Whitefriars Olde Alehouse, Coventry

This is a very old building as is obvious from both inside and out. As noted below it stands out in a street full of more modern buildings most with a connection of some sort to Coventry University. I turned up here early on a Thursday afternoon to find it fairly quiet, presumably the students were all at lectures or still in bed. It's basically one long room with the bar area in the middle and the bar itself to the right, a snug to the immediate right as you enter and a more modern looking extension at the rear leading to a patio. There is an assortment of benches tables and chairs with a fair bit of standing room around the bar. There was no sign of a TV or posters advertising boring sports. I failed to spot an entrance to upstairs so assume it was closed. I took a seat in the bar area and noticed that some of the beams in this area are so old they look as though they are rotten. The bar has nine hand pumps four devoted to cider but with one unused. The five beers on included no mainstream rubbish and were mostly Locale. They were Acorn Barnsley Bitter, Lionheart Dark Ruby, Slaughterhouse Stout Snout & Pacific Pale and a Three Tuns beer that I can't identify. I went for the Dark Ruby and Pacific Pale both of which were faultless and good value at £3.00 reduced to £2.80 with the CAMRA discount. I thought this place was superb and the only thing stopping me giving it a 10 is the thought of it being rammed with raucous students so it's a very strong 9.

Parts of this wonderfully restored timber framed building date back as far as the 14th century and represent a style of building that was once commonplace in Coventry. The premises was used as a butchers shop until 1976, at which point it fell into a state of disrepair. A lengthy restoration project saw the building re-open as Whitefriars Olde Ale House in late 2000, thereby preserving this piece of the city’s history for the foreseeable future. You enter into a corridor which leads you past a seating area to the left with muted lighting and mixed seating options. To the right, a doorway leads into a small room with benches around the edge, a large fireplace, some stained glass windows and a small serving hatch to the bar. These two front areas were quieter than the rest of the pub and seemed like the ideal spot to relax over a quiet pint. The pub opens out a bit past these rooms, with the servery in a recessed space to the right and some seating on the left hand side that runs all the way down to the back of the room. The servery has been decorated with countless pump clips and some photo collages, whilst there are a few interesting objects in the rest of the room, including a nice old clock and an antique cash register. The historic feel is enhanced by a mixture of stone and wooden flooring, loads of ancient looking beams and struts and plenty of crumbling brickwork, especially towards the front. Music was playing quietly throughout my stay and there was a diverse crowd in, including students from the nearby university buildings (the pub is at the end of a road lined with depressing student orientated bars and theme pubs). If you’re going to call yourself an ‘Olde Ale House’ you need to back it up with a good range of beers, so I was pleased to find Bakehouse Liquid Bread, Wood Farm No 8 and Union, Blindmans Joker, Clarks Traditional Bitter, Warwickshire Kingmaker and Wytchwood Hobgoblin on the bar. I tried a pint of the Union (£2.80), which was in good condition and served by a cheerful barman. This pub will impress the ale drinker and pub traditionalist alike and it should be the first pub on your list when planning a visit to Coventry. I would have preferred a bit more time to fully appreciate the place (like Quinno, I also failed to notice a well or an upstairs room), but train times meant I had to make the 10-15 minute walk back to the station after just the one pint. Definitely one for a revisit.

Great ale house, doesn't seem like it can stand its own feet as the roof is warped to buggery! The food at lunch is extraordinarily good. I had double egg, double chips, double bread for £4.10. Three and a half pints too which were all acceptable if a little cold. The only beer place to go in Coventry.