The Cross Keys, Nottingham

Glad I popped in here as I thought the choice of ales were excellent and very moreish. The Oldershaw Aut Gold, Hobgoblin Ho Ho Ho and the Bramley Bitter all slipped down very easily. Will pop in again.

A late Victorian corner pub and eatery, with patio area. It is in undressed red brick upper and stone lower, with pilasters, black plinth and bar windows. A main corner entrance, but all have nice Victorian lanterns above them. The interior has an L-shaped room which is in on two levels, the top being the more bar area and the lower set out more for dining. The decor is a mix of light and dark green, red, grey, peach and wood panelled walls, with light green and painted cornice ceiling and a wood juxtaposed with tartan carpet flooring. The walls have a mix of old local photos and prints of paintings on them. There was a TV, which had footy on it and the music was general and at a decent level. The service was fine and the clientele seemed mixed, and it was very busy on the evening we visited – got the last table in the dining bit and wasn’t eating – so can’t comment on that. Beer; usual tap stuff with Mallard’s Duck and Dive, Coppice Side Notts Blonde, Bateman’s XB, London Pride, Wychwood Hobgoblin and a class Oldershaw’s Grantham Stout. I agree with the respected Pubsignman – it does straddle that line that seems acceptable to all. A good pub and one of many in Nottingham that needs further patronage from the Dragon

Two rooms on two levels in this GBG 2012 listed pub. It's very smartly decorated and quite female friendly with large windows and an upmarket feel. The upstairs front room was full on our Sunday evening visit so we sat in the downstairs rear room which was very comfortable. A range of changing guests on the bar and my pint was very well kept. The other half had a red wine from a decent list of wines by the glass and was also happy with her choice. It's a very pleasant pub and a bit of an oasis of quiet compared to the nearby chain bars.

We popped into this smart little pub for a breakfast on the last morning of our recent stay in Nottingham, and left feeling a little disappointed that we hadn't paid a visit earlier. It's a split level, two room pub which somehow straddles the line between 'modernised-traditional' and 'full-on gastro' pub, thanks to the nice comfortable furnishings and pleasing decor. The front room is ideal for drinkers whilst the similarly sized, lower room at the rear has more a more formal table arrangement and seemed like the perfect spot to settle down for a very reasonably priced (certainly compared to our nearby hotel) full-English. The service was very good from the two very friendly barmaids and the breakfast was pretty much spot on. Unfortunately, at such an early hour, a beer seemed out of the question which meant that the fine range of Batemans XB, Cottage E-Type, Flipside Denomination, Wytchwood Hobgoblin, Fullers London Pride and one other that I failed to note down, had to go untried. There were a few pubs that I'd hoped to visit whilst in Nottingham but failed to make it to, so a revisit will certainly be on the cards and I will make a point of stopping off here as well to try some of those tempting looking beers. A pleasant surprise.

Official site of the Cross Keys, contains menu - www.crosskeysnottingham.co.uk

Beers from batemans, blue monkey, fullers, full mash, holland & springhead breweries.

Official site of the Cross Keys, contains menu - www.crosskeysnottingham.co.uk