please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Walking back from Lye to Stourbridge, mainly to pop in here and try it out.
Lots of real ales on - maybe around 7 or 8. I tried an Abbeydale brewery ball of snow and then a Golden Hen.
Proper pub - worth checking out.
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Good pub with a good selection of well kept ales a bit more pricey than the other local pubs but worth paying the extra money. The food is supposed to be very good but not tried any of it myself yet. the landlord is a friendly chap who's talking to his customers.
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My first visit to The Shovel for over 25 years the other night. Even better than I remembered it. Absolutely cracking pub on all levels.
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Remains a cracking,old fashioned pub with a great range of well kept beers including Holden's Golden Glow and 2 Enville Ales as regulars.
The landlord was friendly and very knowledgable about his beer and rightly recommended the Cavendish Ale from Wellbeck Abbey Brewery which we hadn't come across before but will look out for.
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Hard one to call. One member of our party was 'banned' because of some confusion over the order which cast a pall over our visit, but the beer (Golden Glow) was excellent. Does not do food at weekends.
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I have been using the shovel twice a week for 3 years, it's always been warm and inviting with 12 hand pulled beers. I have tried the windser castal but it's like a wire bar not a pub full of people posing with there "real beer"
Kitey - 28 Apr 2012 23:34 |
Great pub with an excellent range of beer normally including a superb Holden's Golden Glow and a couple of Enville ales.
Not as busy as the nearby Windsor Castle and has a more old fashioned Black Country feel to it.
Unmissable if you're in the area and I wish it was my local.
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the shovel inn is a very warm pub, food is fantastic and very busy on wednesdays (curry night). the landlord Steve is very welcoming and will always greet you and take time to say good night when leaving. i have been coming in this pub for years an know the landlord well, just for all the people who go on about his flash car, people need to know that he works during the day to pay for that in his other job. why do people judge???
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this used to be a great pub for locals,although the gaffer has improved the decor, he has either banned or annoyed most of them.He gives the impression that he is too good for the lye and should by running a pub in Hagey.
He is constantly putting prices up and then buys expensive cars which doesnt bowed well with many.
The staff look totally fed up at the best of times and are not very welcoming.
pity for all the negatives because this used to be a great pub with great atmosphere and good crowd of locals,most of which now drink at the fox or the windsor castle.
The fox is a great old fashion pub with fantastic hosts and good group of folks beer kept at good price even though its a tied house.
Has now started guest beers .If you like darts dominoes and a good laugh its the place to be,also a nice cosy lounge if you prefer.
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More beers than you can shake a fist at - slightly panicked when I was was asked what would I like. In the middle of a pub crawl so couldn't do it justice - the paradise that is the Windsor castle is very close by.
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The Shovel has an excellent range of bitters, with ten beers on the handpulls not an unusual sight. Beer quality is always good and occasionally you get special offers (recently Bishops Finger �1 a pint!).
There are usually 2 enville beers on and Broughs IPA.
There is a wide range of guests, on last visit for example wadworths spearfish (a rare sight in these parts).
The locals are friendly, and a large tv shows sporting events.
The pub is handy for Lye station, but there is no car park.
Not open lunchtimes escept Sunday when you can get an excellent values Luncheon.
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I can only assume that the previous poster had a really bad experience here, rather than any axe to grind.
The pub is a free house and looks to be a 19th century build to me. It has a large 'cottage type' look, with central door and red/white theme. It has terraced houses coming off the one side and to the other, though separate, is the Bulls Head, which is currently closed. It has a beer garden/patio area.
The inside is clean, painted in a peach colour, with an open plan bar/lounge and a strange statue or two. The clientele was mixed and the service was friendly, even making a point wishing us a good night when we left.
The beer, like the Windsor, is focused on the handpulls in the middle of the long side of the bar. Two Enville's, the Ale and the Ginger, were really good, as ever. There was Spekky Hen, Malvern Hills' Bitter and Wobble, which were fine, Broughs IPA and a couple of others. The beer was kept well, even if all were not to my taste - and i didnt see a MILD on, though i believe they have them as guests.
This pub is quality. Along with the Windsor Castle and Holly Bush to a lesser extent, Lye has some excellent pubs. I do not quote in my report the score i give, only this time, as the last poster rated it as a 1 - i will give it 9/10
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Not the best of pubs, warm beer cold landlord.
There are much better pubs in Lye.
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