The Cardinals Hat, Worcester

A must visit place for any fans of continental beer as there are a number of imported Austrian beers on offer including a Dunkel, a Pils and a Weissbier. Back in 2002 the bureaucrats at the Weights & Measures department stopped the Austrian landlady from selling in half and full litre earthenware steins insisting that pints and half pints were used. That must have confused the hell out of the “metric martyrs”. There are newspaper cuttings about the story in the corridor. The pub itself is an absolute gem with a roaring log fire in the small main bar for those long winter evenings and two other small cosy rooms including a beautiful panelled snug at the back. I think there may also be an adjoining restaurant. The building clearly has some age to it, 15th Century maybe, and probably gets it's name from sheltering Cardinals and others when on pilgrimage to the nearby Cathedral. It was believed to be known as the Cardinal's Hat back in the mid 18th Century since when, for religious and political reasons, it underwent a number of name changes before being restored to it's present name in the 1950's.

Old timbered pub with several rooms. The bar is to the left as you enter, there’s a small snug to the right and another room at the rear. There’s also a paved patio area at the back. There was a really smoky log fire going in the main bar area even though it was pretty warm outside which was rather strange. For some reason this is an Austrian bar with lots of assorted lager fonts on the bar. The beer is charged for in body parts. A half of Pilsner was an arm and a pint of the same was a leg. It still tasted pretty much like Fosters to me i.e. it didn’t taste of much at all. It’s not for me, we had one and left, much poorer than when we went in.

Plainly decorated and furnished pub known for its extensive but expensive range of continental bottled lagers. Not your JDW type pub at all. More a place for your moneyed drinker after office hours but worth a visit.