John Borlase is my favourite, especially in summer.
Also like Herbert Kilpin.
If you want a really good pie… The Gardeners.
Honourable mentions:
The Alex
The Bless
The New Zealand
North Birmingham/Sutton Coldfield
The Boldmere Tap
The Station
The Three Tuns
Screw you
Renaming Y Mochyn Du was one of the stupidest pub renames ever. Also haven’t been in the Cayo since it reopened and was renamed. Not even sure what its called now ? The Grange used to be horrendously rough. Guess that’s changed now though ?
The Cayo is now the Pontcanna Inn I think, haven’t been in but my partner says it’s full of English people and arseholes. Y Mochyn is just a sad story of profit motive, the guy who owned it also owns a house a couple of doors down from me - turfed out the tenants saying he wanted to move family in, and now it’s an AirBnB.
The Grange is now very nice, good food, nice beer selection, good atmosphere - Grangetown is (still) gentrifying. I lived in Grangetown for a bit up in the Saltmead, and one of the first experiences I had was of a rolling brawl taking place outside the Neville, literally pool cues and balls being slung about the place and across the road into traffic. Madness. It’s now a One Stop.
Don’t like arseholes but not bothered about the English
I think she was alluding to a cross-section of the two! (We both grew up in England, got a bit of the old pull up the ladder mentality going on). Just such a marked difference from being an actual Welsh-language place.
South Birmingham
Hare & Hounds - Kings Heath
The Dark Horse - Moseley
Wild Cat Tap - Stirchley
The Paper Duck - Harborne
Old Moseley Arms - Balsall Heath
Agreed with Nestor
The Cumberland Arms
Free Trade
Crown Posada
stand above all the others
then
The Tyne Bar - TSW
The Ship - Nice fire
The Bridge Hotel - big hotel pubs always wow me even if the drinks are rubbish.
St Theresa’s Club - cheap, free pool table, scratch card machine
Mixed feelings but will go to
The Bridge Tavern - bougie. weird smell. too busy. sitting under the tyne bridge is a nice experience
Box Social seats hurt my bum a bit strong cider rumble of trains overhead
going to York this weekend, had HoTM on my list (if I can get in) and Brew York but hadn’t considered the others - the Blue Bell is the one with the twatty locals only attitude right? thought that had closed down. otherwise the plan was
The Phoenix
Rook & Gaskill! (nearly forgot)
Pivni
some other selection of random average pubs like the golden slipper, eagle & child, guy fawkes… whatever really
Been meaning to try the Paper Duck for ages
Its not the most eye catching venue but makes up for that in the range of beers and the really nice staff that work there. Definitely worth a vist.
Went in to kill half hour before the red arrow last time I was in Derby, bloke got talking to me and asked if I wanted to go to his to play a golf game on his Xbox. Nice fella.
Bacchus is quite nice for a spot of city centre drinking too.
Trent House used to be great but now it’s a flat, atmosphereless void.
I was in St Theresa’s the other week and it was sadly dying on its arse. The barmaid was begging me to bring my friends in. Little did she know I don’t have any.
Blue Bell’s got a “no groups” policy (which tbh is fair enough given how small it is/how many stag and hen parties there are) but it’s defo not locals only. Me and my gf are by no means local and we always get a friendly welcome, and plenty of tourists go as well. Definitely my favourite pub in York, though admittedly the vibe isn’t for everyone.
Tbh I wouldn’t even bother with HoTM at weekends, it’ll be heaving unless you go very early or very late. Golden Ball by the station is great, The Habit is alright in the evening. York Taps if you’re getting the train is worth stopping in at/getting to the station for your train back early.
Yeah I go in after work on a Saturday and it’s usually dead. I can sort of imagine it doing really well. Like how the Irish centre’s always full of cool young people.
Is the Irish Centre trendy now? Fond memories of work christmas parties in that place.
That and the Labour club near there where I saw the Futureheads.