The Old Malt Shovel, Newark

I had been looking forward to visiting this pub because of its eccentric exterior, but the inside was more mundane and unfortunately the experience proved to be a bit of a let down. It was quite busy when I was here at lunchtime, with a mix of office workers and school holiday dads with their brats ordering cheap meals at the bar. I had to wait a long time to get served, and the beer menu was so unenticing that I nearly walked out. Adnams Broadside, Fullers London Pride and Milestone IPA were on offer. I went for the latter, uninfluenced by the fact that it was only £2 a pint - the reason being, apparently, that it had been too long on dispense and had started to turn. Either that or the brewer had poured a little too much grapefuit juice into the brew. Maybe I was just unlucky and should give this one another go next time I'm in Newark.

A tardis pub with the back drinking area offering an upright piano and table skittles and a large dining room.No food at lunchtimes however.Well kept selection of ales with two from Everards but the rest seem drawn from a distributors list rather than being sourced from local micros.A solid pub for ale consumption,I really liked the Tiger.