Blue Boar, Alcester

A typical country dining pub situated between Stratford upon Avon and Alcester. Originally a small farmhouse style building, over the years it has been extended to the side and rear and now has a quite spacious interior. The main bar at the front is fairly small with a plasma screen and seems to be where the locals generally gather. A decent beer selection: 4 Real Ales – Ulay, Theakston, Speckled Hen and Shakespeare Taming of the Brew were on during our visit (the Shakespeare brewery is a few miles down the road and the apparently the pub always try to include 1 beer from their range). The area to the side is a mix of diners and drinkers with another plasma screen and various hunting pictures. With its fairly bland colour scheme it comes over as the least interesting part of the building. To the rear of the bar is a narrow flag stoned passage that would originally have been exposed to the elements as it contains a well. This has now been glazed over and is used to keep fish making a fairly unusual and unique feature. On the wall is an interesting display giving the history of the pub name. Beyond this is a is the main restaurant area in what was presumably a separate building before it was all roofed over and knocked through. The carpeted restaurant is spacious and quite welcoming with the usual lashings of brickwork, beams and fireplaces. It was initially our intention to have a meal here but the menu was a bit limited for Mrs B who is a vegetarian but looked okay for me, being a flesh ripping carnivore. Given the time of year I did not get a chance to enjoy the gardens but in summer months it would appear to be a pleasant place to while away a couple of hours. They also do B&B at a quite reasonable rates if you are looking to stay in the area.

The Blue Boar official site, includes menus - www.theblueboar.co.uk

The Blue Boar official site, includes menus - www.theblueboar.co.uk