Tag Archives: Black Country Taverns

The Robin Hood

Willenhall:

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Another Black Country Taverns pub, and quite reminiscent of The Swan. This is most definitely not a bad thing.

As such, it’s the standard BCA arrangment: choice of real ale, with a TV screen displaying the choice. Traditional decor in the BCA house style but completely fitting a Victorian pub. Decent food (cobs, pork pie, sausage rolls, and snacks like crisps), inoffensive music that you can talk over.

It’s a short way out of town, like The Swan, but very walkable from the 529, and it’s a fantastic pub.

Revisit: The Swan

Earlier post here
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The Swan has closed, and re-opened under the ownership of Black Country Ales. In that way, there’s few surprises: the pub has been extensively refurbished, opened out, and serves great real ale and snacks/cobs. This is quite familiar and something the chain does well- most recently seen at The Uxbridge.

The refurb is really good, and the decor fits with this Victorian pub. The staff are friendly, the beer is great, there’s outdoor space, and generally, it’s just a great pub.

Revisit: The Uxbridge Arms

Chasetown, Burntwood, Staffs.

Original post here
Whatpub Link

A revisit to a pub I already liked a lot, but it has now been taken over by Black Country Ales, extensively refurbished, and re-opened just a couple of days ago.

It’s lovely. The outside has been smartened up, the inside is fresh, clean, and firly bright, but still traditional. There’s the standard arrangement for Black Country pubs: TV screens displaying the huge choice of ales, cobs on offer, traditional decor.

Outside there’s a decent smoking shelter if that’s your thing, and a nice beer garden.

Beer was in excellent form, too. With the other 3 nice pubs nearby, there’s quite the making of a good pub crawl here.

The Craven Arms

Birmingham

Just round the corner from the temple to crass consumersism that is The Mailbox, this is another Black Country Taverns pub, and as such follows their traditional model: a focus on good beer, traditional pub atmosphere, cobs for sale, and an invitation to bring your own food (and they’ll supply the cutlery).

This one carries it off well. I liked it better that The Lych Gate Tavern. Beer was great, staff pleasant, and it made a nice place after fighting past the German Market in New St.

The Lych Gate Tavern

Wolverhampton:


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The latest in the Black Country Taverns chain, this is tucked down a pedestrianised street, just by the gates to St Peters Church.

There’s lots to recommend it: the landlord and landlady previously ran the Black Country Arms, and the owners generally do a good job.

It was quite nice too, but for some reason, it didn’t hit the spot for me, and I don’t know why: the beer was great (with a large selection of very well-kept ale), the welcome was fine, there wasn’t loud music, and there were cobs. The building is old- 16th century in places- and hasn’t been wrecked during the refurb, but for some reason, it seemed to lack something, like the BCA does for me. The worst thing is, there’s nothing wrong with it I can put down in words, I just felt more at ease in The Posada, just up the road, even though there’s so much right here.

The Pretty Bricks

Walsall:


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Long overdue for a blogged visit, we hadn’t been here in a long time, so a visit in the company of Andy seemed appropriate.

The Pretty Bricks has always been known as such, but it’s official name was The Tap and Spile, with The Pretty Bricks being a nickname from the unusual glazed bricks on the frontage. For some years it’s been noted for real ale.

It’s a traditional 2 room pub, now owned by Black Country Taverns, a small but growing chain in and around the Black Country, who specialise in traditional pubs, and they’ve adopted the name as it’s official one.

It’s a great place: 5 or 6 well-kept real ales, food (both a menu and cobs/pork pie), no music or gaming machines, and a friendly welcome.