Pubs Galore - the UK pub guide

There's no real ale on in here of course, but they did have a couple of keg offerings from local breweries - Brixton Brewery Reliance, and Mondo Dennis Hopper (£2.85 a half). There were other keg beers available, but going for the Dennis Hopper rather than the Estrella was probably a good choice. they had simple menus on the tables on my mid-afternoon midweek visit. A mac n cheese is £5.50 and a pulled pork sandwich is £7, with chips another couple of quid.

This is what it says it is - a cinema bar. I was asked at the bar if I was going to watch a film, or a member (presumably a cinema club member?) so maybe I would have got a discount had I been. It comprises a single room with mainly normal tables and chairs crammed in, with a few tall tables/tall stools past the pillars nearer to the bar counter. What I did like about the place is that it had a large entrance from the street, so you could get in there without having to go through a cinema foyer.

Everything's modern in here but of course it doesn't pretend to be anything other than a cinema bar. When I was in on Monday afternoon there was a mixed bunch in - coffee/laptop 'workers', nursing mothers and a crying baby, and some young people who seemingly prefer to have their drinks in cinema bars rather than real pubs.

Anyway, it's obviously nothing like a pub, but oddly I didn't mind my short visit in here. The bar staff were friendly and helpful, with one seeking advice from a colleague when I asked who brewed the Dennis Hopper, rather than just shrugging shoulders as has happened to me in the past. But it's not the place for a session, but OK for a swift one if wandering around Brixton on a rainy afternoon.

Unfortunately we didn't make this one on Friday's crawl, but managed to get here on Saturday at lunchtime. The pub on Saturday was nice and relaxed with a handful of people enjoying a relaxed drink. I found this outlet to be really out there in terms of design and layout of this large space. Six cask beers on our visit, so we went for the Durham Kama Citra and Fallen Brewery Just the Ticket. Both were in top shape and prices in here were very reasonable for this part of central Manchester. Would happily call again.

Sam Smith's pub with a mock tudor style interior. The main bar has a vaulted ceiling and little snugs down one side. Interesting fire as well

I'm surprised to find this place has been open since 2016 - somehow it has completely escaped my attention during several visits to Blackburn. Until today!

At the bar are five hand pulls for real ale and a further two separately, one was unclipped and the other had a cider on, so assume the unclipped one would normally be a cider too.

I had a Triple Hop by Big Clock at £1.30 for a half. There were a variety of ales from different breweries but the only dark one was a mild. It would have been nice to see a stout or porter on the lineup too.

In addition to the real ales and cider the Drummers Arms also offers a more mainstream keg selection consisting of Carlsberg, Thatchers and Peroni. They also have the usual selection of spirits that you expect in most pubs, in addition to seemingly offering tea, coffee and hot chocolate.

I was in just after midday and there were a couple of older gents in.

Music was playing, so not really in keeping with a purist's definition of a micro pub perhaps, but I think it would have been a bit stale without it and it definitely added to the atmosphere rather than detracted from it, in my opinion.

On entering there is a wibbly wobbly wood effect lino floor leading from the door to the bar, with the lino continuing in front of the bar. To each side of this lino gangway there is a carpeted seating area, consisting of mainly round copper topped tables with three larger tables and a mix of seating.

Surrounding the bar is a significant amount of breweriana - old mirrors, beer pumps, signage etc, which I quite like.

Toilets are upstairs and I didn't see any sign of a disabled toilet downstairs. Other than that there is only a shallow step before the front door for a wheelchair user to negotiate and the inside is all on one level with sufficient space for a wheelchair to get to a table.

Whether this is a true micropub or whether it is really a small bar may be up for some debate but in any event it is a small friendly place that is well worth a visit. It is certainly nice to have somewhere other than the Wetherspoons in Blackburn town centre offering a decent selection of real ale.

Another chain pub on a busy street, but a few nice touches like etched glass and some plaster work give something of a pub feel to it. Upstairs bar also. A fair selection of ales on offer and seemed in drinkable condition.