Canalside Cafe, Birmingham

This pub is in a tiny lock keepers cottage right on the canal towpath. It's at the junction of the Birmingham Mainline and the Birmingham – Worcester canal where there used to be a bar stopping boats going from one canal to the other which means that all the cargo had to be unloaded from one boat and then reloaded on to another boat on the far side of the bar. Then they came to some arrangement (in 1815) and built a lock between the two canals and therefore, probably this cottage. It looks like a café once inside with cakes etc on display on the bar. It was red hot in here yesterday late afternoon so I wouldn't have been up for buying a cream cake that wasn't stored in a fridge. It's got a good looking black & white exterior and several tables and chairs on the towpath. Inside there's loads of mismatched seating and a covered courtyard area (also tiny) with plants and brass bits and pieces on the ledges. Four handpumps on the bar, three with Enville Ale on the pumpclip. I went for the Outlaw Buckeye which was OK and went to sit outside. The guy served after me went for the Enville and was served a pint of cloudy sludge that he took back. I'm not convinced about the beer quality here, but it is a nice place to sit and contemplate.

Quirky little place, which i have visited a few times. Looks like the old lock-keepers cottage - yes, situated next to the canal! great view! Interior is basically a room with a few tables and a small bar by the door. They only have a couple of beers, we had the Rut, which was fine enough. Worth a visit for a one-off if nothing else - a spot of lunch maybe?