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Chat about:
Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Soup Dragon
Submitted on Sunday, 21st March 2010
With picture contributions to 1681 other pubs
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Requested be closed with reason - For sale: for £265,000
Detail Pages
Talbot Inn, Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
CV31 1JA
Served areas
Reviews of Talbot Inn (Average Rating: 9 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Talbot Inn
As noted, The Talbot is an end of terrace back street boozer in an the Old Town area of Leamington which is dominated by Victorian terraces. It's basic from the outside and the inside is the same with the piano still lurking in the lee of the dartboard and plenty of Leamington FC, known as the Brakes, memoribilia adorning the walls.
Nonetheless, the welcome is warm and on our early evening visit there were a few friendly locals perched around the bar on stools and engaging in banter. It's very much a family run boozer and the guvnor's wife brought his two young children down to say goodnight to Daddy and various locals they know well as well as everyone else in at the time. The atmosphere is very inclusive and it's easy to see how Mr. Quinno got stuck here.
The four handpumps had on Byatts XK Strong, a Coventry brewery which features regularly, Wye Valley Butty Bach and Silver Lining and Oakham JHB. Not the strongest selection and having tried the whole range nothing really tempted us back in for a second. The beers do change regularly and there's a board which gives a reasonably long list of which beers are upcoming and an approximate idea of when. Some of these looked pretty good and some less so, so it's really a question of dropping in and hoping that something's on which suits you unless you're local in which case visits can be planned to make the most of your favourites.
A delightful pub which I'd happily return to and hopefully find a cracking pint.
On 26th March 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Talbot Inn
This terraced locals boozer doesn't look much from the outside but is well worth a visit.The tap room to the left is quite basic with a wooden floor,darts board,upright piano and some well worn furniture with a small sky sports screen to the side of the bar.The carpeted lounge through an arch has a pleasant bay window and bench seating.
It features in the 2014 GBG and the four handpumps normally feature a brew from Byatts,my XK Strong was pretty decent while the Wye Valley Butty Batch was acceptable.Lots of banter from the locals gathered around the bar,and some children (plus pram) in evidence around the interior were the landlords offspring.We got some useful information about local curry houses from the guv'nor and his wife,the pub itself is wet led.
Although it is at the edge of town and tucked away,it is also close the the Grand Union Canal so should attract boaters and liveaboards.It has one of the best music tracks I have every experienced in a pub,an eclectic selection of some standards from the 60's to the modern day.It's a proper boozer.
On 23rd March 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Talbot Inn
A real backstreet pub off the beaten track that, to be frank, looked like a bit of a dump from the outside (side wall mural excepted) and the interior wasn’t a marked improvement. However there were five ales (Everards, Wye Valley, Oakham, Byatts on my visit) and five American bottled craft beers advertised (at a very reasonable £3.50 a pop). A massive Leamington FC pub with scarves, framed shirt etc. Everyone seemed to have some barmy football accumulator on - Jeff Stelling’s utterances on the gogglebox produced either groans or whoops. Items of note included darts, daily papers, back copies of Viz and Private Eye and WiFi (which I couldn’t connect to though someone else was streaming through it).
To begin with I thought I’d just do a quick half or two (basic pub, surprisingly good range of beer and literature but that was kind of it) but I got rather into the swing of things and the Noah-bothering downpour outside gave me an excuse to stay a bit longer. Excellent decision, as the returning footy fans and some local characters meant the place became very lively. The dodgy-looking upright piano I spotted in the corner was fired up and a Les Dawson-esque performer who took requests ranging from an ABBA medley to a raucous rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody (I was told the piano came from salvage, rescued by the player). Having worked through all the excellent ales and having a thoroughly good time, I turned my attention to the American stuff and I really enjoyed my Flying Dog Doggie Style. The punters were friendly and I got chatting to a few who were very passionate about ‘their’ local and were full of praise for the landlord and assured me that this wasn’t a one-off sort of evening, either.
I was meant to stay for a quick half or two but did five (or was it six?) pints. So that's a measure of my night here. A real backstreet gem. In a way I’d be reticent about visiting again as I’m not sure this visit could be topped. Superb.
On 1st November 2013
- rating: 10
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
View more reviews of Talbot Inn (6)
No known official website for this pub.
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Talbot Inn - whatpub.com
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Car Park : No last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Darts : Yes last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Live Music : Yes last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Pinball : No last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : No last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
- WiFi : Yes last updated 14 April 2014 by Quinno _
