Not already a member?
Join our community and - Rate & review pubs - Upload pictures - Add events JOIN for free NOW

Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat on the Pub Forum

Image posted by Old Boots
Submitted on Saturday, 9^th March 2024
With picture contributions to 3577 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (6 more images)

Only members may add pictures, click to receive free membership

Detail Pages

Pub map
Pub reviews (5)
Pub pictures (7)
Page updates

The Crafty One, Ilkeston

Pub added by Alan Winfield

65 South Street
Ilkeston
DE7 5QQ

Correct details

Served areas

Ilkeston Town

Reviews of The Crafty One (Average Rating: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Old Boots left this review about The Crafty One

Fairly spartan bottle shop and bar, bottles and can off sales to the right, craft bar to left seating to the extreme left. The rear by the counter and the shop are on a higher floor level, the left hand seating area is at street level. Minimalist décor of a light grey paint job, with a laminate floor. It’s furnished with scaffolding and thick board tables. Two pulls with today; a Howling Hops Beer and one from Brew York, keg wise there are two solos, a double T-bar and six taps on back wall, a blackboard to the left of the counter has the choices, wines, spirits and snacks are also available. The shop portion has an excellent choice of bottles and cans. Not far from the Burnt Pig and Spanish Bar, it makes part of a strongly contrasting trio.

On 9^th March 2024 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 3599 recommendations about 3279 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Pub SignMan left this review about The Crafty One

Spacious, modern craft beer bar set across three notional rooms, although they all merge into one due to the way the pub has been opened out at the front. The pub is bare boarded throughout, with the servery positioned to the rear of the central ‘room’. The bar has a rough timber fronted counter with the pub’s name spelled out across it, whilst the bar back is dominated by the row of keg taps and a TV screen to one side was showing muted live football and a beer board on the opposite side lists the full tap selection. There’s just the one table with comfy high-backed chairs in this central space, but many more of the same can be found in the left-hand space along with a drinking ledge and high stools which run beneath the side windows. To the right is a Chesterfield sofa and one more table, but this space is otherwise given over to a bottle shop set-up with plenty of shelves full of bottles and cans. Everything has been painted in rather drab shades and sparsely decorated with a few brewery adverts and bits of contemporary décor. Indie tunes played quietly in the background, which I was quite enjoying until a huge group turned up and created so much noise that I could no longer hear it.
There were two handpulls in operation, from which I selected a pint of Turning Point Wavelength, which was in reasonable nick, although the pub’s focus is clearly more aimed towards the eight craft keg taps and numerous bottles and cans available from the shop. The barman was very friendly and welcoming and did a good job managing the large group when they descended en masse.
This felt like a decent enough craft beer bar, with a good selection of interesting beers, a couple of cask options and some friendly service making up for the rather plain, uninspired interior. It’s far from the best pub in town, but it’s nice to have an option like this, offering something a little different to other nearby pubs, and I was glad I included it on my crawl.

On 11^th September 2023 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

custodian 42 left this review about The Crafty One

Decent enough place with the bar in the middle and enough room for people to sit down. Four hand pumps and various craft offerings. Bottles and cans in fridges on right hand side.

On 21^st January 2018 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]

View more reviews of The Crafty One (5)

External web links for The Crafty One

No known official website for this pub.