The Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield

Official site of The Four Oaks - www.chefandbrewer.com

Official site of The Four Oaks - www.chefandbrewer.com

The original building at the front looks like a traditional pub, but this has been much extended at the back and - despite the inevitable refurbishment - some care has been taken by Chef & Brewer to give the whole place a semi-authentic look inside the various small seating / dining areas. Greene King IPA (pricey at £3.80), Rev James and Abbot available from three of the five handpumps, plus a better-than-expected range of keg options such as BrewDog Lost Lager, Purity Longhorn unfiltered IPA and Freedom Pale.

A nice detached white rendered, with green paintwork, Chef & Brewer pub/eatery, with twin gable front, extension at the rear and patios. The interior is, i suppose, open plan and mainly given over to food, with lots of little areas; however, there is a comfy chair lounge and sofa area to the left (separate area) and in front of the main door on entry. The decor is a mix of traditional and modern; with white walls, with some undressed brick, fireplaces and supporting and ceiling beams there was a touch of the traditional (even though some is fakey) - with arty photographs and modern furniture, high stools and sofas etc there is the modern - and perhaps enough to please the traditionalists, as well as the modernists.I didn't eat here, so can't comment on the food, but the menu ranged from £8 - £14 for what i saw, and the mixed clientele turned out in force for a Wednesday evening. The service was good and the easy listening background music, quiet. Beer; usual tap stuff with handpulls for Adnams Explorer and as decent an Adnams Bitter as i have had. All in all, for a misery like me there was a little fakeyness to the interior and perhaps, despite numbers, a little lack of atmosphere - maybe because everyone was dining, rather than drinking like me. Saying that, i can understand why people would want to come here; it seemed to me one of, if not the best, place of this kind around Mere Green - and lets be honest, nearly every place in Mere Green is this kind of pub.