The Bull Ring Tavern, Birmingham

I concur with Soupy. A 60s/70s style pub with an 60s/70s clientele. I expect Gene Hunt to burst in and start arresting people whilst downing several pints. This should be everything I hate about a pub. Old fashioned, full of strange people, ugly and just plain weird. Yet I love it! I pop in whenever I can. Which is not often enough.

The pub occupies the ground floor of a corner 60s office block building. It is painted in red and isnt the most appealing to the eye. The interior is open plan and, like the exterior, very 60s/70s, with thick brown paint as the main decor, with cream and white. There are no real pictures or ephemera, so it is a bit bare and the great classic jukebox has now gone, to be replaced by something more modern. There is a TV and a CCTV monitor to watch. The pub is basic, you even need a key for the bogs - yet i always visit it, because the people, many from the market over the road, as well as the bar staff, are friendly and its full of real Brummies - where i lived for over 20 years. Service is usually good. Beer; all tap stuff, with good Banks's MILD and M&B MILD on - sadly, the Chestnut MILD went with the jukebox. No real ale, sadly. No pretentions, a down to earth and strangely appealing pub. It will not be a lot of people's cup of tea, but despite no real ale, i like it.