A few years ago, this capacious corner pub was straight from the old school: footy on the telly, folk club in the function room, banter at the bar, lager in the fridge. It was a fair old place back then, but it’s better now, spruced up by an ambitious team who aim to return this imposing boozer to its former status as a local community hub.
The main bar is a big, bright, open-plan space, with a baby-grand piano and an above-average range of ales compensating for the lack of cosiness: you can expect to find up to five on tap at any one time, including a fair number of unusual varieties. Upstairs, the old function room is now being billed as a theatre, home not to folk nights but comedy clubs and occasional small-scale stage shows.