The Dandy Cock, Sutton-In-Ashfield

Micropub with extremely limited opening times. Closed Monday until Thursday, it does not open until 4pm on a Friday and Saturday and 3pm on a Sunday, with early closing times too. We arrived too early on our Saturday visit and ended up walking away after trying the door and finding it locked. Another couple also tried to enter and the owner arrived to let them in. Seeing this, we returned. But he was clearly not going to let us in as well. So, we headed elsewhere. Not the best of welcomes unless you're local. We did return later to find the place very busy. There is a seating area near the window, with the bar to the back of the room. A corridor leads down to toilets and another room with seating off to the left-hand side. This contained various board games and Rubik's Cubes. 4 real ales were on - Drone Valley Bessemer, Falstaff Clarkson, Leatherbritches Scoundrel & Bradfield Farmer's Irish Dexter. Ciders were Lilley's Strawberry Cider, Pear & Raspberry Cider, Pineapple Cider, Cherries & Berries, Mango Cider, Rhubarb Cider, Lemon & Lime Cider, Cheeky Pig, Peach Cider, Apples & Pears, Woo Woo Cider, Pina Colada Cider & Raspberry Mojito Cider, Weston's Old Rosie & Abrahall's Thundering Molly. In addition to all of this, there is an extremely impressive gin selection, the likes of which I have not seen before. Despite the poor initial welcome (or lack of it) and the very limited opening hours, which presumably can't be helped, I really liked this small place. It had plenty of character, a real friendly atmosphere, decent service (once you get through the door) and a wide drinks choice to suite most palates.