please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Exeter Arms was packed, so we called here instead and left the Exeter for a future occasion. There was a decent selection of ales as usual, and those we tried were in good condition. Maybe some people find it too modern inside, but it was fine by us.
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The Exeter Arms was packed, so we called here instead and left the Exeter for a future occasion. There was a decent selection of ales as usual, and those we tried were in good condition. Maybe some people find it too modern inside, but it was fine by us.
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A curious pub this one. A nice premises conversion, but I can understand how it would not appeal to many. Tried three of the various Derby beers on offer, but although they were well kept I did not find anything that appealed to me. guest beers were available but i did not try them. A nice pub but no beers took my fancy though others might find them nice. For the best beer from a Derby brewer try the Exeter Arms just 20 secons down the road
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I would agree with most of the previous comments - light and airy and not what you would expect looking at the pub from outside. We tried a couple of beers and didn't find them to our taste so we moved on, but saying that it is worth a visit as tastes vary and others may enjoy the beer more than we did. (I did however try their other pub the next day - The Greyhound - where I enjoyed their blond beer (Hop til you Drop?). Although the interior of the Brewery Tap may be too modern for some beer drinkers at least the pub is open and trading and I wish somebody had done that to a few of our lost pubs down in the South.
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The Royal Standard, as it used to be called, has had a makeover and is now light and airy. Personally I don't care much for the modern styling and the open plan nature of the place makes it noisy and echoey at busy times. However, the staff are very friendly and polite and the quality of the beer is extremely good. Quite a good idea, if you are uncertain which of Derby Brewery's products to order, is the 'rack of beer' which consists of a wooden tray with six compartments, five of which hold nips (1/3 of a pint) of ale, the remaining one being filled with cheese cubes. Triple Hop or Business As Usual are my personal favourites.
All of which brings me to this question, is there anywhere better to drink draught beer than Derby? Well maybe, but it ranks pretty highly I reckon.
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Nice enough modernisation of an old pub in a kind of old style. Plenty of ales on weel kept - the pint of This or That went down nicely.
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Not sure about the big open windows without curtains, and for the first 20 minutes or so I wasn't convinced I liked this place. It was very quiet, but we did visit late in the afternoon in a post Xmas/New Year Monday, so hardly anywhere would have been rockin'. Gradually as the it filled up with customers I warmed to the Brewery Tap through the polite dispensing of well kept Why Not ale and nicely presented (though not cheap) food. Worth a trip back I think.
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Bright and cheerful, beers fine, clientele mainly young, would definitely visit again.
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Called in twice during recent trip to Derby, lovely pub, great food & beers were fantastic. Many thanks to the friendly Manageress who made us so welcome.
The Derby & guest beers tried were all in great condition
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Another first-timer on Saturday on a between-beer-festival-sessions pub crawl. Magnificent range of their own excellent ales, coupled with several guests from local micros, including Wentwell Farmer's Ale from a brand-new micro in the city and according to the blackboard, the only barrel available anywhere in the world...quite a claim and therefore a beer of such rarity had to be sampled. Also ate well from a very good menu, the food was excellently prepared and very very good, although quality took precedence over quantity. My only down-mark would be the wine-bar type feel of the fittings and bar area rather than a more traditional feel, but this really is a minor quibble.
A return to sample the legendary Rack beckons very soon.
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I tried this pub for the first time last week. The interior was a bit bright I thought but it didn't detract from the quality and range of the beers, the reason to go there of course!
The only disappointing note was to hear the barman tell a foreign customer in traditional English style "the kitchen shut at eight mate". Why can't our pubs get over this particular hang-up? If you serve food in the evenings, why not serve it (nearly) all night? I'd already eaten so it didn't bother me but it has done in other pubs at other times.
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Found this place to be very convivial - even on a saturday night in Derby. Had a couple of pints of their own Penny's Porter and very nice they were too.
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Nicely renovated pub with friendly service, good beer and some original touches like 5 third-pints of their own beer and some cheese for a fiver. Only downside was the presence of one or two loud and foul-mouthed self-opinionated characters who had had more than enough already by the mid-afternoon. A sign of the times which does tend to put a damper on an otherwise decent and enjoyable city crawl. It won't put me off a return visit however.
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Spacious contemporary pub in a traditional wedge-shaped building just outside of the town centre. It has two large rooms with a similar feel, modern furnishings such as sofas and polished wooden floors, as well as an upstairs area where food is served. TVs show sporting events, and there is a pleasant rooftop terrace.
Good selection of beers, with their own product plus quite a few guests, as detailed below. My pint of the house beer was in good nick.
Not the most characterful pub of the Derby crawl, but a perfectly decent place, and I did enjoy the rooftop terrace. Worth popping into on the way to the Exeter and Smithfield.
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Always pay a visit to this pub when in Derby. The ale is always well kept and I did enjoy the festival in June. I haven't got a problem with the interior at all. It's always about the ale for me.
