The Golden Cross, Shrewsbury

This really is very much a restaurant these days, and I mean that in every sense – it’s not just a pub that has been “gastrocised” and concentrates on food. It looks very much like a restaurant, and the room at the front was fully occupied by diners; there is a very small bar counter with just one hand pump on it; and a waitress approached us as soon as we entered and when we had ordered our drinks we were asked to take a seat and they were brought to our table. The room at the back was much quieter with just one other couple dining. This is a very busy room in terms of decor, with all sorts of clutter around the place. The seating was mostly tables and chairs that looked as though they would also be used for diners, although there were also a couple of sofas. Decor wise there was pale blue wood panelling on the lower part of the walls, some rough artex type plasterwork above it and straw matting on the floor. The sofa’s had plenty of cushions and throws over them, a model ship was on the window sill and a picture of the Mona Lisa hung next to the bar. The solitary beer on tap was Hobson’s Twisted Spire, although a couple of other hand pumps hinted at a pubbier history. There was no draft cider unfortunately. This is a tricky one to mark – as a restaurant, it looked nice, seemed popular, the staff were friendly and I would be tempted to return to eat. But this is after all a pub review website, and it’s just not a pub anymore.

Despite having a couple of decent real ales on , this is more a resturant than a pub these days , the old bar at the front is now diners only , the old lounge at the rear is still dining but drinkers are welcome , decor is upmarket boudoir , beers from Hobsons . This usec to be my favorite pub in Shrewsbury but no longer , its barely a pub these days