some people did bring their own bottles. We couldn't pay our guests much, and they sometimes wound up sleeping on somebody's floor, but the music was great.
There were a number of folk clubs in Edinburgh then, and several pubs where informal sessions regularly erupted.
I loved it!