please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
We started our visit to Nottingham on Saturday at this pub to the south of the station. It serves as the brewery tap for the nearby Castle Rock brewery. Ales from Castle Rock were Harvest Pale, Black Gold, Sheriff's Tipple, Elsie Mo, Screech Owl, Preservation, Helen Watts Juniper Mild & IPA V1. There were also 5 guest ales - Waen Lemon Drizzle, Bone Machine Skeleton Party, Oakham Hawse Buckler & Abstract Jungle Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout. There were also 8 ciders or perries - Gwynt Y Ddraig Black Dragon & Fiery Fox, Weston's Old Rosie, Lilley's Bee Sting Perry, Cornish Orchards Vintage Cider, Snail's Bank Fruit Bat & Kniveton Cider Company Never Mind The Hillocks. All except the latter were listed on a blackboard and are fetched from the cellar. But there was one box in the Fridge. A CAMRA discount is offered. Whilst the interior is quite traditional, we sat outside, where there is plenty of seating. A few groups were arriving for tours of the adjacent brewery and were starting with one (or maybe two) in the pub. Open at 11am, this was a good place to start.
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Brewery tap for the fantastic Castle Rock brewery and a stones throw from the station. Nothing special inside - just a traditional boozer, but the range and quality (and price) of the beers is what makes this place so good. Would strongly recommend the Castle Rock milds - they're always wonderful.
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An interesting boozer plonked in the middle of nothingness and ugly office blocks. It`s a few minutes walk from the train station which is handy and the ales are top quality. Group of birthday girls dropped in by mistake and did stay for one or two ("Doubles only 3 quid!") but did comment that it was "an old man`s pub" - that`ll be me then! Must visit if your on the rattler.
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Still your best option if you want a decent ale before catching a train. All current Castle Rock brews were on offer and about 7 or 8 others.
anonymous - 1 Dec 2015 13:48 |
The brewery tap for Castle Rock, it has all their beers on handpump plus several more. They offer discounts for CAMRA members. What better way than pass the time waiting for the train?
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Tucked away around the corner from the station and consequently a good away fans' pub. A good selection of ales although woe be tied if you don't like Castle Rock brewery beers. Happily I do so was quite content and the place was busy and full of life of a Friday evening in summer.
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Castle Rock's brewery tap, a stone's throw from the train station. I counted an amazing 12 handpumps on the bar!
I drank a pint of Ashes Ale from York Brewery which was okay, but it didn't have a sprinkler on, so was flat within a few mouthfuls.
Next two pints was Castle Rock's wheat beer which was gorgeous from beginning to the end.
They had a special menu especially for the cricket tournament which included Kangaroo burgers!
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Good brewery tap with almost the full Castle Rock range and good prices too. Had the Black Gold and the Screech Owl, both of which were in great nick. Not much else to add to the other reviews. Good pub.
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Visited on 5 May when the mighty U�s lost 4-1 to County. Spent a fair bit of time in here as we left the game at half time! Had quite a few ales, all of which were in top condition, though after visiting 4 other pubs my memory of what I drank here was a bit hazy. Thoroughly recommended though and it clearly hadn�t changed a bit since my last visit some years ago. 9/10
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Excellent beer and brewery pub next and just off the train station for good location. Used by bikers, walkers, travellers and footie fans alike and has plenty of cracking real ales for all to enjoy. The bar staff are good and know the reason to be responsive and efficient of service and generally accomplish this - a nice layout, nice atmosphere and a stay in Nottingham for me would innevitably mean a good scoop in here. Excellent and thank you.
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I can't say anything that hasn't been said before about this place. Fantastic selection of hand-pulled ale, friendly atmosphere (at least whenever I've been in) and a good, basic selection of food. Just what a traditional pub should be. Not surprisingly for such a good place, it does get very busy in the evening.
siddo - 12 Feb 2012 16:58 |
Called in whilst we had some time to kill waiting for a train. Usual good choice of Castle Rock ales, pleasant customers and staff. Worth a visit if you have never been before.
