please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Traditional pub with decent beer at reasonable price, and a big screen at one end of the bar showing football
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Beautiful inside - A victorian treasure - Long, ornate wooden bar. A couple of real ales on - and I went local with the Banks's. It was wonderful.
Some photos of my Digbeth pub crawl at - http://bit.ly/1NuhI8Y
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Tried to get in on Tuesday 18 August about 8:30pm. It was shut, it was open earlier when i passed on my way to the Spotted Dog.
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Hasn't changed much, still has it's old classic Victorian layout. The ale quality has improved (Jenning's Cockerhoop) though the selection wasn't very adventurous on this visit.
anonymous - 1 Mar 2015 09:16 |
Serves Banks Mild but I plumped for a Marstons Smash 4% because not seen it before - was good. This pub is a gem in a very run down area of Birmingham - I like that though.
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Wonderful period interior with a range of fascinating features.
I found the ales well-kept and the evening atmosphere very lively. After escaping from the warren of the nearby Paragon Hotel it was a truly welcome find.
It's just about not too far to walk for a curry afterwards either.
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Another pub which I have only ever visited on a football trip when it was absolutely rammed (in fact a couple of our lads left as it was so busy). This was my first visit on a normal day and what a treat. The Bankss Bitter was on good form and they have a nice little range of ales (from the Marstons portfolio). What I not noticed before was just how soptless this pub is - the floor tiles were bright and shiny the pumps were gleaming and the woodwork and fittings were immaculate. I had a good chat with the landlady as it was quiet and she was very friendly and chatty and I left after a couple of beers feeling very refreshed and cheerful as this is a super pub which does everything right in my book - and that's why it gets so busy!!
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Traditional pub with impressive interior and a friendly welcome. I enjoyed a pint of Banks's Mild on my visit.
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We called on Saturday and enjoyed well-kept Banks' Bitter and Jennings' Cocker Hoop efficiently served by professional bar staff. We left with no complaints to visit the nearby Anchor which is my preferred of the two pubs, mainly for the greater ale selection. But we would certainly call again when in the area.
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i visited the swan on wed 23rd feb. i bought a pint of banks's mild which i have been drinking for over 20 years.
the beer was turning to the vinegar stage. the landlady refused to swop it for another pint(i had one sip). she also refused to try it as apparently she doesn't like mild. strange but true. when i questioned her decision she offered me a half in replacement. i turned her down. the camra rep standing next to me wouldn't comment.
shame because the pub is immaculate, beautiful in fact.
but if a landlady doesn't like beer and can't change a pint when its obviously off the cleaners and maintanance wages count for nothing.
i had to take a pint back years ago...but that was changed so isn't worth mentioning.
i've never reviewed on one of these things before and probably won't again but i was quite frankly and rightly brassed off wot!
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9th pub on Weekend pub crawl. Friendly landlady and good selection of local beers including Banks - Original. Very busy on Saturday night in both bars but rear lounge was more comfortable to watch the Rugby.
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I would agree with most of the recent comments below. But pubs like this are becoming so rare it is heart warming to find such survivors. A charactersome, proper ,city centre boozer. A pub as pubs were meant to be.Beer was fine and service prompt,friendly and attentive. Some features not particularly sympathetic to the architecture. Now standing isolated as all around it has been demolished, which seems to be the fate of a number of Digbeth pubs whether still trading or , sadly, closed and boarded up.
Along with its neighbour, the Anchor, it must be one of Birminghams must visit pubs.
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As previous reviewers have said, this pub is very similar in appearance to the Anchor, with its beautiful tiling, coloured lead windows and nice woodwork around the long bar. It may also be a quieter alternative to the Anchor. However the beer range is restricted to Marstons and as such leaves a little to be desired - Marstons Royal Ryder, Jennings Cocker Hoop and Banks's Bitter and Mild were the only choice available. A beer festival advertised for this coming weekend looked a bit more promising with none-Marstons beers. But with a selection of around a dozen beers, the choice is still limited. A nice pub to visit once. But the Anchor will always be my first port of call when in this area of Birmingham.
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Pleasant, clean, quiet pub, decent, if a little bit dull. Good place to go to when the Anchor gets invaded by tickers.
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A very nice relaxed alehouse. Lovely building, ornately tiled inside and well looked after - the sort of pub they don`t really make anymore! Think there`s a family connection with the barstaff so the service is quite consistant, friendly, low key. Couple of uspectacular real ales, Guiness Ok but struggled with the larger and standard bitters on occasions. Big screen TV, ropey jukebox, comfy seating.....nice place for a quiet session.
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Another great Digbeth pub. Very friendly staff. Make sure you visit here the Lamp and the Anchor when in Digbeth
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Situated just down the road from The Anchor, on which I have just posted, is The White Swan, another of Birmingham's red brick tile and terracotta pubs. Notably, buildings between the two pubs have been demolished since my last foray into this territory, making the two pubs neighbours so to speak, but also making the immediate area feel a bit desolate.
