BITE user comments - mango1902
Comments by mango1902
Looking for somewhere with deafeningly loud music, cheap, piss-poor lager and packed to the rafters with drunk students? Go to the Gunnies. In the afternoon and early evening, it's not bad and there's a good-sized beer garden. Otherwise, avoid.
8 Jun 2011 18:48
Ale on tap, good prices, plenty of TVs to watch the football on, decent food. What could go wrong? Well, it's almost always got a sports team from the University of Birmingham in there, and they always shout and chant so loudly you can't hear yourself think. Go earlier in the evening, have a game of pool, watch the footy, have a decently priced pint of real ale, then leave when the women's hockey team turns up and you'll have a good time.
8 Jun 2011 18:46
The Goose At The OVT, Selly Oak
One of 2 pubs in Selly Oak on the Bristol Road that has real ale on tap, the Goose is also one of the cheapest. Why? Because the ale is mostly pretty bad. I've heard they don't clean the pipes out properly, which would explain it. However, it is VERY cheap. The music's never too loud and the food isn't bad. The toilets are horrendous though. Avoid the beer on tap (or just hold your nose when you drink it) and it's a good, cheap pub. Otherwise, you're better off going elsewhere.
8 Jun 2011 18:43
Easily the best pub in Selly Oak. If you want a studenty pub with overly-loud music and cheap lager, go to the Gunnies. If you want a nice pub that serves good food and a nice selection of real ale, go to the Country Girl.
I lived on Umberslade Road when I was in my third year at the University of Birmingham from 2009-2010 and the Country Girl was less than 10 minutes away so my friends and I would go there at least twice a week - and almost always go to the legendary quiz nights! Every Monday and Wednesday, just �1 to enter (for the whole team!), it's the best pub quiz I've done in the whole of Birmingham... just don't get the quiz master started on Jacqui Smith!
Like I said, it's less studenty than other pubs in Selly Oak, but it's not a "locals" pub, either. There are still good numbers of students in attendance, but if you want a pub with friendly staff, fairly priced food and drink and a good atmosphere, you won't go far wrong if you go to the Country Girl. There's even a massive car park and a fish and chip shop next door. Perfick!
8 Jun 2011 18:38
I lived directly opposite TCs for a year when I was at the University of Birmingham, from 2008-2009 and from what I've seen and heard, my experiences of TCs then are still true today.
Even before we visited it for the first time, we were well aware of its reputation, as the pub that accepted all the people that were banned from the other pubs in Selly Oak. Whether that is true or not, the weekly fights that took place outside TCs seem to suggest that it is. Every week without fail, a brawl would erupt outside the place. I was once even witness to an assault that saw armed police descend on the place.
On the (very) few occasions when my housemates ventured inside, we were met with dirty looks from regulars and surly staff who knew that we were students and thus looked down on us. Despite the obvious convenience factor, my housemates and I preferred to walk to the Bristol Pear, the Gunnies or even The Country Girl. It was worth it not to have to set foot in that place. I have been back once since I moved out of that house. I went there just last year, and the atmosphere is exactly the same and the weekly fights are apparently still commonplace. If you want somewhere studenty to drink, go to the Bristol Pear, the Soak, The Goose or the Gunnies. If you want somewhere less studenty, go to the Country Girl. Avoid TCs like the plague.
8 Jun 2011 18:32
Bristol Pear, Selly Oak
The music is always too loud (although commandeering the juke box is good fun) and the beer on tap is sometimes bad but it's better than most other pubs in Selly Oak. No ale on tap, the usual selection of lagers but plenty of cocktails and good prices. The food's good too. The upstairs bar hosts band nights and such. Probably the second-best pub in Selly Oak (after the Country Girl).
8 Jun 2011 18:50