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Thirties buidling that is kind of art deco housing a decent city drinkers pub. A large array of Castle Rock ales on offer (I sampled the Arthur Bell VC on this occasion) with a few guest ales which always seem to include something from Batemans. They do large cobs which help to soak up the ale. It's a 2 minute walk from the station but is obscured by a screen of trees - if you come out of the station and the fromer Queens pub now a furniture shop is to your left then the V & F is behind the line of trees to the right.
anonymous - 10 Jun 2011 23:14 |
All that a good boozer should be. Great range of beers (it's the Castle Rock brewery tap); cobs;friendly,efficient staff and cheery locals. We usually stop off here before going to the footie down the road. Handy for the station and always worth a visit.
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What can I say! Fantastic pub. I was a visiting Exeter City fan on Feb 12th and was made to feel very welcome. Friendly chat to the locals,2 very friendly barmaids who loved our Devonshire accent,and superb ale of which the Screech Owl was my fave. My kind of pub,go visit.
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One of the top 5 pubs I have ever visited. Full range of Castle Rock ales at reasonable prices. Fantastic band playing, the fiddle player was even better than me in my prime!
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What can you say, the worlds greatest beer 2010 (Harvest Pale) is brewed next door. As the brewery tap for Castle Rock, thgis pub is just what it should be...a pub! Awesome start and finish boozer for a Nottingham crawl if you come in by train.
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Proper boozer near the station. Comes with pub cat.
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Castle Rock beers plus Oldershaws, Bath, Burton Bridge and Springhead. Beer in good condition. Basic pub, friendly and welcoming for away fans.
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Consistently great beer. Papers. Cats. Conversation. The more intelligent type of football fan- even Notts County ones! And a haven from television screens.
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The Vat's ace card is to be less than five minutes walk from the train station, yet so relaxed and unpretentious was the general ambience that I'd quite cheerfully toddle from side of town to the other to sample it's range of fine ales. Of a choice of eight or so hand pulls I stuck to the Harvest Pale and Alchemy by Oldershaw's Brewery which were both in excellent condition, and perfectly complimented the anarchic way we engaged in the TV Times trivia board game when the erudite conversation dried up. Perhaps there could have been more on offer in the way of bar meals, but this did not impair a most enjoyable evening in a pub we happened on by chance. On the list of must re-visits.
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Dropped in several times last week as it is indeed possible to drink a fine pint during a 15 minutes train change. Always a good selection of ales on top form, both Castle Rock and guests, and at present Bateman's beers are included in the "1 over the 8" loyalty scheme since due to brewery developments not enough Harvest Pale (a personal favourite) is available. This will apparently soon be fixed! Always a warm atmosphere, good mixed clientele and value for money.
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If you have a little time before you get your train then this is the only place to be.
Castle Rock beers at reasonable prices. A few guests too.
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well kept beer, irritating cat, ugly landlady
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I've never found a bad brewery tap, and to be honest I don't think I ever will. I was only supposed to be nipping in for a quick pint between trains but I ended up spending most of the afternoon there! I don't think I need to elaborate any more on that. All it needs is an open fire and it will be complete.
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Pleasantly ungentrified pub a stone's throw from Nottingham station, that fully deserves its 'boozer' status.
One L-shaped room hugs a bar with an impressive array of handpumps- this being the de facto Castle Rock Brewery Tap.
It's bare-boards with traditional furnishings and pictures of old Nottingham on the walls, from railways to pubs- always absorbing for me.
A pub cat roams freely and may jump onto your table!
Harvest Pale was excellent, also tried a couple of the (non Castle-Rock) guests, the names of which unfortunately escape me- all good too.
Would consider this pub a must visit in Notts.
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I love the local beer, Kipper the cat is always a joy to see, good prices, and nice to use when waiting for a train, even if it a little too good, as I miss a lot of train when there, as I never want to leave.
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This pub features Castle Rock ales of course, though they do have what I suppose would have to be regarded as guests. I spotted London Pride and Crouch Vale Brewers Gold. In all, there were about 10 ales on. I managed to resist the temptation of the delights of London Pride and went for Castle Rock�s Preservation Ale. This was an excellent ale that I had not tried before, although I have to say that I did prefer Castle Rock�s Hemlock. The prices seemed very good to someone used to paying London prices. I didn�t make a note of all the prices, but the Preservation was �2.40 a pint, and the Hemlock �2.20.
