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Nottingham pubs

JHE

JHE

.
I'd like recommendations, reviews, warnings and news, please - and I intend to offer more than a few myself.


Just a few to kick things off:


The Frog & Onion, on Noel Street in Forest Fields

My favourite grotty dump of a pub seems to be going through hard times. It is often almost empty. It used to serve Beck's on draught, which was a major plus. Now it doesn't. Real ales. It has a quiz night and often has live music of various sorts to bring in the punters. I hope the pub survives.

I came across a story that HP Sauce was invented in the Frog & Onion, but I've no idea if there's any truth in that.​

The Vernon Arms, on the corner of Forest Road and Waverley Street

Pleasant Punjabi food in the evenings and maybe nice Sunday roasts (I gave up on the Sunday roasts some months ago and am not sure if they are doing nice ones there again). Big screens - a good place to watch major football matches, I think. Stella.​

The Horse & Groom, on Radford Road

Nice respectable mostly middle-aged and elderly clientele: No punch ups or vomiting teenagers at the H&G. Proper Czech Budvar and lots of real ales. Pub papers, usually including the Guardian and the Times. Good Sunday lunches.​

Langtry's

Nice to see a pub that is often full. Stella, real ales and tolerable food. Handy for a drink before or after a film at Cineworld.​


...to be continued...
 
The Lion (Mosely St , near Horse & Groom ) good music venue, good range of real ales etc , tolerable food , no aggro & by a tram stop.

Lincolnshire Poacher (Mansfield Rd) Excellent !
 
The Frog and Onion is still doing alright whenever I've been in there lately :) Great pub, best pool table in Nottingham in my opinion, even if it does look a bit worse for the wear.

Vernon's roasts are nice, but the Fleece's are better.

So... at the risk of sounding like a trendy twat, I have to big up...

The Golden Fleece, on Mansfield Road

Friendly bar staff, brilliant food (huge portions, quite creative but still manages to be "pub food" without being wanky), live music, Detonate warm ups, and of course the home of the Left Lion Quiz. Which has gone downhill a bit lately, I mean he's still funny but it's "same old" funny and the questions are all 70's music & tv trivia these days. Oh yea, they do real ales etc.

The Old Angel, somewhere round the back of Hockley/Lace Market

Proper grungy rocker/punk pub, I think having massive tattoos over half your body is a requirement for bar staff. Pool table though I haven't tried it meself. Little outside area that's quite er, "cozy" :D Once had a large goth girl glare at me psychotically for half an hour in there once which was interesting.

The Horn in Hand, near Trent Uni/Rescue Rooms

Student pub, shite pool tables but lots of em so you'll always get a game, quite central and next to the tram, upstairs (not the balcony area) is huge and has a bar if it's packed downstairs. Serve food, never tried it though, probably crap. Handy place to meet before going clubbing.

The Turf Tavern, near that big glass cornerhouse place full of shite chains :p

Good for a larf innit!
 
The Sal, Maid Marian Way. Rock pub, a bit like an up market Old Angel upstairs, with Rock Karaoke on Fridays. You haven't lived until you've seen one bloke do 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on his own. Standing room only on the fire escape for a fag. Don't go from there to The Irish, no matter how pissed you are and how tempting it is to relive your youth.

The Trip To Jerusalem, Caves and Real Ale. If you touch the model boat in there you die, apparently. Was once on EastEnders years ago.
 
I second the Trip to Jerusalem, I had a very pleasant pint there once (not long after I finished my finals at university).
 
I'll rate them in rank order for quality of beer and atmosphere/clientle:-

The Lion, New Basford (Great selection and quality of beers, friendly and very mixed crowd) Right next to the tram stop

The Gladstone, Carrington (Friendly Victorian backstreet boozer, great beer, good laugh/great beer garden)

The Plough, Radford (Great pub and tap for Nottingham brewery. Quick brewery tour £1 which includes a pint bottle of EPA and a buffet!)

The Vat and Fiddle, Meadows (Great beer/great cobs)

The Lincolnshire Poacher, Mansfield Road (An institution for a reason)

Hope this helps. I've emphasised real ale type pubs. If you want the anarcho types (and real ale) The Sumac, Gladstone Street, Forest Fields is for you. Copies of 'Organise!', dogs on strings (or usually off them), vegan food.
 
The Tap and Tumbler

Rock pub, used to have the best jukebox in town, but no more. Where everyone meets up before Rock city.

The Peacock, Mansfield rd

Nice old fashioned boozer, waiter service in the lounge.
 
Old Trip is hewn by loving hands from a solid block of premium quality Win.

Blue Bell on the square too.

Old Trip is a bit of a pain when the tourists are about, I used to resent being filmed as if I was an exhibit in a museum.

Royal Children...
 
Thanks for all the recommendations, folks.

I agree the Lincolnshire Poacher & the Golden Fleece are excellent.

I shall try two of Mallard's suggestions at some point: The Gladstone & the Plough. I haven't come across them yet. I'll also try SofS's suggestion of the Peacock.

Maybe I'll try the Lion Inn again. The quality of the food went right down a while ago, but the live jazz is nice.

