Sherlock's, Middlesbrough

Once again this one has been more than well described below. Although my favourite of the five micropubs near here was the Infant Hercules this was the only one I returned to as I knew it was open until 23:00 and the toilets were not up a flight of stairs. On my first visit the two TVs were playing a countdown of Chart Hits, possibly for the benefit of the barmaid. The only act I had heard of was the ginger nut Ed Shearan. On the second visit there was no music and the TVs were off. The three beers on here were Hanlon's Firefly, TAP Best Bitter and Bad Seed Azacca Pale. I went for the Azacca Pale. On my return the night after Dark Star Hophead had replaced it so I went for that. Both were the usual £3.00 a pint. I have to say I preferred this one without the TVs on.

Located at Number 7, Baker Street (not 221B as the name might suggest!), Sherlock's is a very simple single room micro pub set in what looks like a converted residential property. This is easily the smallest of the three Baker Street micros, having a narrow, if rather deep, single room layout. There are dark wooden floorboards throughout whilst the walls are painted in lighter neutral shades with a few sections of weird looking wallpaper to the front. A row of regular tables and chairs run down one side of the room, whilst there is just enough space for a drinking ledge and some high stools along the opposite side. The room narrows even more when you reach the bar area, where the reasonable sized servery runs down the left hand wall with its dark wood counter and bare brick bar back. A few pump clips and other beer related items have been displayed around the room and almost inevitably there is a London Baker Street sign on one wall, but aside from that, the decor is fairly restrained. Unusually, there were a couple of TV's in the room, both showing the evening's programming from Channel 4, which seemed a bit pointless, as no-one was paying attention. Opposite the bar, a door opens out to a tiny walled garden that functions as a smoking area but doesn't have enough room for any seating. The bar supports three handpulls which were dispensing Titanic Plum Porter, Ossett Mellow Yellow and Allendale American Brown Ale. I tried a pint of the latter, which was very good but it was impossible to settle down with, due to the fact that the place was absolutely packed and I had to keep shuffling around the room to get out of people's way. Keg options included Addlestone's cider, Sharps Pilsner and two Belgian beers. It was a shame that this place was so busy that I had to knock back my pint quicker than I would've liked, as I thought this pub had a lot going for it. The beer was top quality, there was a great ambience with friendly staff and customers and I can imagine as the place beds in over time, it will become more characterful. A good example of the micro pub movement and a no brainer to include on a crawl around town.