Pubs Galore - the UK pub guide

An attractive pub, whose photo I took on my way to the tube station and, eventually, to the St Albans beer festival. On the way back I decided, who knows why, to call in on the off chance that it might be a good pub on the inside too. Very busy at around 7:30, but this is not a dining pub (if you discount the upstairs dining room!). Six hand pumps suggest that it might not just be lager that this huge crowd of noisy people are drinking (see photos). I went for Southwark LPA and Greene King Abbot, both of which were very good (NBSS 3.5 on average) but a stupendous £7 for the two halves. How can these people afford to spend more than half an hour here? The frequency of use of the free water facility on the bar where I found an unoccupied stool may give a clue. (My complaint about my almost empty glass being collected while I was in the toilet, despite my various possessions being in proximity, resulted in a generous replacement.)

Having done what I assume are the better pubs in Wolverhampton city centre, I decided to give the Giffard Arms a try whilst in Wolverhampton for a football match. My experience of Wolverhampton on a football matchday is that it is generally the least friendly club to get a pre- or post-match drink in the Premier League. Pubs generally have bouncers on the door and signs in the window signifying they allow home fans only. However on a quiet Tuesday evening, many of the central pubs were welcoming anybody in, as it was fairly quiet. Whilst there was a guy in a high vis jacket sat on a bench to the front of the Giffard Arms, my best guess was that he was a workman having recently finished work and enjoying a drink, as opposed to a bouncer. Meanwhile, the George Wallis opposite had a plethora of doormen despite being almost empty.

Situated on a main shopping street close to the Mander Centre, the exterior is quite impressive, as can be seen from the pictures on here. Inside is very dark but also has some fairly unique features. Not ever having seen Game of Thrones, I would not have recognised what the large chair next to the bar was. However, I had read the review below and I found it quite an impressive piece of furniture.

The pub is split into two sections. All customers I could see were in the front section. I sat at a table in the front windows to try to get a bit of natural lights. Others were sat on tables to the left-hand side or around the corner of the bar, which can be found to the right-hand side. To the rear was another section with a DJ playing. I'm not a great fan of heavy metal and didn't realise that there was such thing as a heavy metal DJ. The music being played sounded like Ozzy Ozbourne to me but I'm no expert.

There are certainly some interesting characters in here with strange clothing and equally strange haircuts. The young barmaid (who fitted the description from the previous review) was busy serving the group of people at the corner of the bar when I arrived. I was impressed that the landlord emerged from within the group to serve me.

There are a couple of handpulls but both were unclipped. This left a keg selection of John Smith's, Carling, Camden Hells, Strongbow & Strongbow Dark Fruit, Inch's, Guinness, Neck Oil & Shipyard.

Probably not a place I'd look to return to but it is fairly unique and it is probably worth a visit if you're ever in Wolverhampton and have exhausted most other options.

This pub hasn't been open for a few weeks now but I now know it is being taken over.
Pleased to say it is to become Weavers of Bewdley soon!

It’s now reopened under a new name - Uncle Bob’s Bar. Its opening times are Monday & Tuesday 4pm. Wednesday to Saturday 12pm and Sundays 11.30am.

New pub, which opened 12.09.25. Current opening hours are Wed & Thu: 4pm-8.30pm, Fri & Sat: 4pm-9pm. Closed: Sun, Mon and Tue.