The Bartons Arms, Aston

Before I die I can say that I have done 2 things. The 1st is see my beloved Aston Villa win the European Cup and the 2nd is to visit the pub with the most spectacular interior in the world.....

31 Dec 2007 15:50

The Vine, West Bromwich

Two of my favorite things are, good beer and good curry, combine the two and I give you the Vine. This is definately a word of mouth pub, if you dont know where it is or have never heard of it you wont find it. From the outside it looks quite unpresuposing, yet cosy in a manor typical of the Black Country. Its main claim to fame is of course the food, especially the purpose built bbq at the rear of the building serving freshly grilled chicken tikka, shish kebabs, tandoori chicken and naans, there is also a full curry menu. Could do with maybe one more guest ale but the selection of Archers Ales are well kept and always very good. I cant praise this pub high enough, it is "bostin" as the locals would say........

31 Dec 2007 15:35

Apres, Birmingham

Ive only ever been to Apres twice and on the two occasions that I did go I subconsciously felt I had to apologise for having the audacity to dirty this place with my presense. This place is so up its arse its untrue, the decor, the surroundings the attitude of the management and the people who frequent this place are so false they make you want to vomit. Your primary problem (should you manage to get past the fashion police on the front door) is to get served. The girls who work behind the bar would rather giggle amongst themselves, look at their finger nails, or flirt with the local hard bloke than serve you. The service is what i can only describe as rude, the beer is crap, and the food comes in miniscule portions. When i last ate there (I had some kind of trendy Italian bread thing that came with a wilted leaf and a chip) I had the audacity to ask for another thimble full of mayonaise, the answer "management says they are going to charge you 50p for it" Says it all rearly.
What I rearly hate about this place is the pathetic faux exclusivity, at the end of the day its a bar and you know what there are better cheaper and friendlier bars to go to. If you cant see through that and you buy into the Apres mantra of "Stylin, Chillin, Relaxin" then you deserve to get ripped off, and believe you me you will........

31 Dec 2007 10:55