The Wonder, Tividale, Oldbury

Boisterous community local with an opened-out U-shaped layout, with the main drinking area to the left of the central servery, a small lounge (with dartboard and Wonder Wall photograph gallery) front right and a quieter seating area beyond the pool table to the rear. Basic furniture and decor throughout. Only a pair of handpumps these days, offering just Doom Bar (£3.10) on my visit, but other real ales seem to be available on rotation (and the keg version of Wainwright was also noted).

A detached Victorian cottage-styled Banks’s pub, with central entrance in undressed brick and rear beer garden area. The interior is an open plan U-shaped room around the central serving bar area. The décor is a mix of white and coffee, with wood panel, with a wood stained moulded ceiling cornice and coffee and white ceiling. There are lots of Victorian prints on the walls, including some sports cards etc where the dart board is. There are three fireplaces, two of which had lit stove fires in them and there were a couple of large flat screen TVs sadly showing soaps. There was no music. The service was fine, the clientele several regulars. They do food and whilst I didn’t eat the portions looked good and I wish I had! There is a big sound system for the quizzes and Karaoke. Beer; tap stuff with Banks’s Bitter, Hobgoblin, Pedigree and a decent Banks’s MILD on handpull I think this was a really nice little pub with a good Marston’s range beer choice. I may not have enjoyed the karaoke etc, but that’s my personal choice. I would happily return here and likely eat next time – try it!