The Bear and Lace, Nottingham

I've walked past here a couple of times and what with all the trendy lights and upmarket interior, I thought it was an interior design shop. It was thanks to Mrs Ale, pointing out it was a bar/restaurant, that we decided to give it a go. Four handpumps, with two in use, serving Castle Rock Harvest Pale and Blue Monkey Infinity. So we went for the Blue Monkey which was in perfect shape. We took ours drinks to the back of the place, where we found a comfortable upholstered booth, there was also a private booth were you can pull the curtains across, hmm sounds a bit dodgy to me.

The Bear and Lace is one of the newest additions to Nottingham’s drinking scene and is housed in the premises of a long standing karaoke pub called Chambers. As sad as i was to see the end to a Nottingham institution I was intrigued to visit the bear and lace when heard that they would be selling real ales. The pub is n ow nothing compared to what it used to be like with it being bright and airy with grand chandeliers and modern furniture and floors that don’t stick to your feet. It is in the new modern style that lots seem to have these days but they have obviously spent a lot of money in here and it has been kitted out rather well. The bar runs halfway down the right hand side and has four hand pulls on. Three were available on my visit and these were castle Rocks harvest pale, Lincoln Greens Little Jack pale ale (£3.50) and a beer brewed especially for them by Shipstons called Paddington (£3.90) with one unused. We sat and enjoyed our beer in peaceful surroundings and at those prices we did not feel as ripped off as we thought we would for a fancy pants establishment such as this. It was relatively quiet on a Thursday evening visit but I know for a fact that on a weekend the young well-heeled party goers of Nottingham will alp this place up. Although not really my sort of place the real ale means I would visit here again and is the sort of compromising place that would keep your wife or girlfriend very happy while you can avoid a crap beer with terrible beer. If you are after a late drink think this is a decent addition to Nottingham’s nightlife and would return.

When i first went in this pub it was called Chambers,a smallish bar situated under an office block,the pub had lots of dark wood and John Smiths Smooth crap on the bar. The pub closed down after getting a bad reputation. The Bear and Lace is so much different from the Ex Chambers. Once inside there is still a single long oblong shaped room which runs to the rear,the bar is about halfway down on the right,the seating is a mix including a few tall tables and chairs,more normal tables and chairs and bench seating. The room is now painted in mainly white and seem a lot more inviting. There are four pumps on the bar with two in use,one had its clip turned round and one was unclipped,i had a drink of Castle Rock Harvest Pale which went down well,but was a bit on the pricy side,the other beer was London Pride. Food is now available and background music was playing. This is a big improvement from Chambers. Pub first visited 23/12/1997 Recent visit 26/8/2015