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Detail Pages
Organ Grinder, Loughborough
Loughborough
LE11 2TY
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8½ of 10) see review guidelines
Pub SignMan left this review about Organ Grinder
This is a smart looking bar, operated by the popular Blue Monkey Brewery from just up the M1 in Giltbrook. Much like their Nottingham branch, the beer is the star here, and the two-room interior, whilst tidy enough, lacks a little in character. The main bar area is a bare boarded room, set across two sides, with the servery squeezed into the rear right corner and plenty of seating opposite and over in the cosy left-hand part of the room. Banquettes run down the right-hand wall with lots of low stools in support, whilst the left side is furnished in more of a lounge style, with sofas, armchairs and the like. Walls are either bare brick or else painted in plain shades, with bookcases housing a good selection of board games, helpful beer boards and eclectic décor filling up much of the wall space. The bar has a wood panel counter front and bold mirrored bar back with pump clips along the top. A corridor connects this room to the rear Stable Bar, and has a pleasant, tiled floor. The Stable Bar doesn’t actually have a bar of its own, but instead offers three seating booths in a terracotta tile floored space with hard benches and low stool seating. The room has been done out in a vague stable style, with lots of horse-riding items dotted around and horse racing photos on the walls. Crates full of books and board games stood to one side next to a rack that was being used to dry bar towels and there was a good chamber pop/indie soundtrack playing, but sadly no other customers were using the room, so I retreated to the main bar instead.
A comprehensive selection of Blue Monkey beers can be found of handpull, with the options on this visit running to Infinity, Infinity +1, Guerrilla, BG Sips, Colours, Serenity and 4am. Ten real ciders were also listed on a blackboard behind the bar and I got the impression that the vast majority of customers were either of the cask or the cider. My pint of the BG Sips was in great shape, and I got chatting to some of the friendly locals who were happy for me to perch at the end of their table on a busy mid-week evening.
This is possibly the pick of the Loughborough pub scene – somewhere that has a good atmosphere, plenty of well-kept beer and a friendly welcome – but it lacks that little something to nudge it into the top tier from my perspective. I think the place probably lacks a bit of character and I left feeling only partially satisfied after coming in with high expectations. It’s still a great pub though and I’m sure if I’m ever back in town, this will end up being my first port of call.
On 31st May 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about Organ Grinder
Nice feel inside though the area in front of the bar is open and presumably gets busy with people standing at busier times. Good beer
On 11th February 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Organ Grinder
Blue Monkey place with their usual decor and feel; dark blue and grey. Fairly opened-out interior with seating based around the perimeter. Nice rear garden and a selection of papers. Macavity barman. Indie chin stroker soundtrack. Six ales over eight pumps, all BM with a Goffs guest. My BG Sips had a very slight note of diacetyl (NBSS 2). WiFi broken. One other customer and no atmosphere so I shoved off. Maybe I came at the wrong time but I didn’t get the positive vibes from the reviews below. GBG’22 listed.
On 19th November 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
custodian 42 left this review about Organ Grinder
Decent Monkey pub which was quite busy which meant I could not get a seat. Seven hand pumps but nothing above 4.9% ABV. I would return to this place to see if the ales change at all
On 26th March 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Organ Grinder
The pub dates back to the 1700's and was originally a coaching house. The terracotta tiled floor in the back lobby adjacent to the bar entrance and the snug were an added bonus, along with the full range of Blue Monkey beers. Allow some time when visiting, as it is a difficult one to leave. My favourite beer on the day was the Blue Monkey Infinity.
On 11th April 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Mark Davey left this review about Organ Grinder
Not quite 10, for no good reason, but very close. the Organ Grinder sells the full range of Blue Monkey brews, all in excellent condition. Between the 4 of us, we managed all of them on our visit and were not disappointed. Excellent addition to the fleet of BM pubs and very much one of the best pubs in Loughborough.
