The Smithfield, Derby

Official site of The Smithfield - www.smithfieldderby.co.uk

Official site of The Smithfield - www.smithfieldderby.co.uk

This riverside pub has a pretty nice location, despite being sited opposite a bus depot on a small industrial estate. The riverside footpath can be followed to Derby County's Pride Park stadium, making the pub a popular pre-match destination and there was a good crowd in when I arrived an hour or so prior to kick-off. The pub seems to have been given a bit of a modern refurbishment in recent years, but it retains a classic two bar layout. A long, central servery splits the pub in two, with the right side a fairly basic public bar with bright white walls and plenty of windows creating a very light space. The room is bare boarded with padded benches around the perimeter supplemented by low stools. There are a few floral paintings on the walls and a TV screen to the rear was showing the afternoon's six nations fixture. To the left of the front door, there is a small games room, dominated by a pool table which had been judiciously covered to avoid damage by the crowds, but which the manager uncovered as the fans dispersed, allowing a couple of young lads to squeeze a quick couple of games in. There is also a small darts area on the back wall, but it's clear that both games couldn't be played simultaneously. Following the bar to the rear of the pub, you can head out to the tidy riverside garden, or make your way into the lounge bar on the opposite side of the servery. This room is carpeted and has similar seating options to the public bar. A large fireplace takes pride of place on the end wall and there wasn't a free seat to be had. It's worth noting that there are no handpulls or keg fonts on this bar, so you'll need to remember what you want to order before heading into this room. The bar counter was covered with filled cobs and pork pies, which form part of a pre-match snack menu the pub has put together. On the bar the hand pumps were dispensing Oakham Bishops Farewell, Ossett Dana (£3.00) and Silver Shadow, Derby The Smithy and Whim Arbour Light, with three turned clips, including Bass. Obviously the pre match demand had taken it's toll on the ales, but I thought those remaining still offered a solid range and I plumped for the Dana, which was in good shape, if not entirely to my taste. I also sampled one of the pork pies, which I really enjoyed and I did consider going back for a second one. I think the external makeover, which can be seen from the photos on this site, makes this place a less appealing prospect, but actually it's a fine pub, with friendly staff and a good range of ales. The décor was maybe a bit on the bland side, but there seems to be a lot of effort made to provide a great service to their customers and for that, they should be commended.

After a period of closure the Smithfield has been refurbished and is reopen. Both rooms have been kept pretty much as they were but have been given a spruce up and there are new settles, tables and chairs. The bar itself has had a refurb as well. The outside terrace over the river has also been cleaned up and will be a great place to sit in summer. 8 handpumps on the bar with 6 beers available although none of them were particularly unusual, especially in Derby. My pint of Abbeydale Moonshine was in good nick though and they give a discount to CAMRA members. It was quite busy on our Saturday afternoon visit. I'm pleased to see it reopen and back on the beer map.

The Smithfield is back on the real ale map again,the pub has had a facelift and it is now been rendered and painted cream. Once inside the pub seems pretty much the same,there is a large curved bar to the front which was bare boarded with bench seating facing the bar with stools,there was a dart board in the small area to the left,there were two Tvs on showing the football scores. The smaller lounge to the rear is still there and this room was quite busy with people sitting around a roaring open fire,i had a drink in the main bar which was also quite busy with drinkers. There were 8 pumps on the bar with 2 unclipped and one turned round,this left five real ales to choose from,i had a drink of Full Mash Neverland which was a very dark porter type beer,this was a really nice well kept beer,the other beers were Oakham Bishops Farewell,Whim Arbourlight,Bass and Smithy bitter which is brewed for the pub by the Derby brewing company. The pub had a nice laid back atmosphere and i enjoyed my time in this pub. Pub first visited 11/9/1982 Recent visit 9/3/2013