The Old Ale House, Truro

Wonderful exterior with a dark low wood beamed ceiling and wood clad walls, this is a place we always visit when in Truro. A good renege of ales on hand pump and on gravity. our most recent visit had two Keltek ales plus Gangley Ghoul, ruddles County and Hogoblin on gravity.The only hand pull in use was Courage Directors.the Keltek Majik was very nice.

Always call when in Truro and is brilliant for food, especially the large "hands" which are bread bloomers with various toppings and very filling. The beers I find variable in quality, but there is a choice of about 5 or 6 from both handpump and stillages.

This city centre pub not only has an eye catching exterior but also offers one of the better selections of ales we found on our recent travels around the area. The interior of the pub is atmospherically dark and dingy with bare floors and a tatty feel but full of character with shed loads of beer mats, drink towels, old adverts, beer fest menus and pump clips stretching across the walls and ceilings. Some of it has obviously been there for years and the general impression is that anything that gets put on the walls stays there until it rots and falls off. The floors are strewn with the shells of complimentary peanuts so probably not the best place for sufferers of nut allergies but it is fun to crunch them all underfoot. Many of the tables and even some seats are made from converted barrels. A couple of old Redruth Brewery windows can be found, one a telephone box sized booth. The usual mix of entertainment is listed including quizzes, live music and (unfortunately) karaoke. There is a pool room upstairs (both the pool and jukebox are free after 7 on Mondays). On my viist there were 8 available ales either from the 10 handpumps or direct from the 7 casks behind the bar. Ironically many of the guests were familiar to me so I ended up opting for the regular house ales Skinners Kiddlywink and Cornish Mutiny, both excellent. Others available included Spitfire, Pitch Black, Adnams, XB, Deuchars and Taunton cider. There was also a selection of unusual fruit wines. I didn't find it particularly expensive and overall thought it was a great pub but sadly I didn't get time to stay as long as I would have liked although I would definitely return.

This former Beer Pub of the Year and Bargain Pub of the year for Food should be a must for all visitors to Truro.

Nice pub. Sells real ale, 7 taps. Does food all day, though there may be a bit of a delay, as it's cooked to order. Dogs not allowed.