On 1st March 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 292 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about Organ Grinder
As the Old Pack Horse this was originally a Hardy & Hanson pub which gave the pub a GBG status long before Blue Monkey came along. I have to confess I don't recall anything about it from those days but now it's a clean and tidy wooden floored open plan room with no attempt to make it a carbon-copy pretentious "craft" house.
The bar greets you with eight handpumps most of which had clips with a smiling chimp staring out. The Bateman's XB looked a bit lost amongst all this monkey business but I was told it sells at £2.70 which is only 35p dearer than the nearby Spoons. The Blue Monkey beers were Infinity, BG Sips, 99 Red Baboons, Guerrilla, Sanctuary, Ape Ale and Marmoset. I had the last pint of the Ape Ale (£3.20) and it was slightly below par. It was very quickly changed for their Infinity + 1. The other three tried were Infinity (£2.90), Guerrilla (£3.00) and Infinity + 1 (£3.30) all of which were truly outstanding.
It was the target pub for my day in Loughborough as the two Blue Monkey beers I had tried in London had not met expectations. The beers here certainly exceeded them and I now rate Blue Monkey as a really top brewer. I'll keep the rating at the level it deserves.
On 22nd September 2014
- rating: 10
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Organ Grinder
The second Blue Monkey pub after the Organ Grinder in Nottingham.
I won't dwell on the interior, as Mr Fastard has accurately described it below, other than to say that it is reminiscent of the Nottingham Organ Grinder and shares some of the same touches such as a real fire and small library. I think that this one is more comfortable if anything but that may just be because it wasn't quite as busy on the Thursday evening when we visited. That isn't to say that there wasn't a steady flow of trade with clientele being very mixed and all seemed very happy to be there.
Blue Monkey seem to specialise in young, attractive bar staff which when combined with smiling friendliness and good knowledge of the beer they're serving is fairly compelling and no doubt adds to the warm atmosphere.
The star here though really is the beer with the following available on our visit: Blue Monkey Ape Ale, Rhesus to be Cheerful, BG Sips, Guerrilla and Whiskey Guerrilla, Infinity and BG Sips as well as Batemans Yella Bella. According to the website there is always a Batemans beer on but given the quality of the Blue Monkey ales available I wonder if it ever gets a look in. We tried most of the range and it was all exceptional.
Having made a fairly early start at around 5, we didn't manage to leave and I'm sure that any future visit to Loughborough will have the same result.
On 16th April 2013
- rating: 10
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Organ Grinder
Formerly The Old Pack Horse,this is now an outstanding ale house,and the second Blue Monkey tied house.The interior at the front is open plan with a section to the left with a real fire,a small library and a banquette around the front window.Tea lights on every table gave a softer feel to the interior and there were several couples besides beer aficianados on my Friday evening visit.On the otherside of the entrance there was some more fitted bench seating with round tables and stools and a large area for vertical drinking up to the rear bar area.Down the corridor there is a snug with two seating booths made from rough wood ,while upstairs there is a sign to the function room which is called The Blue Room,with quite a bit of seating and it's own bar with two handpumps.
The star of the show were the eight handpumps showcasing the output from this amazing brewery.BG Sips,Infinity,Sanctuary,Tie a Yellow Gibbon,99 Red Baboons,Marmoset,Guerrilla and Whisky aged Guerrilla were on offer,and all sampled were on absolute top form.There are also 8 keg taps with some ciders and unusual Continental lagers besides Amstel.
Because this pub is so lively,it has attracted a wider audience than CAMRA diehards and quite a lot of Amstel is shifted.Some young ladies also took the opportunity to check out this new incarnation,intrigued by the Blue Monkey theme.The bar staff are young,jolly and very efficient which is another plus point.
The overall package is wonderful,it is a shame there are so many other good real ale pubs in town because I would find it very hard to shift out of here once the Blue Monkey ales start to flow down.A real must visit when in Loughborough.
On 6th April 2013
- rating: 10
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]