Aston, Birmingham:
We’ve visited here a few times: It’s just off the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal as it climbs up into Birmingham.
In some ways it’s an average Birmingham Pub: locals, the usual beer but nothing out of the ordinary, but the building is magnificent, being a James & Lister Lea job. The locals were friendly, but visiting in a football shirt that wasn’t AVFC may be unwise given the proximity to the ground. It’s right by Aston station too.
Garrison Lane, Small Heath:
I’m convinced I remember this being in a derelict state 10 or more years ago- to the degree of expecting it to be bulldozed. Anyway, it’s a distinctive building with a round tower on one corner, which is what we spotted from the canal towpath. Inside, it’s a typical brummie local: not plush, but not too scabby either- less so that the location would have you believe. No ale, just the usual suspects, and friendly enough people on a Saturday lunchtime. It’s a very small pub, and the only food you’ll see is crisps etc.
What can I say?
Fantasic, opulent Victorian pub, excellent beer, superb, cheap Thai food, and live music at times. There’s nothing to not like, except maybe the bus journey if teenagers are on it. The beer ranges from the usual, through Staropramen and Oakham Ales to strange Belgian stuff.
Somehow, I didn’t know this place existed until a colleague mentioned it.
An ex bank, right in the city centre near the cathedral, it’s rare in being a Fullers pub in the Midlands. The beer is excellent, the building magnificent, and the food looks good, if not the cheapest. There’s a nice atmosphere too. It also must be the only pub with a theatre…
One of two Shakespeare pubs I know of around Birmingham City Centre, this is the one just off New St. It’s a handy escape from the shopping hordes.
It was one of the first smoke-free pubs too, doing so well before the ban, with some seating outside on the pavement to cater for the smokers. There’s decent beer, music you can talk over, and OK food (standard pub food, but well priced), but that does mean it gets busy at lunchtimes and immediately after work. It’s very obviously part of a chain (the menu is the giveaway), but still feels like a proper pub.
Yardley.
This was out of curiosity mostly: I’ve passed this pub many times, and it’s a big, impressive Victorian building (an ex police station, hence the name) that’s quite a landmark on Coventry Road. I’d remembered it’s name as ‘Old Bull and Bush’ as in the hideous cockney song…
As a pub, it’s average. Friendly barman, OK locals (though a few looked like career drinkers), standard beers (though the wife beater is about to go because of poor sales). Nothing special, but not awful.