The pub itself is full of what I might best describe as pub character. It�s a real pub that is clearly a destination for those who appreciate decent ale. No sofas in here � just wooden chairs and wooden tables. There were even a couple of cats, wandering around totalling oblivious to the crowds of people towering above them. The floor seems mainly tiled, and an interesting thing I saw in the back room on the right was a photo gallery featuring numerous mainly closed and derelict pubs. Strange but interesting nonetheless. This is one of those pubs that doesn�t look much from the outside, but inside you get the real pub experience. Definitely one that I shall return to when next in Nottingham.
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Cracking pub. The beer was excellent, and a bonus 6 beers by way of a mini beer-festival, so spoilt for choice. All that we tried were excellent, the service was good, staff and customers very friendly, and the lunch-time baps were very tasty. The 8-ball scheme reduces the cost nicely.
25 matches v Forest since 1974 without a win - At least this pub prepares you for the inevitable disappointment!
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Superb brewery tap for Castle Rock Brewery. Comfortable interior with outside seating. Staff service exemplary and the excellent range of Castle Rock beers with the One over the Eight scheme providing the perfect excuse to linger and enjoy this great pub.
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After a long hot day attending non league football in Leicestershire, it was a pleasure to experience the joys of the Vat and Fiddle. I was told that this was a good pub and indeed the information was correct. I headed straight for a pint of Harvest Pale which I quickly followed up with another. It was easy to see why this beer won a CAMRA award in 2007. A quality taste with beer in excellent condition. My friend was drinking the mild which was equally good. Our only problem was that we had to move on for food, however, the pub did have an excellent brochure telling us about other Castle Rock establishments. The barman was also very helpful in this regard and gave us directions to the Keans Head. I will return to the Vat on my next visit to Nottingham because it is one of those places that, when you walk in the door, makes you want to spend time there.
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One of the best real Ale pubs in the county can be rather let down by poorly maintained bogs and a slightly dull "serious real ale" pub atmosphere, nevertheless a great pint is guaranteed. Service is good, in a place with traditional city pub character.
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The Vat and Fiddle is the Castle Rock Brewery tap and is about 5 minutes walk from the station. It's apparently named after the nearby Inland Revenue offices. The pub sign features a portcullis. I'm sure one of the locals will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it used to be a Tom Hoskins pub previously.
It's a pleasant single bar pub with different areas. There's a tiled floor and some interesting old photos of Nottingham pubs, some now long gone sadly.
On my recent Wednesday lunchtime visit, there were as many as 7 Castle Rock beers on - Elsie Mo, Preservation, Hemlock, Screech Owl, Harvest Pale Ale, Black Gold Mild and Sherriffs Gold. This is as many as I can recollect seeing in one pub before. The Hemlock is a fine dark tasty session-type beer. If that's not enough, there were also 3 guests on - Brains SA, Rev James and York Guzzler.
This is another good unpretentious friendly Nottingham pub. It's good beer range and location make it a good choice to start or end a pub crawl.
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Great beer, 8 to choose from, the Black Gold and Harvest Pale were exceptional. Very friendly staff, efficient service, and the 8 ball scheme reduced the cost of our drinking even further. The cobs were nice and excellent value, overall, a fantastic pub.
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great pub. nothing i can really add that hasn't been said; great beers, good selection, friendly staff, friendly regulars and a great cat. I didn't have a cob but rumour has it they're ace. It's gret a to find a proper pub, especially one so close to the train station.
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Great beer... nuff said... but also note the whisky range! And great liminal location.
halfa - 26 Mar 2009 10:05 |
Got to be one of the best real ale pubs in the country. Large selection of beer and at least five from the excellent Castle Rock range all in tip-top condition. Pretty good prices as well, particularly if you are a regular at Castle Rock pubs and collect the Eight-Ball stickers.
