The Custard House, Birmingham

This is a large corner pub. It is a 1930s rebuild of a pub of the same name, on the same site. The Victorian pub was in the hamlet of Little Bromwich - this was swallowed-up from c1900 with new, regimented terraced housing - hence the rebuild. The lower frontage is in mock-Tudor style; that is in brick with stone window and door surrounds. The upper storey is plainer, being in white render, with a front facing gable. The interior has a couple of rooms, however only the bar was open. This is large. It is in white, with a white ceiling and laminate floor. There are pool and darts available. The TV had a soap on (turned to another soap on completion) and there was no music, although there is a jukebox. There is a fire place. The walls have a curious mix of film star pictures, as well as London and New York bistro kind of things - all of which seems out of place. The service was friendly and a few locals were in. Beer; no real ale, just the basic keg taps, with no MILD. I had a shandy. A tidy enough place, just nothing for the real ale fan. It was nice to pop in again - we held a footie team function here once back in the early 90s (and no, it wasn't my retirement!).