please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Selection of real ales, but not kept very well. Guinness shooters are good.Thursday night seems to be kareoke night.
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Had a very nice home cooked lunch here last week. Good value, pleasant bar staff and good selection of drinks (see photo). Good choice for vegetarians.
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It's the best traditional real ale pub in the immediate locality, though becomes very noisy and crowded. Getting served and negotiating the different levels, narrow passages etc. can make getting rounds a chore, and I've had a more relaxing evening to be honest.
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Down to earth and cosy pub nestled by the canal, one of very few places in Birmingham I've found which sell the beers you get in London (Fullers Pride, W&Y Bombardier - there is also TT Landlord). Cheap too, £2.80 a pint. A good place.
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This pub looks closed from the canal side. However, persevere and you'll find an open pub that can be entered from the road. There's a decent number of real ales. But on our visit, they were all fairly standard - Jennings Sneck Lifter & Cocker Hoop, Wychwood Hobgoblin, Greene King IPA, Theakston Old Peculier, Timothy Taylor Landlord & Wells Bombardier. Addlestones is the cider. I don't think this pub makes the most of its location next to the canal and as others have said, the interior is quite worn.
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Went in here just before Christmas. It's in a great location with nice views of the canal but I get the feeling it doesn't make the most of it's assets. It was pretty quiet when we were in there on a midweek afternoon. I had a pint of Hobgoblin (IIRC) which was OK. The bartender wasn't very communicative (but not unfriendly as such). It was all just pretty average. The furniture was old, creaky and broken and looked like it had been retrieved from an abandoned hotel. The toilets were a little messy and the whole place was just a little scruffy and worn (and not in a charming way). The big TV on the wall seemed out of place and was set at an odd angle and nobody seemed much bothered to straighten it up. Maybe the place livens up later in the night? I can imagine it would be nice on a summer's evening to have the canal view.
I wouldn't say avoid it, but don't expect too much for a pub in such an ideal location.
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Had a few beers in here a couple of weekends back on a visit to Brum. Given the location and surrounding bars which are chav-tastic, it was a real suprise to find real ale on tap at reasonable prices. I had a few pints of London Pride, must have been other beers on offer but can't remember what they were. Downstairs bar was pretty chilly, and smelt of piss from the gents nearby but overall it was a reasonable place. Upstairs was much more cozy.
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An absolute gem of a pub, that makes a real change to the obnoxious corporate chav pubs that surround it... 8 well served real ales on offer, and it's open until 4am... what could possibly go wrong?
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Enjoyably old-fashioned pub tucked away from the booze barns of Broad Street. Nice setting by the canal, and decent beer, but service a bit variable,
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I was the only customer when I called in earlier this month. It does look a bit scruffy, but the chairs in a bright royal blue looked out of character with the place. The Taylor Landlord was well kept though.
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Quiet location by a canal bridge, only popped in for a quick one, but initial impressions were scruffy, hot, but well populated with escapees from Broad Street who wanted a quiet pint. Brownie points for draught Old Peculier.
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This is a two floor pub, one at street level and a further floor at canal level. You can�t stand on the canalside as the door is shut and no drinks are allowed outside. It�s getting to be a bit dated decor wise and could do with a rethink. It has nine handpumps with possibly the most boring selection of real ale available anywhere in Birmingham for a pub with such a selection. One of the handpumps does sell Addlestones cider though. I had a pint of Jennings (Marston�s) Cockerhoop, it was OK but I was charged �3.10 for it!!! What a rip off for round here. It has loads of potential and used to be a decent pub, but at the moment it�s just not very good. I won�t be bothering again for a while.
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This really could be one of the best pubs in Brum , it has all the ingedients - good selection of ale all reasonably kept , nice old building , canalside location , late opening , clean inside and toilets (since the redec). Something doesnt quite add up though , I keep going back and cant put a finger on it , the service can be hit and miss - good this week , with nice Taylors Landlord , clientel was mixed but nice . Good for a late drink , away from the madness that is Broad Street . 6 out of 10 , hopefully on the increase to where it should be...
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An old Victorian canalside brick built warehouse, with a reasonable interior on several different floors. Being miserable by choice, we opted for the canal level, which was quiet and ok.
The usual taps were joined by some basic ales, Greene King IPA, Spekky Hen and Fullers London Pride - all of course were avoided for the Timothy Taylor Landlord (which is springing up all over the place as well). The rarer beer was Thakston's Old Peculiar.
Found this a decent enough place during the day - but its proximity to Broad St would mean when the indefatigable chavs and trendies are hoarding in the twilight hours, one may wish to avoid it.
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I had some great nights in here. When there is nowhere else to go when one is bored of the so-called "delights" that Broad St has to offer, then this is the place to go after hours. You meet a diverse range of people from many different countries, all having their own story. Whether or not they are fabricated, that's another matter. The beer is nothing particularly special. However, by the time I normally come in here, I'm really rather plastered, and this place offers me a haven in which to drink myself further into oblivion.
