Giffard Arms, Wolverhampton

Blue Scrumpy left this review about Giffard Arms

Having done what I assume are the better pubs in Wolverhampton city centre, I decided to give the Giffard Arms a try whilst in Wolverhampton for a football match. My experience of Wolverhampton on a football matchday is that it is generally the least friendly club to get a pre- or post-match drink in the Premier League. Pubs generally have bouncers on the door and signs in the window signifying they allow home fans only. However on a quiet Tuesday evening, many of the central pubs were welcoming anybody in, as it was fairly quiet. Whilst there was a guy in a high vis jacket sat on a bench to the front of the Giffard Arms, my best guess was that he was a workman having recently finished work and enjoying a drink, as opposed to a bouncer. Meanwhile, the George Wallis opposite had a plethora of doormen despite being almost empty.

Situated on a main shopping street close to the Mander Centre, the exterior is quite impressive, as can be seen from the pictures on here. Inside is very dark but also has some fairly unique features. Not ever having seen Game of Thrones, I would not have recognised what the large chair next to the bar was. However, I had read the review below and I found it quite an impressive piece of furniture.

The pub is split into two sections. All customers I could see were in the front section. I sat at a table in the front windows to try to get a bit of natural lights. Others were sat on tables to the left-hand side or around the corner of the bar, which can be found to the right-hand side. To the rear was another section with a DJ playing. I'm not a great fan of heavy metal and didn't realise that there was such thing as a heavy metal DJ. The music being played sounded like Ozzy Ozbourne to me but I'm no expert.

There are certainly some interesting characters in here with strange clothing and equally strange haircuts. The young barmaid (who fitted the description from the previous review) was busy serving the group of people at the corner of the bar when I arrived. I was impressed that the landlord emerged from within the group to serve me.

There are a couple of handpulls but both were unclipped. This left a keg selection of John Smith's, Carling, Camden Hells, Strongbow & Strongbow Dark Fruit, Inch's, Guinness, Neck Oil & Shipyard.

Probably not a place I'd look to return to but it is fairly unique and it is probably worth a visit if you're ever in Wolverhampton and have exhausted most other options.

On 24^th September 2025 - rating: 4
[User has posted 3245 recommendations about 3243 pubs]