please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Albion - Phipps Brewery Tap is also on Bridge Street. Although it looks the part the ales (brewed on site) were not up to scratch though
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Enjoying the pub's 'Beers from the Coast' festival over the May Day Bank Holiday - over 30 beers from coastal breweries, plus various ciders. Excellent Palmers, Skinners and Branscombe Vale offerings. Good food too on our visit - lovely fish supper tied in with the Festival (2 courses for £10 !)
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This pub has it all,very nice locals,A wide choice of great beer in very good condition,decent cheap bar snacks,hygiene rating of 5 and a beer festival on the 4-6 November featuring every available Oakham Ale! 9/10
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Truly wonderful Oakham festival on when walked in after football.
Some old favourites, all on top form.
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After a disappointing visit to the town's museum, (which is the worst I have ever had the misfortune to visit), I persuaded the the lady wife that finding this pub might prevent our day out from being a total disaster and, joy of joys it did! From the outside it is an unassuming building but inside it is full of fascinating brewriana and a thousand times more interesting than the so-called museum. The service was friendly and with fourteen handpumps, each serving a small brewery's product, we were spoiled for choice. The beer was excellent and although we only had time for one we would love to go back. Well done The Malt Shovel, at least one place Northampton can be proud of.
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Still as good as ever with about 12 different ales on of varying styles.
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A really good, vast pub with a terrific selection of ales and some wonderful beer and local history paraphernalia festooning the walls. We only had a twenty minute opportunity to hole up in here but I'll be back - and preferably for a whole afternoon and evening. Popular with rugby fans which is the only drawback. Come on You Cobblers!
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As I was in town to support MK Dons last week I visited this pub and would just like to comment on what a delightful watering hole this is.On my visit I counted 13 different ales and a real ale cider on-The staff and locals were all very friendly and beer was reasonably priced-10 out of 10 all the way for me
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A classic pub. Excellent beer selection and good service. It's also big enough to be able to find a seat even when very busy. A must for anyone visiting Northampton.
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Decent traditional pub with a good choice of cask ales. Very busy on my Wednesday evening visit due to a live band being on.
alexw - 19 Apr 2012 16:58 |
Monday lunchtime visit, went for the Skinner`s Cornish Knocker. V.nice. The Malt Shovel Tavern has a great reputation for real ale and was the county`s CAMRA pub of the year in 2010.
The decor is as much restored to it`s original as possible, with lots of brew memorabilia, with Phipps NBC to the fore, given that the breweries were formerly over the road, BC (Before Carlsberg).The clientele were varied, a death metal singer at the bar, and mainly some ol` locals, some tucking in to the somewhat pricey fare. Nontheless, a nice atmosphere, and I got talking to some locals about Ratliffe Stout and whether it as ever sold on draught,(anyone know??) The staff were friendly, there was another eating area towards the back which lead to an ample patio area outside. The pub has regular gig nights, mainly blooz on a Wednesday night. They have a good range of guest ales, and currently support the Great Oakley Brewery by featuring them as regular ales. I shall return to sample them. The pub`s reputation is upheld. Go visit.
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Top notch pub and a worthy winner of all those CAMRA awards. We headed here for a pint and ended up having three and some food as well. Beer range superb (they act as the brewery tap for Great Oakley beers) with very fair prices for beer and food. Amazing collection of breweriana around the place - like a little museum of brewing companies! It's opposite the massive Carlsberg factory but don't let that put you off - this is a great pub and better by miles than anything else Northampton has to offer. Live Blues music features quite often. Highly recommended.
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Called in on the May Day BH weekend and they had a mini beer fest with live music. Excellent! Beers were v. good as was the service. Def worth a visit!!
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Dropped in again for a pint of Great Oakley Gobble - still only really here and the Black Lion to drop in to for a quiet pint if you want to avoid the maelstrom that is downtown Northampton on a Saturday night.
anonymous - 27 Feb 2011 13:22 |
I had a decent pint of Harpers Bitter here and while it was a nice pint in a nice busy pub I didn't think it was particularly extra special. Then I wandered back up through town and noticed that every single bar and pub had hi-vi clad door control operatives gearing up for that evening's Battleground Northampton operation. It's sad really when it's the first pub heading South out of town that doesn't feel the need to have bouncers.
anonymous - 30 May 2010 12:13 |
This was the best pub in the area when the previous landlords were there...they moved up north, and the current landlords are the part-owners. The problem now is that the range of strengths of beer is random, eg sometimes the beers are far too strong rather than always having a range. For a while, the quality of beer was also questionable, and a number of locals started drinking elsewhere. However, things are slowly improving, and the quality of how they keep the beer is getting better.
