The Black Horse, Luton

An unassuming location in an iffy area, I walked in expecting cursory ales to find four interesting ones (Brakspear Oxford Gold, Cottage Golden Arrow, Jennings Soggy Bottom and Cross Bay Nightfall, though a criticism would be that they were samey, mid-range goldens) plus a real cider (Westons). The Jennings was decent but the Cross Bay was stunning. The jukey was playing some great tunes, from My Bloody Valentine to Led Zeppelin via Simple Minds and the Rolling Stones. The interior is L-shaped with a tiled wood floor. The decor looks fairly plain and, although newish, seems to have been done on a gnats chuff budget; a couple more homely touches required I think. A pool table is at the rear of the pub and the front part of the bar hosted a decent range of nationwide CAMRA mags. Another plus point was that the barmaid said hello and had a brief chat. The toilets needed a bit of tlc though. Well-worth the walk out of the immediate town centre, I imagine this is a good one on a busy evening. A bit more effort on the smaller points and this could be a real breakout pub to compete with the English Rose and Bricklayers.