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Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Merry Widows, Derby
Derby
DE1 2RU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Merry Widows
Corner local directly opposite the station, with a surprisingly small 'L'-shaped interior sub-divided by two brick archways. Basic furniture and just a limited amount of sports-related decor. Three handpumps on the counter, but only Jenning's Cumberland (£3.35) available when I stopped by.
On 5th February 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8679 recommendations about 8678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Merry Widows
Directly opposite the station,this is a small street corner boozer .I had 15 minutes to kill,had a wander around the small interior with mainly whitewashed walls,ordered a Jennings Cumberland Ale which was the only real ale available and settled down to the left of the entrance where there is bench seating running around the walls and a Sky flatscreen.Lots of Derby County ephemera and more seating beyond the bar.In a town centre overflowing with excellent real ale pubs ,it's hard to justify using up drinking capacity in here.
On 17th November 2015
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2936 recommendations about 2936 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about The Merry Widows
Very close to the station and while there is nothing inherently wrong with the place it just doesn't compare with the one down the road.
On 7th August 2015
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Merry Widows
When i first went in this pub it was called the Wrights Vaults,the pub was an Ansells tied house with a decent drink of Ansells bitter on the bar,the pub was renamed Merry Widows quite a few years ago.
Once inside the pub still has two rooms,i had a drink in the room on the main road side,this was a small square shaped room with basic bench seating around the edge of the room,the room seemed quite bare to me,there was another room to the rear right off this but i did'nt look in it.
There was one real ale on the bar,this was Doom Bar which went down well after my train ride from Sheffield.
I was happy enough having a drink in here.
Pub first visited 11/6/1982
Photo of Wrights Vaults taken 24/6/1988
Newer photo taken 2/10/2010
Recent visit 28/9/2013
On 30th October 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Mark Davey left this review about The Merry Widows
We arrived in Derby at 11am for a crawl rount the city and this was the only place open near the station that served real beer, so we popped in. Never been in this pub before, despite doing many crawls in the city and working there for ten years. all they had on the bar was Doombar, but it was absolutly perfect in both taste and temperature. We ordered 2 pints and settled in to wait for our drinking buddies who were on a later train. The decor is sparce but clean and the toilets were very clean, what more do you really need when all you want is a place to sit and wait for an hour? Much better than a 5, I give it a 6 and will use the place again if the need arises.
On 19th April 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 292 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about The Merry Widows
An oddly shaped corner pub, with entrances in either street leading to two rooms linked together through an archway. There are a couple of hand pumps but only Sharps Doom Bar available on my recent visit. I must say my heart sinks a little at the sight of this almost ubiquitous beer, but the half I drank here was in pretty good condition.
The décor is minimal, plain white walls with photos of footballers of yesteryear the only adornment. The music was "different", according to the notes I made at the time. Maybe I just struck lucky, but it does make a refreshing change not to hear the same old middle of the road pop music. No music at all would be my first choice, but if there must be music, let it be different!
On 17th March 2013
- rating: 5
[User has posted 4273 recommendations about 3935 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about The Merry Widows
Tiny one roomer that has been opened out from two even smaller rooms. Half a dozen punters in on my Saturday evening visit. They have a sign outside that says they sell cask ale, they didn't on this occasion as the single pump clip was turned round. There are so many decent pubs around here that I couldn't be bothered drinking Carling or some such muck in here, so I left. I really wouldn't bother if I were you.
On 1st May 2012
- rating: 2
[User has posted 3286 recommendations about 3196 pubs]