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Popped in last month, 3 ales quaffed and al divine,Leadmill,Wentworth and Derby(obv!!)............... Friendly service, very nice pub.........8/10
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Third on the list for a recent scooping tour of derby, and a pub I've been to a few times now.
I've still yet to be really impressed by the place if I'm honest - previous comments regarding the identikit, gastro-pub feel of the place are fair and this (at least to my mind) is what holds the place back.
Certainly, it's always busy when I pay a visit (it was the busiest place of the day, with the exception of the Babington Arms) but the punters aren't your usual Real Ale set - a lot of younger drinkers in the sort of labelled clothing that yells more money than personality.
I would also agree with previous comments about the pricing - sure, the Derby beers are reasonably priced, but the guests are rather on the expensive side.
Having said that, beer condition is solid and the staff are friendly enough.
Certainly worth a visit, but not the best pub in Derby by a long shot.
For the record, we picked up the following on this visit:
Derby - You're Nicked, 4.2%
Kelham Island - White Falcon, 4.2%
Brew Co. - Sunchaser, 3.6%
Titanic - Iron Curtain, 6.0%
Spitting Feathers - Dark Velvet, 4.0%
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Excellent beer. Nice pub with good atmosphere. Fabulous.
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Hmmm. Not sure what to think of this place - it's a bit gastropub for my liking, which seems to be the current trend for brewery taps - reminds me very much of the Brewery Tap in Leeds, which I prefer. It was predictably full of suits when we arrived on Friday evening, but we managed to snaffle a table. The selection of guests was a little disappointing so I tried the Derby Old International - very tasty indeed. How can people like mtaylor40 say they would rather have a pint of Bass? People in Derby are mad!
Sharp - 13 Mar 2010 12:11 |
Lots to admire - a welcoming interior, good customer mix, great sample and cheese tray, only let down by a very dull (award winning) beer. I've been to quite a few great-looking pubs whose own-brew is poor (Ashover down the road is one) - guess it what wins the awards but would rather have a good Bass.
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Visited for the beer festival last month and there was a great selection of ales available. I am not too struck with the interior, but it is clean, and staff are good. Enjoyed beers from Joseph Herbert Smith, Pitstop, Best Mates, McGivern, Wirksworth, Willoughby, and Derby. Have been before and have no problem with the ales, and always call in to see what is on offer.
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would just like to comment about the below.firstly this pub as one of the best smoking areas around with ample covered space and an open area also.With regards to the price if you go to the surrounding pubs which offer decent ale (with exception of weatherspoons of course) i think you will do well to find one which offers ale at 2.25!!misleading comments i think......
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expensive, unsympathetic modernisation, poor catering for us dirty smokers. been there done that won't be going back
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Nice interior, beer is good but expensive
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As the previous contributor correctly points out, this is now the home of the new Derby Brewing Company. The pub's official name seems to be "The Brewery Tap at Derby's Royal Standard".
The wedge shaped building, situated just across the River Derwent on a street corner, looks quite austere from the outside. The attractive black and white frontage shown by the picture that I downloaded before my visit from a Derbyshire / Peak District website has now gone and has been pared back to bare brickwork.
The interior is quite badly modernised in my view, with London pub style pine floors and large plain glass windows, leading to a distinct lack of cosiness and warmth.
There were 4 Derby Brewery beers on, including a light hoppy beer called "Hop Till You Drop" and a dark mild called " Dashingly Dark".
Guest beers came from Timmy Taylors, Shardlow and Durham breweries.
Food plays quite a large part of the operation and prices would appear to suggest that the credit crunch has not yet reached Derby ( eg Cumberland Sausages - £ 7.95p, Traditional Beer Battered Fish - £ 7.75p )
There is a largish NHS Office opposite the pub where I imagine quite a bit of trade comes from as, otherwise, it would appear to be the "wrong" side of the river for the City Centre trade.
Despite the existence of an on site brewery, this pub is not top of my list for a re-visit if I'm ever in Derby again
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This is indeed owned by Derby Brewery. Great refurbishment of a dead pub that looked like it was more likely to be demolished rather than reopened. Large horseshoe shaped bar with 10 handpumps, at least 5 from Derby and several guest ales. You can also buy a sampling tray of 5 Derby beers in 1/3 pints along with a selection of local cheeses. It’s a little bit echoey (is that a word?) as it’s all hardwood floors but very pleasant all the same. Good quality beer served by friendly, knowledgeable and efficient staff. Has an upstairs area that has acoustic gigs on some nights as well. A fine job done here by Derby Brewery, well done guys.
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A complete success story. This time last year it was closed and boarded up, but now it gets packed out regularly. Now run (and owned maybe?) by the Derby Brewing Company so it always serves a good range of their ales. Also known as The Royal Standard.
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