No 2 Baker Street, Stirling

Unimaginatively named it may be, 2 Baker Street being the address, but this is undoubtedly one of the best pubs in Stirling. Extremely popular and therefore busy, it consists of a single, irregularly shaped, bar room, with a couple of tables outside on the pavement. It’s pricier than most of the other pubs in the city centre, with a pint of Tennent’s lager costing me £3.25, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Stella Artois, Fosters, Hoegaarden and Carling lagers are also on draught, as are Guinness and Belhaven Best. There are also four hand pumps, dispensing Lia Fail, Broughton Spring Ale, Tyneside Promise and one other which I failed to note. Food is also served This is not to be missed on any Stirling pub crawl.

This lazily named pub was previously a Hogs Head and was originally a purpose built pub dating from around 1905. The building is quite eyecatching and stands on a corner plot in the City centre with a sweep of arches, gables and a protruding corner doorway making it quite inviting. The interior has been opened up but retains a few thick pillars creating less of an open plan than it could have been. The décor is quite standard with afew old pictures mixed in with copious posters advertising the food and drink offers. There is some pavement seating at the front of the pub. The pub is part of the Greene King group with 4 ales available on my visit (doubled up across 8 hand pumps) - Greene King IPA, Abbott, Belhaven IPA and Herok & Howells Festival Ale. The quality was good (they are Cask Marque accredited) and prices very reasonable. I also ate here from a standard but well priced (main meals £6-£9) pub grub selection. There was a decent enough ambience with a good mix of locals and tourists and friendly efficient service. From my experience, this is one of the better options in town although, to be fair, the local competition isn’t terribly strong.