The Ostrich, Peterborough

This is a nice little back street pub not too far from Peterborough's town centre. The layout is a little unusual, with the entrance taking you through a seating area towards the back of the pub where the bar is located, facing the back wall. Past the bar, the pub opens out to the front again where there is quite a lot more seating, mostly set up for people to eat and there were a number of local office workers popping in for lunch when I was there. I sat near the bar where there are a few pews and the odd bar stool, whilst closer to the front door there is a small raised area with comfy looking sofas. Windows at the back of the pub looked out over a very smart looking beer patio. The walls were decorated with a few mocked up music posters and a framed history of Peterborough's pubs. I spotted a couple of games machines and there was a juke box as well, although there was no music on whilst I was in there. A menu propped up on the bar was titled 'Giovanni's Kitchen', which must surely suggest that their food is primarily Italian, although I didn't look through it myself. There were four ales on at the bar, Oakham JHB, Digfield Barnwell Bitter (£2.70), Everards Tiger and Grainstore Ten Forty. Aspall Cider was also available on tap. I tried the Barnwell Bitter which was in good condition and an easy drinking pint to boot. The barmaid was quick to serve me and seemed to have a good rapport with some of the locals. I thought this was a nice, clean and welcoming pub with broad appeal. Nice to see what appears to be a relatively new venture doing things well and I would recommend it as part of any Peterborough crawl.