Royal Oak, Birmingham

Corner pub retaining a couple of bars, both with basic furniture and limited Irish decor, and a smaller back room with a pool table. No real ale of course, so it had to be the John Smith's (£3.10) before moving quickly on.

An Irish themed corner pub in undressed brick and black and white frontage, with patio area at the back. The interior of the pub has three rooms, served i think by an island serving bar in the middle. There is a small lounge that is in green and white, with a few prints on the walls, but a disco was setting up in here (Friday evening) so we moved swiftly into the bar room. This room too is in green and white, with Irish sports shirts and flags on the walls. A small snug, with pull down screen (showing an ape programme) is in 80s style white and beam and has some Victorian prints. There is a dart board in the pub. The service was fine and the clientele mixed. Music came from the disco. Beer; all keg stuff, no real ale. It had Banks's MILD which was OK. A general place really, with nothing for the real ale drinker. Happy to pop into for one.

I enjoyed an hour here, shame I couldn't stop longer