Shakespeare's House, Leicester

First visit to this Leicester pub and despite being informed beforehand I still had to pinch myself to make sure I hadn’t passed through some unseen time portal and wouldn’t have been surprised if DCI Hunt had come through the main door at some stage during our visit. And I remain undecided about this one. A fine example of what pubs used to be like in the 60’s , but would I want to drink here regularily ?. And perhaps a cold late Friday afternoon may not have been the best time to visit for ambience. I believe I significantly contributed, on entering, to lowering the average age of the punters, and that’s from someone who can boast more years than David Gowers Test Match batting average. But what was good were the Oakwell beers with Senior, Bitter and Dark Mild available. And the Dark Mild was a very well kept pint, especially at £2.10 which easily made it the cheapest pint of the day.

A very fine example of 1960's styling,the interior is unchanged since then and that alone demands a visit.The glass front doors open onto a lobby bar while to the left is the public bar with a pool table and darts board but unused on our trip.The lounge to the right is where the regulars gather and has a graceful curve to the crittall windows.The interior wood panelling is intact as are the bench seating deviders.The polished brass table tops are also impressive. There was a friendly and jocular welcome from the barman,although one of the regulars began to show a little too much interest in the PuG crawlers. The three handpumps feature Oakwell beers with Senior,Bitter and Dark Mild(great value at £2.10 and in top nick).An unexpected gem and very well worth a visit to step back half a century and enjoy an early 60's experience.

The Shakespears Head is a slightly strange place. It really is like drinking in the lobby of a 1950s or 60s hotel. The staff are excellent as is the limited beer selection. This is my second outing to the Shakespear but this time, we discovered the pool table and dart board in the empty bar on the left. The bar maid was only too happy to sort us out with cues and arrows and we spent an excellent hour drinking and playing bar sports. Would reccomment the experience.