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Beer of the Week (w/e 2nd August 2026) with Thuck Phat
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Detail Pages
Admiral MacBride, Barbican, Plymouth
Plymouth
PL1 2LR
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Admiral MacBride
This pub is firmly on the Barbican drinking trail. It is a bare boarded pub with TVs for live sport. A fireplace separates the main bar from a smaller side room to the side of the bar. However on a hot day, most people were choosing to drink across the street on tables overlooking the harbour. Inside, music was playing but all TVs were off. Dogs are allowed in.
The bar has 3 handpulls. Jail Ale & Tribute were on with the third clip turned around. Neck Oil was on keg. Ciders were Inch's, Thatcher's Gold, Haze and their 3 fruit varieties. I chose the Apple & Blackcurrant variety, which was £3 for a half. Wine and cocktails were being promoted, as was a bottomless brunch for the princely sum of £35.
Since Quinno's 2023 review, the pub has dropped out of the Good Beer Guide and it's easy to see why.
On 26th June 2026
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3569 recommendations about 3567 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Admiral MacBride
GBG’23 listed and I had high hopes for this one. Probably was a half-decent interior a few years ago but has recently been glooped in grey paint. This, allied with ropey music and modern wholesale tin signs made the place seem pretty sterile, especially given the waterfront location. Things deteriorated further as the two tweenage bob-a-jobs were serving the loud-mouthed, aggressive and quite clearly incapable (who then staggered off with a full pint – though he probably lost half by the time he reached the door - to a taxi). Three cask; St Austell Tribute, Dartmoor Jail and Salcombe Shingle Bay (NBSS 3) which perhaps inevitably got poured into a Heineken glass. A GBG selection for a branch that has too many entries. No chance of me re-appearing under this (lack of) management. A horrible 15 minutes.
On 21st June 2023
- rating: 2
[User has posted 6249 recommendations about 6228 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about Admiral MacBride
A single room seafront pub, dating from the 18th Century. The floor is timber, the windows at the front once overlooked the harbour but development has now got in the way. There is a brick hearth set into the original stone chimney and a large tv on the chimney breast. The staff weren’t particularly welcoming, and there wasn’t much of a local feel to it, just a few elderly and quite annoying tourists making a fuss over nothing. There is a gaming machine and a juke box. Food is ready-made burgers, pizzas and other junk. Two ales on, Dartmoor Jail Ale and Salcombe Seahorse, both in very poor condition. Not sure I’d rush back.
On 14th August 2019
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3816 recommendations about 3774 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Chris Sawle left this review about The Admiral MacBride
Thatchers on tap did me. Friendly, good cross-section of punters, fun selection of pre-Beatles music and a roaring fire on a November dusk. Pretty good ....
On 9th November 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 49 recommendations about 48 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Blue left this review about The Admiral MacBride
A pleasant single room pub right on the harbour, with a friendly but touristy feel to it. Promised real ales but disappointed to find three handpumps without even a reversed clip on any of them. Settled on half a Scrumpy Jack. I remember coming here with friends about 8 years ago, and having a late drink with the then landlord and landlady, who delighted in showing us round the immaculately tiled toilets which they'd just had done. The gents is still immaculately tiled, and if they had some proper beer I would be happy to use them.
On 10th May 2011
- rating: 4
[User has posted 271 recommendations about 270 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Scott Grenney left this review about The Admiral Mcbride
Warm and friendly atmosphere at this pub with a popular 60s,70s and 80s disco night every Saturday.
On 9th August 2007
- rating: 10
[User has posted 3 recommendations about 3 pubs]