ReviewThis is an interesting pub. It's a pleasant enough building with some exposed brickwork and a couple of pianos in the bar, but there are some odd touches as well. For example the male and female toilets are denoted by pictures of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen on the doors rather than the more usual “Ladies” and “Gents”. Possibly they don't get too many ladies and gentlemen frequenting the establishment. The loos themselves could do with a bit of attention, the urinal is obviously incapable of flushing since the pipe from the cistern simply stops in mid air.
There's a courtyard garden out the back with some unusual sun umbrellas – they look like something from the Caribbean, made of a straw like material but in bright colours like orange and pink. Much of the walls are covered in murals, some of which are quite attractive, but there's also some more graffiti like art, such as a bloke with boobs, and a bloke sat on the loo. As I said, an interesting pub. One wall is dominated by paintings of well known corporate logos, with a few letters altered – Ford becomes Fraud, Shell becomes Smell, McDonalds becomes MuckDonalds, etc.
Back inside the pub and there's a selection of old PC's with free internet access. This takes recycling to it's ultimate as apparently they were all machines that had been checked out by their previous owners and reclaimed by the pub. There are also various flyers around advertising community events such as a “workshop on gangs and positive alternatives”, and a pile of free papers called The Voice, which is apparently Britain's biggest selling black newspaper. How that can be the case when it's free though, I'm not entirely sure.
Beers on this occasion were Hopback Taiphoon, Cumberland Ale and Pedigree. Ciders were Thatcher's Heritage & Gold. There was also an Elder Fizz Champagne Beer, whatever that is. Landlord seemed friendly enough, although one of the punters was unable to string a sentence together without interspersing every word with f***.
In many ways I'm sure this is a decent community pub, but it's certainly a little rough around the edges and not somewhere I'd take the wife.
