Willenhall:
Part of the Dorbiere chain (not one I’d heard of before, but this is their most southerly pub), this is right in the middle of town, and looks to have been refurbished fairly recently: it’s traditional pub inside, but the carpet is modern. There’s real ale, but sadly one was on the sour side and the other ran out, but the staff handled that well and the atmosphere was nice- welcoming even at 10pm on Saturday.
Willenhall:
This was better. Real ale, nice layout, tidy, traditional decor. Cobs and an enviable array of scratchings. As Andy pointed out, the landlady could have been a bit more welcoming, but otherwise fine.
Willenhall:
This could have been a cracker. Traditional decor, a backstreet drinker’s pub, but it all went a bit wrong. No ale of any description, and no lager you’d actually want to drink, so I plumped for Guiness, which proved to be a can poured and put on one of those ultrasonic surger devices, and the others whatever dreadful keg bitter was about. The pub was busy, but the combination of loud music, shouting and a good proportion of wandering kids meant it wasn’t very pleasant. Pity.
Willenhall:
Odd pub this. It looked closed at first, with one entrance locked and the other shut but unlocked, and the light inside was the only clue. Once inside, the landlord was very friendly, and the pub itself pleasant, but looking like it was in need of a refurb. There was ale on, but the landlaord agreed with us it was on the turn, so we settled for Pedigree from keg, which I’ve not seen before, but was OK (rather than the deep joy that a good pint of cask Pedigree provides). As Andy pointed out, this could be a great pub, with a bit of a tidy and a few more cask ales, but as it is it’s pleasant enough.