The Stag & Pheasant (Lloyds No 1), Mansfield

With the closure of the nearby Widow Frost a few weeks back, this is Mansfield's sole remaining branch of Wetherspoon's. It doesn't look much from the outside, but is quite impressive inside with a tall ceiling and limited seating on a mezzanine level, where toilets can also be found. There are 2 bars, one a circular one not far from the entrance and a further one to the rear left-hand side. The second one was unmanned on my late Tuesday evening visit. In fact, there were only a few other customers rattling about inside. The chief barman was a friendly and chatty chap and was grateful for him accepting my 50p CAMRA voucher for a couple of halves, which is not standard practice. This allowed me to try a couple of different beers, without having to have a pint. To be honest, none of the 3 halves I sampled were really to my taste. So, a pint would have been too much. The usual suspects (Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best & Sharp's Doom Bar) were all on. Guests were Daleside Monkey Wrench, Milestone Cromwell Best Bitter, Pheasantry Stag & Pheasant Pale Ale & Aither Artemis. Weston's Old Rosie cider was also available. Not the best 'spoon's I've been in, but an extra point for the above average service.

An ex-Lloyds Spoons in a large new build, which has clearly sought to recreate aspects of an impressive old interior but failed miserably. The main bar counter is at the front on an island while a smaller counter at the back has the more-boring brews only, if it is ever open. The rows of tables behind felt a little packed in, and there were also some odd tables on the stairs up to the far distant toilets. Guest beers were Double Maxim and Exmoor Gold and at least the condition was good. i suppose it is better than most of the town centre pubs but there is a pretty low base.

I noticed two things approaching this one, the external Lloyds No 1 branding and a sign indicating that the pub is for sale or let. According to What Pub it was the Chicago Rock Cafe before JDW moved in. Inside it's a high ceilinged room with an island bar that has the street side of it cut off. A staircase on the left leads to the toilets and a small upper area. There is a semi covered decked area at the very front. The Lloyds disaster area is at the rear with lights, a glitter ball and a circular idiot booth under the stairs capable of accommodating several idiots. It was doing a good trade on my Saturday afternoon visit although only one side of the bar was staffed. It was probably busier than the standard JDW round the corner but that does have a larger floor space. The bar has two sets of five hand pumps. The neglected side had the two GK beers plus three ciders of which two were available soon. The other five had one available soon, Doom Bore, Everard's Ascalon, Little Critter's Hazelnut Milk Stout and Pheasantry Red Rye. I went for the Hazelnut Stout (£2.59) which was in excellent nick and quite a drink. One assumes this place's days are numbered but being a Lloyds should be avoided after 21:00 on a Friday or Saturday when according to What Pub there is an admission charge.