The Egerton Arms, Salford

Fairly basic former Holt's boozer, with the brewery's signage still present. 4 handpulls were clipped when we arrived, with Holt's Bitter and 3 Salopian beers. However, only 2 of the Salopian beers were actually on, with the Holt's also off. We were left with a choice of Stolen Moment or Labyrinth. A couple of locals propped at the bar seemed amusing by the farting noise made by the Labyrinth handpull, accusing the barmaid of having a little flatulence. I would suggest that the noise was more due to a lack of use, as the beer was almost undrinkable. The Stolen Moment wasn't much better either. So in short, real ale has returned here. But it's likely to be hit or miss.

Passed by at the weekend and they now only have Holts Bitter on cask - which tallies with the WhatPub listing and is consistent with the previous review. A shame; used to be some good real ales in here.

The Egerton Arms is a traditional red brick pub dating from the 19th century. This used to be a Holts establishment, but it was sold in 2015 when it became an independent. However, Holts signage can still be found on the exterior and Holts Bitter was the only ale option out of five hand pumps. A standard and premium keg range is also available. The interior is U-shaped with a large central bar that serves seating along the front windows and around to the right and also a pool table to the left. There is United memorabilia up on the walls and live football is shown. My visit one weekday evening last week was just before a Champions League match so the televisions were muted in favour of some background music. This place is a bit rundown, but at least it’s open.

Visited on Saturday night. Six hand pulls at the bar, one offering Holts Bitter, but wait it gets better, the rest were more interesting guest beers. I think one pump may have been off. We went for the Abbeydale Deception at £3.40 for two half pints which was a decent beer. Very much a "local" feeling pub, almost feels like an estate pub, but it is friendly and nice. There was a live music act on which was really quite loud and the volume seemed a bit out of place for this kind of pub. In addition to the live music I mentioned, there was a pool table, sports screens showing boxing, rooms available to rent, and a dart board (albeit inaccessible due to the live music act being based in front of it). One of the better "local" style pubs in the area, it had a nice vibe and a decent beer selection.

Old-fashioned Holts house with a fine façade but a rather less impressive partially opened-out interior unfortunately. Basic furniture and limited decor in all three of the seating areas around the central servery. On the plus side, it does offer a range of real ale, with the traditional Bitter (£2.60) supplemented by Castle Rock Harvest Pale, Hawkshead Lakeland Gold and Phoenix Wobbly Bob on four of six handpumps.

Not great. Not bad. Right next to Salford Station. It had 3 real ales, 2 of which were from Moorhouses, 1 of which was vinegar. Still he did change it without argument so that'll do. Otherwise a pretty standard pub