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The Painters Arms, Luton
Luton
LU2 0BW
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about The Painters Arms
I called in before a recent Luton Town home game and found four hand pumps on the bar but only one beer available: Tring Side Pocket for a Toad, my favourite from that brewery. The young landlord, who gives the impression of being fairly new to the pub and possibly to the licensed trade too, had difficulty getting the frothy beer into the glass, but it tasted ok. The room to the front had been locked shut - the kerfuffle with the beer meant that I forgot to ask why - and I stayed in the main room to drink my beer. There were two TV screens showing lunchtime kick-offs from both Sky and BT Sport, though the sound was kept down on one of the games; there was no music on at the time of my visit. I hope they persevere with real ale here, but they're up against it with the excellent Bricklayers Arms just down the road. That pub is so popular that it is bursting at the seams on match days, so I for one would be happy to call in here if I knew there were going to be two or three decent beers on.
Date of visit: 21st September 2019
On 11th October 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3746 recommendations about 3483 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Komakino . left this review about The Painters Arms
Closed for a brief period at the start of 2018 for refurbishment (I made a couple of visits in vain, including before the Luton-Wycombe match in January, where I stumbled across the excellent Bricklayers Arms) this has now re-opened, maintaining its lauded interior but with the reintroduction of real ale, albeit in the form of St Austell Tribute and Adnam's Ghost Ship (the latter was very good and £3.60 for a pint). I entered through the door on the right and there was a semi-boisterous clutch of locals who appeared to have been a few in. A couple of screens showed horse racing and there were a few stares in my direction. I moved around the back as this allows you to traverse the three rooms but the loud music from the main bar could still be heard, and a large screen TV with the sound on played to nobody in particular. A Heritage pub and rightly so, but on this showing, it's not really a destination venue, when, with a couple of tweaks, it could easily become so. Also, the doors to the Gents and Ladies are the thinnest I've ever seen, so be prepared to breath in if you're of a challenging build.
On 29th April 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1075 recommendations about 1075 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about The Painters Arms
The magnificent tiled exterior of this old Benskins pub is just a prelude to the equally magnificent and historically important interior. (See http://www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/pubguide.asp.) The wrap-around central bar serves several different rooms, each identified in frosted glass on their doors. There is a newer-looking archway between the private bar and the lounge, but otherwise the layout is much as it would have appeared when the pub was built 100 years ago, and much of the decorative tiling and the wood and glass screens remain intact, or have been well preserved.
Unfortunately there is no real ale, though rumours are often heard that this may change. At present there is a solitary hand pump in the public bar, but no one I have spoken to has ever seen it in use. The only non-lagers are Stowford Press Cider, Guinness and Caffreys. I had the Guinness, my first for over 20 years, and while it was perfectly drinkable it was very cold and almost devoid of taste. This lovely pub really deserves a sensitively applied bit of love and affection, and a few hand pumps with some decent local ales, to make it the best pub in Luton by miles.
On 28th November 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3746 recommendations about 3483 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
angie mallafre left this review about The Painters Arms
Never had such a warm but unusual welcome, Managed this pub for a little while in November 2011. This pub has alot of history and it seems to catcher your heart, the snug is one of the last remaining in England. Was a bit Dirty for a while but has had a good clean up, all though it is a working mans drinking pub and there will always be boot marks on the floor. There is a bookies next door so you are guaranteed to get a good tip. There are no real ales but the Guinness is 100% they have a certificate to prove it. You will never meet such a bunch of characters that will probably still be sat in the same seats. If you are looking for a pub that is a part of history, the Guinness is good and the craic( Irish humor ) is great The Painters Arms is it.
On 2nd August 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3 recommendations about 3 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Painters Arms
Recieved a very friendly welcome from staff and locals alike when I popped in , this week despite the fact that they were struggling to maintain their electricity supply.
The interior is worth taking a look inside for in itself, with a few interesting features. A pool table and large screen showing sport meant that there was a decent crowd in there, although both seemed strangley out of place. It also seems to be suffering from a Luton-wide affliction of negligence which a quick tidy up could easily remedy. There's definitley potential for this place to stand out in an area devoid of great pubs.
Beer was fairly cheap but limited to lagers and the black stuff (Apparently this is an Irish themed pub, but thankfully there was little evidence of that).
On 3rd December 2008
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Painters Arms
A bit 'rough and ready', and no real ale, but there are numerous aspects of interior and exterior decor that make it an interesting place to visit (and only about 5 minutes walk from Luton's charmless railway station).
On 4th June 2008
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]