The Lord Clifden, Birmingham

I've walked past here once before and I admit to being a bit put off and too scared to go in. Don't let the exterior put you off - this is a gem of a boozer. Much nicer inside - great jukebox - superb real ales (I had the unfortunately named "Teddy Bear" from Canon Royal Brewery - which is 8 miles away from me in Worcestershire. The food looked amazing as well. Will definitely come back - best in the area. Some photos at http://mappiman.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/020515-jewellery-quarter-pub-crawl.html

On approach, this place looks like a pretty shabby local's boozer, but in reality this is a smart, well presented, two bar pub that attracted a good mix of drinkers and diners on my Sunday lunchtime visit. You enter into a corridor that runs down the left hand side of the pub, with two doors to the right leading into each bar. The first door takes you into the smaller public bar which has smart floorboards and bare brick walls. A lovely stained glass arched window on the front wall bears the pub's name and looks quite spectacular when backlit. Banquette seating to the front and left looks very comfortable, especially in comparison to the high butcher's block tables and stools in the middle of the room. A couple of TV screens were showing Sky Sports News with music playing over the top and the walls were adorned with Banksy style artwork, which apparently is part of the pub's art theme. Following the corridor towards the rear, you pass a large selection of framed press cuttings about the pub, where you can learn a bit more about their ethos. A second door leads into the rear lounge bar which has a small bare boarded area around the bar with a pub mirror and a collection of CAMRA awards on show. Further on, the room is carpeted and has a good mix of banquette, standard and low stool seating, again with pop art/Warhol style paintings on display. A large U-shaped banquette runs around the back of the room, serving several tables and giving views out to the decent looking beer garden. There were more TV screens in here, but these ones were turned off whilst music played instead, perhaps from the pub jukebox. Quite a lot of people in this room were eating, with the Sunday roasts seemingly very popular. Most of the handpulls are found in the lounge and I couldn't see a board in the front bar, so probably best to head to the rear room to work out the full range. Options on this visit were Wye Valley HPA (£3.50), Morland Old Golden Hen, Fixed Wheel Single Mosaic and Church End Willie Brew'd. My pint of HPA was in great shape and slipped down very nicely after the walk out here from the city centre. I thought this was a really nicely presented pub that worked well for diners and those just wanting a drink alike. The place is pretty comfortable, seemed to have a relaxed vibe and kept a good pint of ale, so I would be more than happy to return the next time I'm in the area.

Not helped by an unattractive façade amongst a row of dreary shops, but things improve once inside. Small (quiet) front bar and a rather unnecessary (for a Monday night) DJ in the main bar behind. Semi-modern furniture and decor, with some bare brick walls. At the back, you find a partly covered courtyard bar (unsurprisingly, given the weather and time of year, not in use) featuring table football and a smoking area beyond. Six handpumps distributed between the two bar counters, with beers including Franklin's 1066 (£3.70), HPA and Sunny Republic Dune Raider.

A two bar pub on a scruffy road, the small public bar at the front was a bit uninteresting until I realised there was a bigger room behind. The lounge behind is split level with the rear lower section being more of a dining area. The counter near the front has a good selection on four hand pumps plus some more interesting continental beers and a reasonable bottled range, none of which is very apparent in the front bar. A bell in the front bar attracts the ire of the bar staff when used by idiots. Neat if bland decor in the rear with some good posters where the comedy comes from a juxtaposition, for example grannies knitting punk clothing, apparently they are by Banksy. One of two pubs in the area owned by Urban Art Bar the other being the Red Lion. Both are GBG listed in the 2014 edition.

The Lord Clifden is a very short walk from the Church pub. Once inside there was a square shaped room to the front,there were two pumps on the bar but both unclipped,so i decided to go into the rear lounge,this room was larger and oblong in shape,it was bare boarded to the front and had copper topped tables and bench seating with small stools,the rear area was carpeted and had bench seating and normal tables and chairs. There were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Wye Valley HPA which was a very nice drink,the other beers were Kelham Pale Rider and kelham Summer Breeze. The pub was quite busy and had a good lively atmosphere. I quite liked this one. Pub visited 17/8/2013

Called in as part of our crawl round Brum. Several decent beers on in the back room, including 2 from Blue Monkey. the weather was decent for once and we stood outside on the patio area watching the test match on one of several outdoor screens and taking in the many pieces of art on display. Excellent beer pub, don't let the exterior and the tag as "Art Pub" put you off, well worth a visit.

2011 Good Beer Guide pub, and very popular lunchtime Saturday. Chose Blue Monkey Guerilla and Blackwater Graffiti from the range available and chose to sit out in the garden at the rear. This is fantastic - go through a covered area with TV screens facing to front and side so plenty were enjoying the rugby. There is a bar area and BBQ area set up ready for use if needed. Continue into a walled suntrap with plenty of tables, and a lower tier has a table tennis table with a couple enjoying themselves on it. Friendly atmosphere outside with a good mix of diners, drinkers and sport fans.

Perhaps an example of why you shouldn't judge a pub by it's cover. One of the two Urban Art Bars in Hockley. I found a fairly crowded bar at the front of the pub and a larger bar/diner at the rear. We came in from the cold and it was really warm inside. The decor was contemporary with the walls a rustic brick finish adorned with framed modern art. On handpull there was Kelham Island Winter Blues, Six Bells Brewery (Bishop's Castle) Glittery Balls, Wye Valley HPA and Enville Ginger. There was a variety of beers on tap such as Peroni, a couple of Vedett Belgian beers, Liefman, Duvel, Dog Dancer cider, Kirin Ichiban (a Japanese beer) and tucked away up the corner were Carling and Guinness. I tend to feel more at home in the more traditional pub but this was obviously popular, judging by the number of people in there on my visit. GBG 2010 entry.