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Surely beer heaven. Visited on Saturday before footie and also for another after. Beer superb - 2 of Castle Rocks own (Sheriffs Tipple and Blackbird) and a Burton Bridge XL Mild. About 8 other to chose from. Service unhurried but efficient. Nearly got too comfy and missed my train. Can't agree with Moderate Nige - you need at least 20 mins to enjoy you pint and 5 mins to get to the station. Next time I'll allow an hour.
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One of the best pubs in the known universe. Can't speak for the unknown universe, obviously. Always a fine range of beautifully well-kept beers. Quiet, friendly and Kipper the pub cat. A joy. And very convenient if you've only got 15 minutes before your train goes.
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Castle Rock Brewery tap with most of their fine range on tap. A proper pub with a mixed clientele and a pub cat with the most superior attitude that I've ever come across. I had a pint of the Preservation Ale and a pint of one of the guests from Oldershaw. Both were in good nick. There's load of beer/pub literature in here as well which is great for catching up on what's going on in the area. A must visit when in Nottingham.
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A welcoming, friendly proper pub. The beer is good value, as most of the selection is brewed out the back, and what a selection it is. We tried 8 of them ! Recommended by Poppies supporters (from 'Vinces Corner')
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Didn't do this pub proper justice by visiting after Notts beer festival. The Castle Rock ale was excellent and the staff were friendly. My direct comparison to here would be the Brunswick in Derby,ie I'd only visit now and then when getting a train,but the Vat would win hands down. I will return when not pressed for time,definitely.
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Close proximity to train station, excellent array of beers, something like 10 pumps on? Lots of Castle Rock ales, real cider, Bitburger lager on draft. Real drinkers pub.
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Superb start to the day�s tour. Brewery tap for the adjacent Castle Rock operation and offering their beers, plus guests, in top condition: Castle Rock Harvest Pale, Hemlock, Sheriff�s Tipple, Preservation, Elsie Mo, Okells Autumn Dawn, Newby Wyke Riverside, Nethergate Mild & Augustinian, Clarke�s Classic Blonde, Oldershaw Alchemy. Prices slowly increase by abv, Harvest Pale just �2. Classic tiled interior, banquette seating & wood tables around bar, opening to separate seating areas at each end, awards displayed on wall to left. Blackboard lists a dozen or so Belgian/German bottles, proper cobs available behind bar. Top notch, an opinion further cemented when we went full-circle & finished the tour here before train south on Sun.
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First pub of a Nottingham crawl on a Saturday lunchtime, and the last (some 15 pubs later) before getting the train back on Sunday afternoon. Just fantastic. Great range of beers with the Harvest Pale in perfect nick. It does not get much better than this (although to choose a number one between this and the Plough at Radford - the competiton in the form of the Nottingham Brewery is a tough call).
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Excellent ale house barely a stone's throw from Nottingham station with Castle Rock beers to the fore amongst a sizeable range.
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Near the station, in a bit of a wilderness, is a pub to make your eyes water. 12 handpumps, all of which offer a superb range of ales, and a rainbow of whiskys. It's like a mini beer festival, only permanent - brilliant. Don't even think about a visit to the hugely inferior Trip to Jerusalem - stay here,
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Agree with previous poster, and the harvest pale is a smashing pint.
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Castle Rock beers excellent as always. A must when visiting Nottingham for the beer lover.
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A great range of beers avaiable here. Not only is it the brewery tap for Castle Rock selling the complete range, it also has many guest beers and all very drinkable they are too.
Titanic Stout was ace and was the Preservation Ale, as was the Black Gold and the Harvest Pale.
Support your local and get down here as soon as you can.
Walking distance from the Station so no excuse!
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Excellent Pub great beer and atmosphere
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A cracking little boozer, that I frequented as often as I could whilst working in Notts. Has plenty of sister pubs withing range as well such as the Newsroom and Canal. A great way to spend 40 minutes whilst waiting for a train.
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nice short walk from the station..excellent service and well kept beer..visited here wen bury played notts county..at least i got served in here than i did in hooters who were only interested in serving at the tables.the fiddle is a must pub for good beer and grub..lovely lay out too.
