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Favourite Pub?

B

BSwiss

TS Member
Simple question, really.

And, a simple answer from me - Sinclair’s Oyster Bar in Manchester.

Classic cheap Sammy Smiths pints, lots of outdoor seating. Used to get served there as a bairn. Watched 2 hammer-wielding blokes pinch expensive jewellery from Selfridges from the beer garden.

Now, I’d like to know yours. I’m going to be lenient with my description of pub, to an extent.
 
The older the pub, the better.
Ideally, it should be a timber framed building, without a single horizontal or vertical reference point. The layout should be cramped and confusing. I should have to duck through every door. I should be looking around for the hooded stranger in a corner who hands out quests.

I often meet a mate in The Mayflower in Rotherhithe, named because the dock out back is where the ship of that name departed to America with the "pilgrim fathers".
 
OK, apart from Crevettes, obviously...
Narrowboat in Skipton (happiest town in the country allegedly).
Very close to the Skipton junction of the leeds liverpool canal.
Four or five cask beers, half a dozen lagers, and a good basic food menu...with an upstairs gallery thrown in.
No chain, very local, full of walkers and dogs.
Met mates from north yorks there for a couple of decades.
Warm and welcoming, and lots of lancs/yorks leg pulling.
 
I have many, there are some fantastic places in Chester and Liverpool, but if to choose just one probably Cavern of the Curious Gnome in Chester. Great Selection of Beers, some interesting references telling Putin where to go dotted around the place. A nice place to end a day of drinking good beers by drinking a good beer before heading for the train home.

A shout out to The Station Tap located at Chester Railway Station. A great starting point for those pre noon beers and a good breakfast too.
 
Theres one in Sheffield. Has a comfy sofa, plays decent metal and rock, and serves strong cocktails. Sadly can't remember the name for some reason...

Other than that, whenever I have visitors I always take them to the Hatchet and/or The Gryphon in Bristol. Comfy seats, decent music, large selection of drinks, and fires in winter. And the skin door at the Hatchet, of course.
 
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The Boat Inn at Whitebrook on the River Wye in Monmouthshire. Lovely pub on the banks of the river, 50-odd types of local cider, quirky terraced garden with lots of secluded benches looking out across the river valley. First discovered during a kayaking expedition on the Wye and has since become a mandatory stopover on the way back from anywhere west of the Welsh border. An additional quirk is that you have to park in Redbrook, which is in England, and walk across a footbridge over the river into Wales to reach the pub.
 
Great thread! 🍻

I generally look for somewhere that has a fantastic beer selection above all, following that friendliness of staff, overall VIBES and decor. Bonus points for comfy seating (seats with backs at a minimum, sofas/armchairs ideally), negative points for hard wooden benches.

Living in east London I’m practically spoilt for choice and am always finding new places. Some highlights:
  • Beer Merchants Tap (Hackney Wick) - probably my all time favourite tap room
  • Howling Hops (Hackney Wick) - awesome tank bar
  • Queen Adelaide (Bethnal Green) - classic east London boozer that’s become an incredible queer bar - many a good night had in here
  • Hackney Church Brew Co. (Hackney) - has some weird and wonderful flavours of beer (I mean who wouldn’t want a bloody Mary flavoured beer?)
  • Craft Beer Co. (Holborn/Covent Garden) - newly discovered but has a brilliant beer lineup which is seldom found in central London
I could go on and reel off my list of bookmarked places but we’d be here a while!
 
Oooh, the Howling Hops was a very dangerous place to visit for lunch when I worked in Here East. Though I tended to prefer Crate, for their pizzas. Don't think it's on the menu anymore, but they used to do some kind of banana curry pizza. It sounds wrong, but it tasted right.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Oooh, the Howling Hops was a very dangerous place to visit for lunch when I worked in Here East. Though I tended to prefer Crate, for their pizzas. Don't think it's on the menu anymore, but they used to do some kind of banana curry pizza. It sounds wrong, but it tasted right.
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That place is fine but I don’t find it all that crate. Not bad for 1 or 2 on a day session but wouldn’t go there specifically!
 
