Lamp Tavern, Dudley

On my Saturday lunchtime visit it was quieter than the Vine a few miles away, but just as good a pub to visit. My previous two visits here many years ago were in the evening when it was pretty well rammed. The Batham's best at £2.55 was superb and wasn't as sweet as I remembered from the past. The Mild was also on sale. This place and the Vine are museum pieces (in a good way) that are must visit pubs.

Visited September 2009 The Lamp Tavern is a traditional two-roomed Bathams pub situated right at the very top of Dudley High Street. In fact the address is slightly confusing because you have to cross the busy main road where the High Street seems to end in order to reach the pub. The public bar is U shaped and traditionally furnished, but with distinct drinking areas either side of the entrance. An impromptu sing - a - long had just got under way on the evening of my visit. At the back is a more sedate and comfortable lounge, which is pleasant enough, but seemed rather featureless to me. Further behind, accessed via a Batham's tiled corridor, is a music room, also used for functions. Unusually, there's also a cottage - The Lamp Cottage - which is available for Bed and Breakfast. The Batham's Best Bitter - £ 2.15p again - was in good form here and tasted rather more distinctive than at the Bull and Bladder. The pub is a GBG regular. It's well worth the steepish haul up the High Street to visit this pub.