Cannock:
This is a bit craft bar more than pub, but it reminded me of The Black Isle Bar on a smaller scale, so it gets in.
Craft beer, no cask. Interesting food menu with a bias to pizza. Pleasant staff, OK prices. Liked this far more than I expected to.
La-di-dah Lichfield, Staffs:
Pub or cocktail bar? Well, it’s in Whatpub,so in it comes.
Inside, it feels like it could have been a Spiritualist church that inspired the name, with some churchy decor and what could have been a gallery of pews up above, but “gallery” is the operative word, as that’s what this was in 1999.
it is a bit more bar than pub: it’s table service, which apparently annoys some Tripadvisor reviewers, but given the narrow area near the bar, stopping people standing around the bar is A Good Thing.
It’s mainly cocktails and gin, but there is beer on offer. No food. Jazz-ish music at a sane volume. Staff pleasant, but very eager to sell you more drink 🙂 Pleasantly chilled on a Saturday afternoon, might get a bit busy in the evening (but you can book a table).
Newtown, Staffs, just north of Bloxwich:
On a day packed with failure, this compunded it. We were hoping for a pub, and Whatpub has it as a pub.
I suppose it meets some requirements. There’s a bar, and a small seating area in front of it, but the bulk of the place is a restaurant, and it calls itself a Bar and Grill. There’s too many posing tables in the bar area, and the beer is slightly pricey and [shudder] Greene King. It’s basically aimed at people wanting a slightly-posher-than-pub-food meal, and there’s little appeal for drinkers. There is quite a nice beer garden, I suppose, but it’s a long way from my ideal. The decor is currently trendy and modern, but will age and is pretty atmosphere-free.
Thank $deity for The Ivy House just down the road.