Anne of Cleves, Melton Mowbray

A beautiful old building, reputedly 1384, which attracts the eye in combination with the nearby church when walking into town from the station. Once inside, the preservation and restoration as a pub has been done with taste and discernment, which makes the loud and raucous modern rock music all the more jarring. On the bar is a row of hand pumps with four Everards beers and Elgoods Black Dog mild, which was in excellent condition. On a quiet Wednesday afternoon - several people in Melton pubs commented that it's the quietest day of the week, except maybe for Thursday - there were getting on for a dozen people in here at lunchtime. The garden looks good, and there was lots to like about the interior of the pub, but I found my thoughts constantly interrupted by the music. Lose it, please.

This one is an old building that has a single room with a stone flagged floor, wooden beams and open fires at either end. Seating is largely benches and wooden tables but at one end on my December visit a table was set out for a Christmas do. I hope they were due to have something better than the JDW offering of pie & mash or burgers! This is an Everard's tied house and the bar had something like eight hand pumps but with much doubling up. Four beers were available Everard's Tiger, Sleigh Bells & Beacon Hill and Nethergate Old Growler. I went for the Tiger (£3.20)which was in excellent nick. This is a pleasant Olde Worlde pub but somehow I preferred the ordinariness of the sister pub the Crown up the road. It didn't help that on an unusually mild December day the open fires at both ends were being fuelled to the hilt making the place uncomfortably warm, nevertheless it's still well worth a look.