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Seemed a bit of a low score for an excellent pub so thought I'd give it an 8 -from memory as not visited for 12 months. Always good beer range and atmosphere - not sure about the 'basic boozer' description earlier, that always seems like a 'wear a flak jacket' warning. It's a good, friendly pub, part of a chain (Tynemill) but still very individual.
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Visited for the third time on a football away day. The beers were in great conditon with the Damson Porter and Harvest Gold particular highlights. Full of character, buzz and chat. A really great pub to visit.
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Basic boozer close to the train station. Beers served in excellent quality, but because Castle Rock ales are pulled through tight sparklers all the guest ales are too. Can get very busy on match days. Look out for Kipper the cat. She's cute, but will sometimes bite you if she gets fed up of your tickling!
Slake - 22 Oct 2007 22:06 |
Love this pub, always a great selection of unusual and guest beers in immaculate condition - a must for any away trip to Forest or County. In fact, as a Gillingham fan, invariably the overwhelming highlight. Especially yesterday
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Perry perry perry perry perry! oh, thank you for the merry perry!
anonymous - 13 Jul 2007 15:40 |
Called in on a crawl round Nottingham and enjoyed the beers in pleasant surroundings.
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Splendid pint of Meadows Gold, Kipper the cat made us welcome before curling up on the window ledge. Infinitely better than the more sanitised Stratford Haven & Kean's Head.
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I like this pub, it's just round the corner from the station, good selction of quality beers and filled rolls. (Apparently hot food Mon-Fri as well.) You can sit inside or out - though it's only a back street so not very glamorous!
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An excellent "finish" to my Nottingham crawl on 9th March. Some friendly locals on the bar, and jovial party of revellers invited me to join them at their table - sadly had to leave and catch train back to London!
A stunning array of beers - half Castle Rock, the remainder other micros, tantalised the discerning drinker, and it was quite difficult to leave this pub!
The parentheses around the word finish refer to the fact that I managed to get in the Wenlock for last orders on arrival back in London!!!
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Always found this an excellent pub; never had a problem with bar staff; ale choice & quality can't be faulted and inexpensive too.
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The quality of the beers sums this pub up, and it has always been excellent, both in quality and range. Never been refused surface unlike some previous reviwers. Have met the cat, and might be the homeless man / bear that stole you tobacco!
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A friend who lives near this pub invited us out for a Sunday evening. They were having a beer fest of sorts. I met the cat, almost. A homeless man took my boyfriends tobacco. We had the best seats in the house and some crisps for my only meal of the day, but who needs food when there are nice pubs like this? It was a great evening out. I hope our friend invites us back.
Thera - 27 Sep 2006 23:40 |
The Vat and Fiddle, Nottingham is a pub in which you do risk being denied service for no reason whatsoever.Any subsequent protest is likely to be dealt with in your absence without you, the customer,being notified or given any chance to state your case and/or explain your complaint. To criticise such a lack of Natural Justice is likely to be met by the Tynemill Group which runs it with offensive and unwarranted slurs upon your own character for having the temerity to criticise.Thus was insult added to injury when my brother and I, both solicitors, were refused a second pint without cause recently. All efforts by us since to at least get an explanation from Tynemill have come to nothing and our letters to the Group have either been answered far too late (and then, most unsatisfactorily) or not at all. We are left to assume that this is part of Tynemill's new "philosophies" and "robust management" style of which it boasted in the August/September 2006 Issue of CAMRA'S Nottingham Drinker magazine.You have been warned of what you, too, may expect should you now choose to visit the Vat and Fiddle, Nottingham as well as from Tynemill!
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A public house gutted and turned into a bar. An ample selection of beers and malt whiskies. Cheap honest food. No jukebox - good. CD`s of the barstaffs choice played at an irritatingly anaemic volume setting - bad. The `Charlotte and Gordon` crowd tend to congregate here. Doesn`t matter though, there are tables enough outside.