Rating of 6 because its a great pub, but the beer still has some way to go to improve back to how it used to be.
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Yesterday was my second visit to the Malt Shovel, and nothing much has changed except it was a lot fuller than on my last visit, and tables were at a premium (Saturday evening). They had a similar range of ales - Blue Monkey 99 Red Baboons, Salamander Golden, Great Oakley Tailshaker, Wots Occurring, Harpers & Gobble, Brains SA Gold, Newby Wyke Winter Session, Smiles Cloud 9, Church Martyr, Silverstone Chequered Flag, Frog Island Natterjack and Fullers London Pride. Thatchers Cheddar Valley remains the only real cider choice. Quick and friendly service.
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A gem of a pub in a town not particularly renowned for it's traditional boozers. A shrine to the defunct Northampton Brewery Company and Phipps's Breweries and the only remaining pub left displaying the illuminated NBC "star" trade mark outside as a beacon to attract the "faithful".
A drinker's paradise, supporting two local breweries (Great Oakley and Frog Island), which attracts an eclectic and cosmopolitan crowd - all with the following in mind; to enjoy decent beer and good company plus friendly, efficient service.
Enjoy crib, dominoes and other traditional pub games. Marvel at the landlord's incredible collection of enamel signs and other breweriana - especially his twin (working) clocks behind the bar advertising the two local breweries that once stood opposite. Maximum score!
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best place in Northampton. I wish it had done food in the evening so I could have tried it. definitely had the best beer in town though
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Cracking pub. Five regulars from Great Okley, Frog Island and London Pride and 8 guests including Coach House, Festival, Bridge of Allan, GK, Holts, RCH, Cairngorm and another Great Oakley. Draught fruit beers were Bacchus Kriek and Timmermans Strawberry and Peach. Decent selection of foreign and british bottled beer. Friendly pub, decent basic food, excellent all round. Breweriana decorates the walls to add to the atmoshere.
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Great pub. Fantastic selection of beers, huge range of bottled Belgian beers and a whole shelf full of malt whiskies.
A must visit if you're ever in Northampton.
Plus pasties you could hollow out and use as sleeping bags.
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Fantastic Pub. Great range of ales, fantastic atmosphere and friendly staff.
Certainly the best pub in Northampton.
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What a great pub, serving great beer. They have about ten hand-pumped beers including Wot's Occurring and Harpers from the Great Oakley brewery, which were really excellent when I was there. If you're in Northampton and looking for a (very) decent pint this is the place to go. Superb.
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By far Northampton's best pub... never had a bad pint here. Staff always seem on the ball and genuinely friendly.
anonymous - 9 Mar 2009 18:34 |
Great real ale haven just outside the centre of Northampton. During our visit last summer, they had Wickwar Penny Black, Great Oakley Delapre Dark, Oakham Haka, B & T Dragonslayer, Shirty's Festival, Stonehenge Spire Ale, Brains SA, Great Oakley Gobble and Frog Island Natterjack. The real cider was Thatcher's Cheddar Valley. Has a good relaxed atmosphere and plenty of seating. The bar staff are extremely knowledgeable.
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was there overthe festive period nice little pub,how ever smell of cats was very unplesant
anonymous - 28 Jan 2009 23:05 |
The Malt Shovel is well worth a visit and anyone who likes welcoming pubs with a real fire and plenty of real ale will like this place.
On my visit, they had several beers from the Great Oakley Brewery (this is their tap), and also one from the local Frog Island brewery.
There were plenty of other guests ales as well.
They do basic bar food which was decent value.
This is a pub that is certainly recommended.
Will go again if I find myself in the Northampton area
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Impossible to beat this in anywhere in Northampton. Best pub by a mile (well several actually!). As well as being the "tap" for Great Oakley Brewery's beers the pub also supports many local Micros, including the nearest (real) brewery to the pub, Frog Island. The staff are to be commended for their attentiveness and advice to those novice drinkers who find themselves on ale for the first time! (After 16 years, I finally witnessed my partner succumb to the delights of real beer!) It is also a veritable museum of breweriana and one never ceases to be delighted to discover yet another sign or artifact around a corner, on a shelf, or up a wall. And how to find this heavenly place? Be guided by the "Star"...
