The Victoria, Birmingham

A very ornate Victorian 'Bitters n Twisted' curving corner pub and eatery. The pub is in grey predominantly (hiding the moulded stonework), with green around the doors and gold decoration. The interior has a couple of rooms, as well as an upstairs area i believe. The back room i have never really seen, but the main room curves in an L-shape around the bar and up a few steps. The decor is purple and patterned wallpapers, with a wood floor and a terrible fake wood effect up the steps. The art is a little wierd - from men with giraffe heads to Victorian prints and there is a somewhat strange collection of lampshades - 1970s Co-op style - hanging down. There was no TV that i saw and the music general and at a soft level. The service was friendly and the clientele were all dining and very loud! Beer; usual tap stuff with the Freedom range and four handpulls including; Butty Bach, Joules Pale Ale, Pontypridd Otley and a decent enough Thornbridge Dirty Harry. A place i have visited several times over the years, and never realised i hadn't reviewed it. Always worth popping into, although i can't make-up my mind on the decor.

Typically Victorian exterior. The interior has Victorian features, but has some quite quirky 'cartoonish' murals on the walls of 'pulp' monsters devouring city scapes. The bar is central serving three distinct areas which wrap around the bar. Food is served and it it is almost all in a Cajun style. I have eaten here on three occasions and cannot fault the food. Beer wise, there is tap stuff, including a very tasty Freedom Stout. They usually have three real ales on. When I last went in (15 August 2012) they were serving Thornbridge Lord Marples, Beer Geek White Geek and as I was leaving, Wye Valley Butty Bach came on as well. I have drunk in here on my own, with friends and with a large crowd of ramblers and the service has been friendly and efficient and the place has been warm and welcoming. The only downside is that there are too many toilet blocks in the gents' urinals and the disinfectant smell in the room where the gents' is can get a little cloying as people go in and out. I would sit on the other side of the bar. However, I really like the Victoria and I like the food. It is part of the chain, 'Bitters and Twisted' I think its called, that owns the Jekyll and Hyde, the Rose Villa Tavern, Bodega, the Island Bar and a new pub they've taken over across in Moseley. Of the three pubs in the City Centre that the chain owns, I would rank this much higher than the Rose Villa Tavern in respect of its beer, in my humble opinion!

Strangely idiosyncratic pub. Has great potential but not totally convinced I'd want to use it regularly. Although there were some nice beers on offer, mine was not in best nick. Worth giving another chance though.