Thirsty Giraffe, Newcastle Under Lyme Central, Newcastle under Lyme

We were in Newcastle for two nights and visited this bar on the Thursday, so we missed it out during the PuG crawl. It's very café like with simple tables and chairs along with the rather large giraffe. Longer descriptions are given in some of the reviews below.. It was very quiet during our late afternoon visit, with only another 2 punters in the bar. The staff were friendly though and my pint of Neptune Sea Monkeys was in excellent nick. We'll be calling in again next time we're in Newcastle.

Light modern bar that thankfully hasn't gone completely down the craft keg route, with four handpumps standing defiantly on the counter. These were dispensing Big Bog WPA, Beartown Créme Bearlee, Nene Valley Big Bang Theory and Neptune Sea Monkeys (£1.60, half). The landlord is welcoming and knowledgeable chap, and this really help make our visit here a pleasure (and the 'elephant in the room' is, of course, the camelopard).

Not too bad a place and better than its competitor opposite. The 4 handpulls were Black Hole Super Nova, Lincoln Green Tuck, Reunion Opening Gambit and Sonnet 43 Seraphim. There was no World Cup bumpf dotted around, which made a change. The giraffe model to the side of the bar was now looking a bit tired.

A bright exterior, with plain and etched glass, opens into a room in white and green with a side bar. A few pirture, but giraffe models and giraffes painted on the walls brighten the place - well, what did you expect? Music was at a decent level and the TV not on. A few locals graced the bar and service was very good. A mix of keg with four real ales - I had the Beartown Creme Bearlee, which was very good. I would more than happily return here.