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Superb range of beer, including a lot of local ones. Definitely the best beer pub in Northampton. The pub itself is decorated with a wide variety of pub (and other) memorabilia. Different drinking areas and a real open fire. Just south of the town centre and about a 15 minute walk from the station � well worth the walk!
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The best beer drinker's pub in Northampton no doubt. Plenty on and some unusual ones. The decor is good and the only qualifier I have is that there was no more food at 2.10 (I think it was) on a Saturday afternoon! Apart from that (and that is hardly terrible as there are plenty of places to eat in the town) it was excellent.
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Great pub. They were serving over 10 beers, the four I tried all perfectly kept. Staff were attentive. It was a Saturday and quite busy, but there was plenty of seating available. Looking around I notice no-one under 25, which is always a bonus.
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I first went to this gem of a pub something like 7 years ago. It was like an oasis in a sea of mediocrity in Northampton. I was fortunate to know the manager at the time and had some very pleasant evenings there. The manager moved on and so did I and it was only by chance that I happened to be back in Northampton in May of this year. After such a time lapse of 5 years or so would it/could it still be the same? A resounding yes! It was like a trip down memory lane and all the things I enjoyed about it in the past were still there. This is a pub that is run by people who really care about their beer and their customers. It's the sort of place that from the outside you might not even give a second thought too (particualrly where it is located - sandwiched somehere between Morrisons Superstore on one side and the Carslberg/Tetley brewery on the other). So maybe that makes it a hidden gem. Except there are quite a few people who know about it! A truly great pub - in fact quite possibly my all time favourite! If you are ever in Northampton seek it out - and if after a session there you don't agree with me I'll refund your beer money!!
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What a find!! No less than 13 real ales.. All served in tip top condition. Only here for one night at nearby wedding, but wish we had more time. Crammed in a few Oakham ales which were great. If you like bottled belgians, there were loads literally dotted all around the shelves behind the bar. Very friendly locals and a very nice patio for the smoking fraternity. One local, Chris, even gave us his glass to bring home as a souvenir!!
Roast tatties on a sunday too apparently!! TOP MARKS
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This is the best pub i have ever visited for sheer choice of Beer. Great selection and well served beers. Many imported beers with original glasses. Good pub for meeting with friends and relaxing. If you want cheap vodka pops and tacky pop music this ISNT the place for you. Very odd how this great pub selling interesting beers faces the vast Carlsberg brewery.
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WOW what a place.I was there in April 2007.While visiting from the USA.Well worth the trouble to find.Great beer.Live music.A true Pub in all ways.Local made me welcome:-)
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Loads of beers, great pasties. Smashin' place.
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Perfik Pub :-) as Pop Larkin would say. 10/10 I say if you are in Northampton head for the Carlesburg sign and you will spot this oasis
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On a main road to the south of the town centre but worth the diversion to make a visit, and reasonably close if you're heading home via the station.
Thirteen ales on handpump plus a real cider, all from smaller breweries except Tetley's which looked a bit out of place amid such an appealing variety of alternatives.
Very much a real ale drinkers' pub with no tacky distractions; a comfortable place to settle in for the duration.
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This place is truly cool for the real ale lover and the monthly quizzes are ace!
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THIS is a proper pub, serving proper beer and proper food. There is always a superb selection of guest beers, including local beers, and even when busy its a "nice" busy, rather than "gets on yer nerves" busy.
Warm in Winter-nice fire, sit outside in the Summer.
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A Real Ale gem of a place. When i visited on 1/10/05 - at least 10/12 ales on offer (I sampled most), great lunchtime food. If ever you are in this town make sure you visit this pub - it has everything that a real independent pub should have :no annoying kids howling with their idiot parents, or spotty teenagers drinking cheap lager, no loud music and thankfully no sky football.
Walls covered in Ale memorablia and staff helpful and showed quality.
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A must when visiting Northhampton
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Great place, full of atmosphere, no kids, no jukebox, superb beers, very friendly staff. A must for anyone who enjoys a good pint.
NICHOLAS - 23 Mar 2004 09:23 |
Awe-struck by the range of beers on offer. A charming and friendly pub! Maybe one for the chunky-knits tho' ;)
Howard - 10 Dec 2003 13:07 |
Special beers (inc. Belgian) plus great Blues on Wednesday night
Dave Irvine |
