Cross Keys, Penkridgeback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Cross Keys have just been awarded a 5*****star certificate from Rate My Place, South Staffordshire Council! Real ales and superb food, with hand cut home cooked chips, are served at this friendly canalside public house! A fine choice of good wines are available along with refreshing keg lager and cask bitters/cask Banks's mild served in oversized glasses to ensure there are no short measures! Well worth a visit!
|
Not very nice, beer tasted odd, and delivered short measures, with a bad attitude! will not be visiting again, only positive thing was they allowed our dog to join us!
|
Banks's Bitter & Mild are cask ales dispensed by metered electric pump rather than handpump, actually guarantees a full pint of real ale. Clientel divided between lager drinkers from the local estate and real ale drinking boaters which means ales can be a bit tired out of season when throughput is low. Food basic but good.
|
i pulled up to the cross keys on my barge and we were greeted by a nice homely traditional pub, we moored up and went inside and we were welcomed by friendly locals and the bar staff we exceptionaly pollite and helpfull, they didnt keep us waiting and the service was excellent also having tried the food i wouldnt have any qualms about returning again as i thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the cross keys.
|
What a shame - lovely canalside setting but I can't see us ever stopping here agin. We moored up right outside on a sunny Sunday afternoon just wanting to sit outsIde with a pint. We couldn't sit in the nice seat overlooking the canal due to the foul language of the group of men gathered there- not the pubs fault possibly but we found that wherever we sat the 'f' word was liberally sprinkled into every conversation. The bar service was appalling - so off-hand & our question about what red wines were on offer seemed to fox the barmaid. Eventually she pointed to 2 opened bottles & said 'it doesn't say but I think one's sweeter than the other'. Eventually after studying the labels we were informed they were both Shiraz. We had to return the lip-stick encrusted wine glass with a request for a clean one - no apology. Banks Bitter was not awful but not good either. Bar area smelt of disinfectant but the corridor down to the toilets was musty & dank. Although the loos themselves were clean the hand dryer was not working & had been replaced by a grimy towel.
The place is obviously a local pub for local people. If you're on a boat keep on going to the Boat just after Penkridge lock or even better take a 5 min walk to the Star Inn
|
The pub looked promising as we approached it from our canal boat however we were soon put off by the attitude of the bar staff and the quality of the beer. I chose the Banks Bitter which was dispensed electronically (even though the beer had a hand pull on the bar). After two presses on the button a pint had been put in front of me. I then queried why the beer had not been hand pulled even though a hand pull existed on the bar. The bar maid response was not very nice at all as she pointed out that it was dispensed with a switch. I thought this type of 'keg' ale had been done away with in the 1970's!
Anyway we sat down out side and I tried drinking this 'beer'. Oh dear, it was too cold and had no taste or flavour.
We decided to cut our losses as go to another pub in Penkridge - The Star Inn where the service was with a smile and the beers were proper hand pulled ales.
I would strongly advise avoiding the Cross Keys and make the short walk the the Star Inn. You will not be disappointed.
|
Excellent traditional pub - exactly what one should be like.
Food is basic but very good value. However serving times are extremely restricted.
It would probably get more custom if people knew how to get to it by road (which is very easy if you know how). People shouldn't be put off by the housing estate that surrounds the pub, because the clientele and staff are very friendly.
Unfortunately in the last year or two it's fallen into the same trap as all the other pubs in Penkridge and has increased the price of drinks to beyond what is reasonable. A pint of lager for example is a good 50p more than a similar pub in Stafford.
|
A large, former country pub, now swallowed up by the housing developments around Penkridge. It sits by the Filance Bridge over the canal and is far easier to spot by barge than by road, The exterior is beginning to look a bit tired, as the white rendering is peeling away. There is a beer patio by the canal.
The interior has a long room, that is broken into three mini rooms, the last having a TV in. It is clean and there is of course canal memorabilia on the walls. The service was friendly enough and the clientele mixed.
The beer is the usual stuff, with Spitfire, Bombardier and Banks's bitter on handpull and Banks's MILD Cask on electronic pump. The MILD was too cold, so it could have been smooth for all i could tell.
All in all, its a decent enough place and i would visit again.
|
|