I have been to the Old Angel, strangely enough, though it really isn't a pub for an old man like me. It's full of 'goths'. It just happens to have been on the way for me a couple of times when I've fancied a pint before catching the tram.

I haven't been in the Turf Tavern since it reopened. Is it worth the effort? It looks like a nightclubby sort of place now and the pleasant Langtry's is right next door.

Ye Olde Trip Thingy is an interesting place to look around - it's really very special - but it's a bit too much of a tourist trap for me.


A couple more:

The Kean's Head, St Mary's Gate (in the Lace Market area, next to St Mary's)

This pub has an excellent chef. She doesn't just know her onions. She knows her garlic and her rosemary and loads of other stuff too. The Kean's Head has the best pub grub I have ever come across.

It also has Grolsch and various real ales.

It's a pleasant enough pub in all respects, but it's the food and the Grolsch that attract me and I'm not really sure I'd go there for any other reason. The clientele is often made up of young posh Lace Market types. I've nothing much against young posh people living in the Lace Market, but I don't particularly want to sit around in their pub.​

The bars at the Broadway

The Broadway's not a pub, but I've sometimes used it as one and the bars are OK. They serve Grolsch and the arty types you get in the Broadway seem OK. There are proper espresso machines. The food's OK too.​


[...to be continued...]
 
JHE said:
I haven't been in the Turf Tavern since it reopened. Is it worth the effort? It looks like a nightclubby sort of place now and the pleasant Langtry's is right next door.
Click to expand...

The last time I went in Marcia had left as had all the Real Ale and quality food and music. It used to be an oasis in the centre. Marcia's Jerk Chicken plus a pint of real ale £2. Good selection of papers and great local feel. Plus mad Northern Soul on Sundays. Spot on!

Please report back your findings.

See you in The Gladdo! (Quiz night on a thursday is busy but a laugh).
 
Mallard said:
If you want the anarcho types (and real ale) The Sumac, Gladstone Street, Forest Fields is for you. Copies of 'Organise!', dogs on strings (or usually off them), vegan food.
Click to expand...

I went to the Sumac Centre just once. There was a meeting there about Cuba. It wasn't an anarchist event. The meeting was run by and for people who think the sun shines out of the Castro Brothers arses. It would have been enlivened if there had been some stroppy anarchists putting another point of view.

Can you really just go there (the Sumac Centre, I mean, not Cuba) and use it like a pub? I'd feel I was intruding into someone's front room uninvited. Plus I'm not an anarchist and haven't got a dog on a piece of string.
 
8ball said:
I'll get blasted for this, but I've quite a soft spot for the Pit & Pendulum . . :o
Click to expand...

:hmm:

I've got a few Rawk friends and am quite happy to drink there if they're out, but probably wouldn't if they weren't.

The food at the Kean's head is really good, and the atmosphere at Broadway's great.

This thread's tempting me to go out in town again - it's not all dickheads glassing each other is it?

Is it?

:hmm:
 
spawnofsatan said:
Did anyone on here drink in the Dragon (opposite the cinemas) or the Hearty Goodfellow?
Click to expand...

I drank in the Dragon years ago when it was a pre-Rock City haunt for Goths. I think it's still a pre-Rock City Haunt but I'm not a Goth any more. They used to do mahoosive doorstop sandwiches didn't they?

The band I used to be in played upstairs at the Hearty Goodfellow in 1989/90 ish, supporting a band called Spunk. Yes, it was that glamorous.
 
JHE said:
I went to the Sumac Centre just once. There was a meeting there about Cuba. It wasn't an anarchist event. The meeting was run by and for people who think the sun shines out of the Castro Brothers arses. It would have been enlivened if there had been some stroppy anarchists putting another point of view.

Can you really just go there (the Sumac Centre, I mean, not Cuba) and use it like a pub? I'd feel I was intruding into someone's front room uninvited. Plus I'm not an anarchist and haven't got a dog on a piece of string.
Click to expand...

The Cuba meeting sounds unusual for there. It's usually animal rights/ vegan stuff/anti ID etc. You can simply drink in there like a pub (they may ask for £1) A years membership is £3. There is often a mix tbh including a few older locals and lefty but not anarcho types and what someone once called 'lifestylists'. It's generally friendly. I noticed a few Trade Unionists/SWP/SP and an AWLer plus one infamous local Maoist when I was last in there. There are usually two real ales on (Springhead cos they are vegan) and it's cheap. They also do a quiz on a thursday which a couple of Urban posters attend. Internet and computer access there is also free.
 
Stig said:
The Salutation Inn is good. Good beer and they also have caves underneath that you can wander round if you ask nicely.
It's a comfortable atmosphere sort of a pub too.
Click to expand...

To be fair the music is appalling (loud cock rawk etc) and the beer selection may be good but the condition is very variable in my experience. If you are into rawk karaoke though it's heaven! No offence, I have an allergy to rawk.
 
The old angel is dingy, it has an odd clientelle of crusties, goths and chavs and the back wall is covered in graffiti, which isn't very rock. It's a proper rock pub though in every sense of the word.
 
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