The Falcon Inn, Nottingham

There was a very good selection of ales on here - the Oakham pair of Citra and Below Zero; Oldershaw Heavenly Blonde; Castle Rock Snowhite; Titanic Plum Porter; and Kelham Island Pride of Sheffield. All the ales were between £3.30 to £3.50 a pint. This had all the look of a locals' pub, I guess being far enough from the town centre to avoid the real crowds. It's still the down to earth pub described by the previous reviewer, although I thought the prices were fairly cheap - but that's compared to London. I saw burgers advertised (but not sampled), and a sign pointing to an upstairs room. This is yet another good pub in this corner of Nottingham that I'll probably return to at some stage.

Official site of The Falcon Inn - www.thefalconinn.co.uk

Official site of The Falcon Inn - www.thefalconinn.co.uk

Now that the Sir John Borlase Warren round the corner is an outlet for Lincoln Green beers this pub is now a free house but I'm not saying they would never serve Lincoln Green beers. By all accounts the parting of the ways was wholly amicable. As noted below this is a small traditional bar with a small snug on the right. The original Shipstone's sign in the snug is a timely reminder of how Greenall's the worst ever UK regional brewer wrecked that fine company. On my visit one of the eight hand pumps was unclipped and another had a strawberry cider. The rest had Milton Pegasus, Abbeydale Larceny, Oakham Inferno, Nutbrook Black Beauty, Black Country Chain and Welbeck Red Feather. I went for the Abbeydale Larceny which I had noted as £2.95 but whether that included the 20p CAMRA discount or not I can't recall! I also tried one of their chunky round cheese rolls (£1.75) which was just as good as the excellent quality beer. I can't think of anywhere in London where there are pubs as good as the four here at Canning Circus in such close proximity. It is GBG 2015 listed and I hope it remains so.

The Falcon Inn is an excellent traditional pub in Canning Circus - an area already noteworthy for a cluster of excellent pubs. The pub reopened as a freehouse in 2013 after a short period of closure, and has built up a link with the local Lincoln Green brewery, showcasing a wide range of their products. On my recent visit, the handpulls were dispensing Lincoln Green Marian, Tuck, Hood and Archer, as well as Abbeydale Daily Bread, Brakspear Triple B, Welbeck Abbey Kaiser and one real cider. The chatty landlady poured me an excellent pint of the Archer and I overheard a group of gents at the bar extolling the virtues of their respective pints. The entrance leads you into a surprisingly compact bare boarded room with windows which label it the 'Vaults'. It's a pretty cosy space with an angular servery in the rear right corner boasting a smart counter and mirrored bar back. Benches run around the perimeter of the room, supplemented by some nice padded chairs and most customers on a chilly winter's evening had gravitated towards the lit fire in the rear left corner. A few paintings and etchings filled up the wall space and there are several boards listing the beer range and details of cobs which can be purchased for £1.75. To the right, there is a tidy snug type space with its own fireplace (unlit, hence the lack of people in there). Padded benches and standard chairs serve the limited number of tables within and the pub's marvellous old Shipstone's sign takes pride of place on the end wall. Books and dominoes were stacked up in the window sills and posters advertised an eclectic range of entertainment options, ranging from live music to fine dining nights. A pretty mellow soundtrack played throughout my stay and a steady stream of customers saw the place gradually fill up from almost completely empty during my relatively short stay. This is a fantastic little bolt hole and a really welcoming place where I instantly felt right at home. It strikes me as the sort of traditional pub that would generate a great atmosphere on a busy evening and is a must do for anyone exploring the excellent pubs at this end of town.