Beer 6/10
anonymous - 3 Aug 2006 19:30 |
Just been to this pub again, and yes it is as excellent as always, with all 4 ales I tried absolutely spot on. This is a proper English pub without any pretensions. First class
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Somebody sat down and said "Right. I'm going to make this the perfect pub". And then they did.
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To correct cobbo'sentry-The "Vat" always has a range of TEN beers on including one mild and often a stout
Also there is the one over the eight promotion-buy eight of selection of items,get one free!
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Best Real ale pub in Nottingham bar none !!!!!!!!!!
You don't need to go anywhere else,just eat(cobbs)drink and be merry!!!!! Top nouch beer served by top nouch staff who Know what there talking about when it comes to BEER.I live 20 miles from here but any chance i get it's on the train and in like Flin.(just a 2 min walk from the station)
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This pub is quite simply fantastic. I've never had a bad pint in here.
There's always a selection of about 6 or 7 draught beers on offer. 3 or so from the Castle Rock brewery next door and 3 guest beers. In addition there is a wide range of bottled Belgian and Czech (+ I think some other continental) stuff and loads of single malts.
The staff are always friendly and knowledgeable about the beer and they serve very large, good priced cobs (rolls to you southern lot) that have plentiful fillings.
They always have the daily 'quality' papers as well!
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Staggering range of whiskeys and a superb range and quality of Real Ales.
Reasonably priced rolls with various fillings.
G. Manning - 16 Sep 2004 06:36 |
I've been attacked by Kipa the cat, for the sin of tickiling her tummy. Incidentally, there's a photo of her boyfriend taped to the wall next to the Gents.
Very good pub indeed.
Justin - 8 May 2004 22:17 |
It's always worth missing the train and catching the next one to spend time in here. After all, who wants to go on a stuffy train full of screaming kids, sober, when you can relax in here with a fine selection of beer, read the paper (can't ever remember hearing any music in here), stroke or be attacked by Kipa the cat, miss the next train, never mind, time for two more pints, get some bottles of strong continental beer to take on the train with you, when you eventually get round to getting one, three hours later than intended, and then terrorise the kids on the train? If you're lucky you'll get thrown off the train at Beeston and you can pop into the Victoria.
It's first port of call when I stagger off the train as well. And I always arrange to meet anyone who is arriving by train in here, arriving an hour earlier to get a few in.
I even manage to spend time in this splendid pub without a single thought of trains or the station.
Good proper pub.
palmwinedrinkard - 7 May 2004 16:42 |
I visited this pub twice on 17/02/2004. A real gem. Attentive, fiendly staff greet you over a bar on which ten hand pulls proudly stand, offering a glittering array of up to 4 Castle Rock beers from the brewery next door, with the remainder changing constantly. Try Meadows Gold or Hemlock Bitter. This pub attracts friendly locals, and traditional games are played.
Very close to the railway station, and well worth a visit! I give it 10/10 - a perfect pub!!
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You walk in the door and everthing is 'just right'. How often you you find that?
Chris - 26 Dec 2003 06:19 |
Love it as they always have a wide range of real ale ie a pale, session bitter, mild, seasonal ale and stout/porter. Do good promotion so get free pint when buy 8 (require 1 over the eight card with stickers gained)
Hecklesworth - 15 Nov 2003 14:44 |
Great pub, Serves great ales from the castle rock brewary and many good guest ales, good location, friendly staff, and offers of buying polypins from the brewary to get even better value on the beer.
El kTel - 10 Nov 2003 17:16 |
As it's listed in the Good Beer Guide I was expecting a down-at-heel local boozer with a good range of real ale. I was delighted to find a light airy pub with interesting beers including bottled Belgian beers. If you're a cat lover, Kipper is a cracker!
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A fantastic Tynemill pub. Ideally located for a pint on arrival into Nottingham station (out the main exit, cross the road and folow it right). The decor and the toilets aren't great but the beer is wonderful. It is the Castle Rock brewery tap and always has their beers on and a good number of guests like Deuchars IPA. Always has a mild on and does nice simple sandwiches. Fairly friendly to football fans and even has a pub cat.
David Jollie - 13 May 2003 15:25 |
