Chez Mal @ Malmaison Hotel, Birmingham

As well as being the bar for the Malmaison hotel, this place has its own external entrance at the front of the Mailbox. It features a single rectangular room under a towering ceiling (supported by a row of three columns along the centre-line), with a separate Brasserie restaurant off to one side, and both furniture and decor are as modern and anonymous as expected. With two banks of six keg taps on the bar-back, one might expect a decent choice, but only five of these were in use and then Purity's Longhorn IPA was the least dull (£3.20, half, and like the other beers is also available in schooners but not pints).

Modern hotel bar in the Mailbox complex in central Birmingham. Really doesn't look that big or that much from the stairs up to the Mailbox, but its much larger than you could imagine. Polished terazzo floor, high ceilings, its very light and airy. There are large padded pillars and a modern chrome bar, with high tables and stools with some sofas and drum like tables. Contemporary middle of the road background music. Not always my cup of tea this kind of place, but its actually quite sleek abd the space is nice. However, what always gets me about this type is they class themselves as upmarket and classy, and you pay for that privilege, but they can't even offer a quality beer. Very lazy to me. Keg John Smiths at £4 a pint, though they do have Purity in bottles. If I was picking a hotel bar to drink in though, the Pub du Vin is the place that gets it right for me, not here.

Official page of the Mal Bar at the Malmaison - www.malmaison-birmingham.com

Official page of the Mal Bar at the Malmaison - www.malmaison-birmingham.com