Dog & Gun, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton

Typical Ember Inns pub , very busy on my incursion . Disapointing choice of beer available , despite 5 pulls badged with some intresting beers all but one had those silly little collars "Beer resting in the cellar " so only a very average Banks Bitter available . Not my sort of pub

Official pages at the Ember Inns site - www.emberinns.co.uk

Official pages at the Ember Inns site - www.emberinns.co.uk

This old village pub is now owned by Ember Inns, the single open plan room is entered from the car park on the left hand side of the building, it has a central island bar counter opposite the entrance and has two areas (one front, one back) which are both laid out for dining. The décor is very modern with numerous pointless arty bric-a-brac and an almost continental coffee shop feel to it, there are wooden beams in the back room and a nice brick fire place in the front room which remain from the previous traditional layout. Outside the entrance is a small patio with a bus shelter type affair for smokers. Regular ales are Banks’s Bitter, Wells Bombardier and Timothy Taylor Landlord with two changing guest beers chosen from Ember Inns monthly national guest list, on my recent visit these were Young’s Waggle Dance and Skinners Betty Stogs (GBG 2010, Cask Marque!?). There were 10 hand pulls all together on two sides of the bar, 5 were on while the other 5 were all marked coming soon. Beer quality was up and down, god only knows how the landlord is Cask Marque accredited! I used to visit this pub regularly before it was bought by Ember Inns, so I remember it when it was traditional and more to my taste, the old regulars used to affectionately call it The Pup and Pistol. Beer choice is good but quality on my last visit was not. This is not a terrible pub, but like my fellow reviewers I am equally unsure as to how this place got into the Good Beer Guide!

Quiet strange one this. In the 'village' of Tettenhall on the way out of Wolverhampton its part of the Ember Inns chain and is a mix of the old and the new. And the fact that its in Teteenhall I think has probably led to its inability to find a true identity. To me though its like the designer was just trying too hard! The bar as you walk in is nice, but then there is a bizarre white tiled floor area on the right that feels cold leading to a more traditional pub room, albeit with modern decor. The area on the left is a trad/modern mix again. The thought is there, the staff friendly, a try before you buy scheme, but it just doesn't quite work. Three real ales on, with two more 'nearly ready' though the quality, as leading to below, is say average and I too wonder how it made the Good Beer Guide. Its ok, but there are far better pubs in Wolverhampton.