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The Tap and Spile ought to be one of the best pubs in Birmingham but is let down by the run-down condition of the pub and variable service. Although the pub has a lovely setting by the canal side and a sociable atmosphere very different from the drinking circuit pubs of Broad Street nearby, and a good range of (generally) well kept ales; the place is spoiled by the utterly filthy and worn out decor, broken furniture, and disgusting toilets.
dw198 - 22 May 2008 12:10 |
Nice traditional little pub, addlestones on draught (very nice), The TV was extremely loud for an empty pub (he turned it down 3 times while we were there)
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I really wanted to like this place as it's a nice location and well layed out pub. Sadly the ale was poor when i went and it took for ages to get served, even though there was hardly anyone in.
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Handy location but they dont like people having a laugh or a few drinks.Prefer to serve under-age kids than raucous over-age ones. Cant anyone speak either English or in a polite manner ? Beer decent enough.
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Nice pub with cool layout and right next to the canal. Decent prices considering just off Broad St. And always had a nice pint.
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nice pint of adnams here.strange foreign guy at the bar though didnt seem 2 realise the cd had got stuck on the same note for like 10minutes, bizarre! nice pub though = 8/10
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On a couple of visits recently I have found this pub to be quiet, but enjoyed the oportunity to wander round the interesting set up of rooms while drinking the beer that was in good condition. The decor could do with a bit of attention, and I did not enjoy the noisy TV.
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This is a narrow, multi roomed pub looking out onto the gas street basin. Ground floor opens on to tow path and first floor onto the road. The floors are a mixture of quarry tiles and floor boards. The wooden chairs are creaky and care is needed with one or two of them because chair backs are broken. It is in need of a coat of paint but this would probably spoil its atmosphere.
I visited Saturday lunchtime and found it unusually quiet (other than a large TV screen, in my view not needed). Enjoyed a good drink of Davenports while looking out the windows onto the canal.
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this place can certainly be mixed, i'm quite a regular and like it. the landlord can be very friendly and so can the foreign staff he employs once the get the hang of serving english patrons ;-) the ale is good. cleanliness leaves a lot to be desired though. general atmosphere is friendly, cosy and slightly bohemian. always somebody interesting in there to have a chat with. plus they serve till they feel like closing, usually past 4am. don't buy the snacks though, they're a total ripoff, usually double the price of other pubs, even on Broad Street.
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Reading some of the reviews of this I tried it! I was surpised at what i got non english staff who didnt even know what CARLING was ! so that set tune for this place. Althrough the real ale was good i was disappointed with the general state of the place. The toilets were like a swinning pool and staff werent at tall helpful seemed they didnt care I wouldnt reckamend it to any one! unless your looking to get very drunk until the early hours of the morning
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This was a superb cozy haven for me when exploring the area for the first time and was caught in a down-pour. Recommended
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Nice little place tucked away behind Broad Street. Usually serve nice beer, and it has a nice old-fashioned woody sort of decor.
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I've always liked this pub, at least compared to some of the horrors in Broad Street. A good selection of beers, USUALLY well kept, in an interesting location. I haven't visited for 6 months or so; if the current owners are letting things slip (see other comments) they'll regret it - there are very few authentic pubs like this still in Brum.
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Awful pub, well worth avoiding. Needs decorating and a re-fit, a very attractive burn on a curtain where the local arsonist had once sat greeted me when I entered from the canal side. That said the Barman was friendly whilst the landlord was a grumpy so and so and couldn't wait to get rid of my party.
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A nice little pub opening onto the side of the canal with a nice feel about it. Very friendly and often pretty bar staff and a good selection of real ales. You'd never know it was just off Broad Street!
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Its definitly got character, Good place to go and chat with friends before heading to BroadStreet. Nice view of the canal (and walkabout) from the downstairs. Beers and ciders are a little on the expensive side but the real stuff from the hand pumps are worth it. Toilets do get a bit messy when busy.
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Historic canalside building totally wasted by inept bar staff/owners,if your thirsty & hungry & expect decent service then pass this place by.
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Service might be patchy and they never seem to have much food in, but the best pub on Broad Street by far - the Witherspoon crowd will find better elsewhere.
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2 months? I found a better pub in 2 minutes, called the figure-of-8. It may be wetherspoons but offers better food and cheeper beer
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I've only been in Birmingham for two months, and this is the best pub I have found so far. Very good selection of beers, plenty of character and a lovely site by the canal. But try and avoid using the gents toilets they're disgusting.
Martyn - 22 Oct 2004 16:01 |
Staff on the sparse side and beer quality varies - okay I suppose but it could be so much better
Colin - 24 Mar 2004 11:11 |
It's a bit of a funny shape and can be cramped. But it's right by the canal and the beer is excelent. Bit of a relief from Broad Street!
Moose - 10 Mar 2004 21:43 |
awsome, graet sellection of beers but no friendly staff!
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I visited this pub last night, originally believing it was mistakenly omitted from the Good Beer Guide.
To its credit, the pub does keep up to six cask ales, mainly from larger regional breweries; I had a pint of Charles Wells Bombardier that was in very good form.
Food is served but the quality is variable. I had fishcakes as a starter which were good, but the chicken curry was on the bland side with sub-standard meat. I would give the pub 5/10 overall, and conclude that is is useful in an emergency or if it's raining.
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