Coventry:
A pretty ordinary suburban pub- a Sizzling family feedbag, but pleasant enough when you need to stop for a drink and a sit down. The only cask was Doom Bore, so Stella it was.
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The Dog
Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs:
Positively lovely Black Country Ales pub. Lovely traditional interior- a bit more characterful that other BCA pubs- a friendly landlord, and great beer. What more could you ask for?
Cobs. But the landlord’s wife hadn’t gone shopping yet :-(.
Blackfriars Bar
Merchant City, Glasgow:
In a street of bars and eateries, this is a big ,modern, open plan bar/pub, all stripped wood floors, but it had one of the better selections of cask ale, had outside space, and was en route to other pubs on our hit list, and it was actually quite nice, if a bit modern and trendy for the likes of me: staff were pleasant, beer was fine.
The Saxophone
Bangkok:
Lively pub with live music and food. At the time we enjoyed it a lot- pleasant staff, good music, good beer, only a few minutes walk from our hotel (and in Bangkok, walking any distance is not comfortable), but the following day saw me with a case of food poisoning. Whether that was something I’d eat earlier is another question: the food seemed good enough at the time.
Jack’s Bar & Grill
Dubai Airport:
Just about pubby enough.
A wait for a connecting flight saw us with time to kill in Dubai, and this was the only option near our gate. Pleasant enough- pub-like atmosphere, food looked OK in a chainpub way, drink was fine and the staff were great. There’s worse ways to kill an hour or so.
Revisit: The Walsall Arms
I’d heard good things about The Walsall Arms since it reopened, and finally got there, and the reputation is deserved- a lively atmosphere, nice looking beer garden, and the skittle alley is still there. A great welcome, nice locals, and top-notch beer too- about our only reservation was the slightly bland decor and we preferred the layout before it was opened up, but still a great pub, and deservedly popular.
Flan O’Briens (The Borough Arms)
Walsall:
This pub is a real landmark, a beautiful building- a lovely sight if you drive up Lower Rushall St: a proper terracotta-and-tile 19th century pub, and surprisingly, there’s some great stuff inside too; tiling and woodwork.
It’s been a loosely-Irish pub since the Irish pub boom of the nineties, but in more recent times, it’s gone a bit downhill in clientele- sadly there were some EDL types present (presumably a hang-over from the march in town that day). The Stella was serviceable, but no ale. Cheap, though, and the barmaid was very pleasant- but it just could be lovely; it could be a Woodman quite easily.
The Lamb Inn
Norwich:
The most interesting thing here was the tiled/painted alley off the street leading to it: the pub itself was pleasant, but a by-the-numbers modern, slightly upmarket food pub with la-di-dah pretensions. I’m not being very fair her: it was nice enough, comfortable, the beer was fine, and the staff pleasant, it’s just this type of place bores me a little. There’s a nice courtyard for if the weather’s good, too.
The Yare
Brundall, Norfolk Broads:
Our nearest pub for a few days. The Tripadvisor reviews seemed to be polarised between shit and brilliant, but I can’t for the life of me think why; it is neither.
What it is is a fairly average traditional pub, with decent beer (3 ales), and a fairly extensive if unremarkable (in that it’s exactly what you’d expect) pub-food menu. The food itself is pretty good- home-cooked pie, for instance, and the beer was fine, as were the staff and prices, so there’s plenty to like here, even if it’s not incredible, it’s certainly not shit by a very long chalk.
The Rose and Crown
Worthing:
Tucked away in a backstreet, this was a very traditional pub, or rather, what some would take as traditional: a bit tired looking, fake brandy casks. Pleasant enough though, and popular, and the beer was fine.