The Shakespeare, Birmingham

Oooooops. Wrong ! Having done a bit more research,it seems that The Shakespear will be no more. But,the Pallasades shopping centre will be revamped and renamed Grand Central Birmingham and have " 15 new concept cafes and restaurants ".

Birmingham New Street Station's 'pub' located within the station itself. It has a wood and glass frontage and was formerly called The Bridge, as amazingly, it is on the bridge that gives access to the platforms - now called The Shakespeare, as William was obviously from Birmingham, the place should be called 'The Cess Pit', as when plans were first laid for the building of the station in 1846, Charles Shaw, a leading railway magnet had objected as New St had gone down hill.... it was a dangerous place... undesirable.... extra police were on duty.... lawbreakers around etc etc. I digress. The interior is a single room in cream and wood panel, with wood floor - the bar faces you on entry. There are some old pics of traains and Brum on the walls and some nice light fittings. There is a TV, which had the Magic music channel on and a mix of comfy seats, high stools and sofas for seating. The place was quite busy, with passengersthat one assumes are not too fussy about beer, as there is no real ale and the old Anselles MILD tap has bit the dust from my last visit. Looking at the cost of the drinks and the ubiquitous choice, i left to await a proper beer elsewhere. I am left feeling sad, in that is this the best we can offer visitors to Brum if changing trains etc? Hopefully, when they tear down the current station, they will put some real ale in and tone down the prices.

In its former incarnation as the Bridge Bar, it was a thoroughly charmless place for thirsty people waiting to go somewhere else. Unfortunately, a new name has done little - if anything - to improve things (and to show you how much they care, and the level of detail observed by the management, the till receipts still have the old name on them dispite the change being made some years ago). Apart from having no real ale, you also need to be aware of the differential pricing policy - for example, a pint of John Smiths is £3.20 but a half £1.80. Also, as it is a Select Service Partner outlet, you are more-or-less guaranteed to get the annoying "Would you like a packet of crisps or some nuts with that?" script when you purchase a drink but it does at least mean that you can get a 20% discout with a BITE card. Overall, it remains a thoroughly charmless place for thirsty people waiting to go somewhere else...