please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Traditional Victorian red brick boozer - with some fine opulent features. Leather topped bench seating, chandeliers, gilded bass mirrors. All very consumer friendly.
Beers - three from UBU - Purity in fine nick (as you would expect from a Good Beer Guide regular) and Doombar and their won pale ale.
Bit out of the way - neither the Jewelry Qtr or the City - so an effort is required to get there. I would come back if passing.
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A lovely Victorian interior but otherwise, quite boring. The ale selection was especially uninspired - not surprising from NIcholson's whose wares tend to be humdrum in the extreme. Doom Bar also about as welcome as Donald Trump at a vegan march.
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This used to be a lunchtime haunt of mine 20 years ago when I worked just round the corner but I had to say I had forgotten it (although I suspect it has changed a bit since then). Very busy last night (standing room only) so I just had the one Saltaire American Nut Brown which was pretty good. Also on sale were Hilden's Irish Stout, Brains Café Phoenix, St Austell Nicholsons Pale Ale and Nicholsons Porter and Doom Bar.
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Perhaps not as grand as the Old Contemptibles but worth a visit nonetheless as around 4 real ales to choose from including the Nicholsons (St Austell) Pale Ale. Food was very good - would recommend the chicken and mushroom pie as definitely homemade and well filled.
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I wasn't planning to visit this pub. But I was passing and thought I would give it a quick visit. It's a Nicholsons pub with a fairly fine interior and is bigger than it first looks, with a couple of rooms and a nice outdoor courtyard. The beer selection was good - Robinsons Globe Hopping, Adnams Explorer, Sunny Republic Beach Blonde, St Austell Nicholson's Pale Ale, Purity Ubu & Sharps Doom Bar. Although I chose to have an Aspalls cider. Probably worthy of a return visit.
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Lost alot of character on its last refurb - now just a big pub co feel
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A gem of a pub, busy which is good to see as this pub does 6 real ales of which 4 I would class as 'interesting'. Great pub architecture. I tried the food which was wholesome if a little pricey.
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Lovely interior pub which was a little busy when we arrived & so obscured some of the interesting features. Main serving area is by the door so it got a little cramped. Very good range of beer about 7 handpumps - I tried a the Vanilla infused Cropton Blackout Stout. Looking at the comments below I have checked address & this is the place - the beer range has obviously improved considerably.
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This used to be a great pub when it was a 'proper' pub up until around 2002 when the redevelopment of that row of business' took place. Since then this has become a bar without an atmosphere. Shame.
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Staying in the Holiday Inn so had to go in here. Blacksheep at �2.50 very reasonable. Seemed a transient place when i was here.
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With its fine red brick exterior and large arched leaded windows, this resembles, on first sight, a rather typical traditional old style Birmingham pub. It's situated in a slip road just off the notorious Paradise Circus roundabout.
Although it has retained its separate room layout, the interior is somewhat uninspiring and has that any-pub-any-town chainy feel to it. There's a splendid Mitchells and Butlers mirror by the staircase and a surprisingly large outdoor drinking area at the back.
On my recent evening visit, the pub was quite busy with younger people, who, I presumed, were students from a nearby college, although the pub does not give off that student pub vibe to it. There's a Holiday Inn next door.
Beers on were Black Sheep, Pedigree and Landlord, the latter being in reasonable form - � 2.50p.
I didn't particularly either like or dislike this one really, but it's not near the top of my list for a re-visit
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Great Value Food And Booze, useful if ur stayin at the holiday inn next door indeed!! 7/10
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This place was doing a pretty good trade on Friday night. Seemed like the sort of place you'd go with a few friends for a chat if you weren't feeling too exciting. A bit dull for me. The beer selection - Spitfire, Bass & Pedigree - didn't help.
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Used to use this pub when it was a run down tenancy back in the 80s.
Went in last month,and it's gone more upmarket.Great exterior,worth visiting for that alone,and nice beer garden.
Food and drink average,prices just a tad too high,but still not excessive.
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Like the imposing exterior but it's mostly masked by the nearby ring road. Inside it's retained some seperate rooms and some identity, but has a modern chainy feeling. Landlord not great according to my friend, but tried London Pride which was good. Have to agree again- nothing makes it stand out and there's nothing bad about it either. Beer garden quite nice though.
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Another pub with a decent exterior, once you get inside though it�s a fairly standard pub. It does have some interesting glasswork over the entrance porch though and also some interesting lighting. There are pictures of old Birmingham all around the walls. The back room is seemingly aimed at diners, it also has a quiz machine. There are 3 handpumps selling Landlord, Deuchars and Brew XI, I had a Landlord which was pretty decent. It�s an OK pub that has nothing outstanding about it, but nothing that would put you off either.
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Another great Victorian facade, with a 2 roomed, well kept interior.
Have been in a number of times over the years and agree with most of what has been said by the other reviewers. The pub does lack something; it can be rammed, or empty; most of the handpulls dont work - just had Timothy Taylor Landlord, which was fine; there is no MILD and the food is reasonable. You could do worse than pop in here.
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If your requirements are for a fairly basic, comfortable, unpretentious edge of city centre pub with well kept and modestly priced Timothy Taylor or Amstell's then the Shakey could be the place for you. Can be deathly quiet at times and absurdly rammed at others, but generally a fairly relaxed, pleasant drink can be had here with some reasonable pub grub. Not too exciting, but usually reliable for a quick one or wasting a couple of hours watching silent BBC News 24.
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Was disappointed with this pub which looks lovely outside. Agree with one of the reviewers that the staff are moody. Beer just OK - there were two ales available. Landlord and M&B. This pub seems to lack something.
as025 - 10 Aug 2008 11:34 |
Had a few superb pints of Landlord in here which were incredibly cheap. Usual M & B style of decor but good service and a friendly crowd. Handy for the Holiday Inn Express next door
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The Shakey is a cracking pub. It looks superb from the outside, a very prominent old style building and the decor and the layout inside is decent enough. It's fairly clean, with really cheap beer and the food is extremely good value. One downside - the female bar staff are incredibly moody!!
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I found this place a bit depressing to be honest. Nothing really wrong with it, just not very exciting. Run-of-the-mill M&B type place last time I was there.
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Good bar, at least 2 real ales on most of the time (Black sheep last time). Food is Goose/Bass standard, but at least edible. Better than the 2 wine bars next door.
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Followed Carl Chinn into this excellent looking pub, unfortunately I had to walk straight out again, no MILD. There are too many pubs dropping MILD these days so can't give it a very high score unlike the next pub on Carls pub crawl the Wellington where there were two MILDS.
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Us old men - have kept pubs alive - for you "youngsters" to enjoy today - so dont be be to hard on us - we have been drinking and apreciating pubs like this GEM for years!!
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nice little pub set on the outside or main city centre. cosy in early evening for a quiet drink except friday when very busy! I say try it get the real taste of a trad pub food good value 2 steak for under a fiver on a wednesday ! and ever rotating ales makes shakey great little number
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Nice pub, quite an enjoyable atmosphere. A bit of an old mans pub at night, and a student/ lunch time workers pub during the day. Pleasent and enjoyable with good food. Best traditional bar in summer row.
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