Black Eagle, Hockley, Birmingham

Enjoyed my visit to this friendly pub late lunchtime. I had called in for a beer but was tempted by the reasonable food on offer and enjoyed the stilton soup. There were 2 small bar areas which had a choice of real ales and larger rooms set up for dining. Chose Malvern Hills Malvern Spring which was a little cloudy but drinkable.

A mid afternoon stop on our blast round Brum and we stumbled accross the Black Eagle Beer Festival. Unfortunatly for me, it was just like home with brews from Magpie and Blue Monkey but I managed to find somthing that wasn't from Nottingham and settled down. The pub was missing a bit of a trick as it was packed and had a great bar-b-q going but nobody serving food? We ended up going inside and eating from the pub menu, which was very good. Between the 6 of us, we had a couple of steak pies, chillie, scampie and a curry, all of excellent home made standard. Well worth a trip out on the tram, will call again.

This pub has a traditional back-street local feel to it. It's just a short walk from the Soho Benson Road stop of the Midland Metro (3 stops from the Snow Hill terminal). Don't let the slightly tired decor and furnishings put you off though. A central bar serves 4 compact rooms. The ale board displays the regular offerings of Martson's Pedigree, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Freedom Organic Lager and Ansell's MILD. The guest ales on my visit were Sharp's Cornish Coaster, Backyard Brewhouse Kris Kringle, Batham's Best Bitter (my choice, it was up to scratch)and Burton Bridge Stairway to Heaven. Worth a visit if you prefer the traditional pub over the more modern setting. GBG 2010 entry and current Birmingham CAMRA Pub of the Year.