I have a local one and a business one !

The Bear in Stratford upon Avon - the only true locals pub. Great pint and great atmosphere. Good landlord now as well.

Then you have the business choice. The Swan With Two Necks in Stockport is a true gem. Good locally brewed ales. But it’s the pub itself. Two snugs- wood panelled bars. It’s literally going back in time.
 
Go about forty miles straight north to the Swan With Two Necks in Pendleton, same style of pub, and stalk the witches.
National camra pub of the year 2014, many local awards, and a very pushy landlord who wants your food order within seconds of you sitting down, and wants your table within seconds of you finishing eating.
All the while with the back dining room completely empty.

But a stunning pub in a fantastic location, just off the main road to Yorkshire (A59) after a day at the Beach.

And if I manage to get on my world tour of Britain in the Volvo this summer, this is a topic I shall be returning to.
 
rob666 said:
And if I manage to get on my world tour of Britain in the Volvo this summer, this is a topic I shall be returning to.
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I’ll throw in my favourite motorway-adjacent pub into this - The House in the Tree in Cheltenham. Just a minute off the M5, it’s no longer in a tree, but it has two beer gardens (one for kids, one for 18+), and a brilliantly 90s menu including the creamiest stroganoff in the Cotswolds.
 
I'm a big fan of the King and Castle in Kidderminster. Good range of guests and great regular pints on the go, trains a stagger away, does takeaway pints and Captain Cods across the road to help soak up the booze.

The Railwayman's Arms at the opposite end of the line in Bridgnorth is also worthy of a shout. Between them and the bars on board the trains things get hazy.
 
In London I'm actually a big fan of most Wetherspoons, decent beer and cider selection, reasonable prices, no music to shout over, good priced food if needed.

Sam Smiths is no longer cheap in London and sometimes a weird atmosphere.

My other favourite London drinking place isn't a pub, but the Between the Bridges outdoor place (used to have the UnderBelly theatre on that site years ago), its a great place in the summer to relax with outdoor drinks.
 
jon81uk said:
In London I'm actually a big fan of most Wetherspoons, decent beer and cider selection, reasonable prices, no music to shout over, good priced food if needed.
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Spoons gets a lot of hate, but they always have a good selection of guest ales, at a price you won't beat unless you own a TARDIS. their pizzas aren't half bad either. I'm still bitter my local JDWS got sold and turned in to a "sports bar".
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Spoons gets a lot of hate, but they always have a good selection of guest ales, at a price you won't beat unless you own a TARDIS. their pizzas aren't half bad either. I'm still bitter my local JDWS got sold and turned in to a "sports bar".
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My favourite spoons that I've been to so far is the Velvet Coaster. It's huge and the outdoor terraces are nice.
 
Crown Wharf in Stone
The Sun Inn in Stafford
Shoulder of Mutton in Fulford
Lord Shrewsbury (the shrew) in Alton (now closed)
The Bridge Inn in Alton
The Lazy Trout in Leek
Hotel Rudyard at Rudyard Lake
The Black Lion at Consall
Old Brown Jug in Newcastle under Lyme

North Staffordshire pubs should be my mastermind topic.

Good times, some amazing places on that list
 
Pubs can be a bit tricky for me, as I don’t drink beer - I’m more of a cider drinker - but I’ll do my best.

I rather like the Talbot in Alton. Got an old-school feel, and the food is excellent.

I’m quite a fan of the Taps as well (e.g. the Euston Tap), as they have a decent selection of drinks available - often including a couple of good ciders - and I just love station pubs/bars.

On that note…Bod Stoke. Every time I take a train down south, I always pay a visit here for a drink if I have time (I’ll often take a slightly earlier train to Stoke purely so I can have a drink here). The staff are lovely, it’s a nice space, and they also have seating on the platform, which is my personal preference.
 
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