The Raven, Birmingham

A detached mi-20th century build, with patio. It is an estate pub, built as the whole of this area of Hodge Hill/Shard End was turned from a rural area to a suburb of Brum between the 30s and the 50s. Indeed, over the road, used to stand Hodge Hill Farm. It was nice to return to my old stomping ground of the 80s - when i think this pub went through a name change for a while - to The Weir. The pub has some character - with the lower in brick and the upper in stone cladding. There is a slight touch of the Tudors, but the triple gabled front and steep pitched roof take the eye. The interior has two main rooms, but the large central lounge, where they do the food, was closed for refurbishment, so they were usuing the function room (which i couldn't see) and the bar. I went into the bar. It was a surprisingly small room, in coffee and grey walls, wth a white ceiling and a brick fireplace. Landscapey photos are on the walls, more akin to those you would find in the foody area, I felt. The windows have leaded glass and there is a dart board on the walls - a match was on - hence the room was full. There were a couple of TVs, showing the cricket and there was no music. The service was ok and the locals (I was once one!) were friendly. Beer; usual tap stuff with Doombar and ombardier on handpull. A dull choice since Doombar has been murdered by Coors, but that turned out to have gone, so i was left with the duller Bombardier- which was as good as it can be, to be fair. A run-of-the-mill place, that at least does real ale. One for a swifty.

Large pub with a bar, family lounge and a function room. There seems to be a food bias (2 meals for £7) though there was a strange distortion of used spaced during my early eveing visit - the bar was chocker with people drinking whilst the family lounge was totally empty! Rather ordinary inside, though its tidy and comfortable & what you might expect from a standard cheap food type pub. One real ale - Greene King IPA - again average.