George Hotel, Ludlow

Tris C left this review about George Hotel

This place is grade II-listed with a 19th century front to an earlier core which goes back a long way along Castle Street.
You can see photos on their website, but aside from some old unpainted rafters, it has been savagely trendified, with herringbone parquet floor and tiled bar apron, a bar array made from Shoreditch-inspired scaffold poles to accommodate a multitude spirit bottles, backlit in flame yellow; the bar front is modern dark brown field panelled. Walls are dark brown painted field panelled to the dado, then ochre coloured hessian wallpaper thereafter, a panel decked out with an ironic flock of flying Guinness toucans. Furniture includes banquettes to the rear, but furniture is otherwise rather modern restaurant-style stuff. Décor is thin, but over my shoulder to a windowsill I espied hardback books from the likes of Max Hastings, Bobby Charlton and Jeffrey Archer; a trip to the khazi revealed very swanky modern lavs, along with genteel mainly young female customers clasping chalices, no doubt containing gin or Prosecco.
Surprisingly there was a choice of cask: Pride, then three from Ludlow: Best, Red Dawn and Gold at £2.15 a half and decent, served by a proficient barman.
Assuming the mantle of Ludlow’s Fashionable Pub, this is really more of a cocktail bar – cum – restaurant than boozer; some may like this sort of thing but I don't, the Blue Boar is diagonally opposite.

On 20^th November 2023 - rating: 4
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