In contrast to The Anchor, the main bar of The White Swan is long and narrow. The ornate bar back has several clocks built into its structure. At one end of the bar, a corridor retaining some original tiling leads to a smallish and cosy snug bar behind. The pub is listed in CAMRA's National Inventory of Unspoilt Interiors.
The White Swan is badged as a Marstons pub and, on my recent visit, the Banks Bitter - � 2.60p - was in good form. Choice was limited due to the previous day's St Patricks Day Parade, but I did notice that Ringwood Bitter was also on. Several of the other handpumps were unclipped. The pub has been a GBG regular in recent years. It advertises in the local CAMRA magazine, where, as well as mentioning the Banks and Jennings bitters, it also claims to offer "The Best Guinness in Town".
Although it doesn't have the beer range of The Anchor, it's a fine pub in its own right and, given their proximity, you might want to do both pubs in the same crawl.
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A similar layout to the Anchor on the previous corner but unfortuantely not as good quality or selection wise. The Ringwood Bitter was drinkable but too cold. Okay to drop in for a pint if the you want a quiet drink.
anonymous - 28 Dec 2009 12:17 |
A bit more than the standard Marston's/Banks's pub, with a couple of Jennings and/or Ringwood beers normally on, all good quality.
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Great pub, staff are always friendly and remember your face even you haven't been in there for months, the guinness is probably the best in Birmingham for me, always very popular on a Friday night, i've even seen Carl Chinn in there on a couple of occasions so if its good enough for him then its good enough for me
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Fantastic James & Lister Lea building, nice beer, friendly staff.
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It�s about 2 years since I last called in here before last week. Nothing much in the pub has changed, but the several of the buildings around it have been demolished. The barmaid said that they are having trouble getting people in at the moment as quite a lot of their post work crowd aren�t around anymore.
It�s an elegant old pub both inside and out with some interesting stained glass. The front room has green leather seating and the smaller back room has red. It has a very ornate bar incorporating three clocks. There are five handpumps but only four were on selling Banks�s Original and Bitter, Jennings Cumberland and Ringwood Seventy Eight. I had a pint of the Seventy Eight which was very good. There is a large screen to the left of the bar which was showing Emmerdale when I was in. I�m not convinced that showing soaps helps a pub get customers in, it would drive me away. It�s still a decent pub, but I fear for its future unless the area undergoes some redevelopment.
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Lovely pub, very atmospheric and traditional, feels like stepping back in time. Perfect for a couple of pints of Banks before a night raving at the clubs round the corner!
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A few yards down from the Anchor, this traditional place is also on the CAMRA National Inventory due to it's interesting layout- central bar with a small back room reached by a side corridor- and tiled interior. The place is very friendly, and the ales here are more than acceptable. I was starving and didn't expect any food to be on offer, but I was wrong- nice cheap pies! This is one of the best areas in Birmingham for pubs and the White Swan helps make it so.
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Decent pub, in an area with lots of competition. Pleased to see the addition of Jennings ales alongside the old Banks's range.
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A very friendly place and whilst it has a smaller selection than The Anchor, it is my preferred choice. The Banks's Mild is excellent and the building truely a delight to visit.
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Lovely pub, limited range of beers but all very nice, very nice old fashioned place and the staff very freindly. Well worth popping along to before or after a visit to the Anchor down the road.
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I love the White Swan! Not such a huge selection of real ales as the Anchor up the road, but this pub feels much more relaxed. The ales are great and the mild is excellent. Nice to unwind there after 90 minutes at St. Andrews. The clientele and bar staff are really friendly.
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If you can't get into the Anchor - and it is often rammed - a more than acceptable alternative is this handsomely tiled pub. In fact the more you use it the more The Swan might become your preferred option. A smaller choice of real ales, but always well kept. Very attentive service, there's often at least three staff behind the bar. Great for watching footie and a handy stopping off point before and after matches at the Blues. The vibe is usually cheerful and friendly with Bluenoses at their most philosophical.
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A great pub with Banks' beers and guest ales. The friendly Landlady didn't object when I changed my mind about the pint I wanted - she'd hardly begun pouring it though, luckily. Nice interior, seemed friendly enough for a posh-sounding stranger to have a decent quiet pint or two.
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Does the oh so beautiful Bridget still work here?
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This is a great pub, but if you drink lager I'd recommend bottled. Ladie, the lavs are rotten.
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Very old-fashioned palace of a boozer, all brass, dark wood and ornate green tiling, this is a Banks' pub just down the road from the Anchor, set between a couple of disused warehouses on a Digbeth side-street. The landlady is friendly, the beer extremely well-kept (including some from Jennings') and fairly cheap, making this one to seek out when in central Brum.
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I like this place, especially the neat Victorian style tiled corridor that leads to the cosy back room
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Cracking pub, forms part of the the Golden Mile pub crawl, that is, The Spotted Dog, White Swan, The Anchor & The Lamp Tavern. Good Beer, Good Atmosphere & The Pogues always seem to playing on the Juke Box which is a bonus.
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Beautiful Victorian pub in the same style as The Anchor, friendly and a good atmosphere.
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