Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Poll for Lancaster crawl June /July 2026 with Bucking Fastard
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Black Boy, Retford
Retford
DN22 6RH
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Strongers . left this review about The Black Boy
The Black Boy has an L-shaped serving counter on the left-hand wall that faces seating in the front left window and a long table up the right-hand wall. There’s a large round table in the front right corner and, on a recent late afternoon visit, a few locals were assembled in a rear seating area. There was some background music playing and the televisions were switched off. Standard and premium keg was available, and two of the three hand pumps were in use drawing Shipstones Brewery’s Gold Star and Hop Back’s Dragonfly. I thought it was OK in here, the locals were very chatty, in fact the governor spent the entirety of my visit chatting with them through the bar hatch at the rear. Worth a look if passing.
On 20th February 2026
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6626 recommendations about 6588 pubs]
Old Boots left this review about The Black Boy
Slightly out of town 18th or 19th century pub on a busy junction, white painted and with an arch to the side. Fairly modernised inside with a front and rear area but retaining some charm, there is banquette seating and britannia tables. A little decoration with black and white drawings. Screens and piped music are present. The longer face of the L shaped counter has two horseshoes of nothing too interesting and the short side houses three hand pumps, Mad Goose, Black Sheep Blonde and Welbeck Abbey Red Feather, none to my taste but well enough kept, it is GBG 2025 listed. Coming from the pricey bit of Yorkshire I was glad to pay only £3.60 for a 3.9% beer.
On 12th February 2026
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 4020 recommendations about 3683 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about The Black Boy
A former multiroomed pub now made into one larger room, but quite tastefully done with some retention of original features, or something that looks like it might be, and a feeling of two or three distinct areas. There's a solid fuel stove, racing on TV and a pleasant atmosphere that is only slightly spoilt by a smell of stale cigarette smoke, which I can only assume was coming from the clothing of some lads who were celebrating the end of their working week at the next table, still in the clothes they'd worked in. There are three hand pumps on the bar (see photo); I had the Bradfield Steel Cow, which was in good condition but not a terribly tasty beer, it has to be said.
Date of visit: 24th November 2017
On 29th November 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 4733 recommendations about 4337 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about Black Boy Inn
The Black Boy is a decent looking three storey pub that is just off the middle of Retford.
When i first went in this pub it had a few different rooms inside and the pub was a Wards tied house with two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Wards bitter which was a very nice drink,the other beer was Wards mild.
I dont know what beers this pub now has on the bar.
Pub first visited 15/8/1982
Photo taken 2/6/2012
On 4th November 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]