User name:

Password:

Login


Sign in with Facebook


Not already a member?
Join our community and - Rate & review pubs - Upload pictures - Add events JOIN for free NOW


Chat about:
Approving photos with rpadam on the Pub Forum

The Talbot, St. Helens

97 Duke Street
St. Helens
WA10 2JG
Phone: 01744322185

Return to pub summary

Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Brainy Pool left this review about The Talbot

Changed ownership after Covid struck, subsequently painted bright blue and smartened up a bit inside but still basically the same down to earth boozer. Six mostly local ales and four ciders, loud atmosphere and diverse clientele. a very lively pub, but beware the regular karaoke sessions.

On 21st November 2021 - rating: 9
[User has posted 1051 recommendations about 1016 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Real Ale Ray left this review about The Talbot

I think this pub is trying to be two pubs in one. The Talbot attracting real ale drinkers and the Sportsman hence the collection of four large flat screen TVs dotted all around the lounge area, playing loud music on our lunchtime visit. Plus some DJ equipment and silver branches stuck to the ceiling for the younger crowd to party of a night.
This pub did still retain some interesting features, some stain glass windows and some dark stained timber panelling surrounding a fireplace on the lounge side and some impressive looking red leather buttoned back banquette seating in the bar. The lounge side had some comfortable looking seating areas along the front. The original mahogany bar in the lounge had a pot shelf above the counter and a brass handrail and footrest for embellishment. Seven ales on handpump so I went for the Pied Eyed Brewery Pied Eyed from Chester, which was ok but was slightly too hoppy for me. Then I went for the Poynton Vulcan after Will had cleared the back log in the pipes, which was now a better tasting beer.

On 30th January 2020 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3378 recommendations about 3378 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Will Larter left this review about The Talbot

Formerly the Sportsman, and with an old Boddingtons inn sign of that name still standing, the Talbot stands on the corner of Talbot Close (previously Talbot Street), which suggests it was either originally the Talbot or has taken the name from a nearby pub that has been demolished. It's a two roomed pub, with separate entrances from the portico. We went in the bar on the left, which was dominated by some fairly loud music. On the counter were seven hand pumps, and there were others in the other room but they may well have been all duplicates. Mostly fairly local, they came from an area covering the north coast of Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and both West and North Yorkshire. I went for the Poynton Vulcan, but on attempting a drink it had clearly not been pulled through properly. The lad behind the bar apologised profusely and eventually produced a glass of the same beer in good condition. For my second half I went for the Great Heck NEPA, which was deliberately cloudy; it's one of my favourite breweries but the first time I've drunk this beer. (See photos for other beers). Apart from the annoying modern pop music and the glitch with the first half we quite liked it here (we stayed for a second half, after all), and wouldn't mind calling in again. It's en route between the Cricketers and the Turks Head, so it would be rude not to.

On 27th January 2020 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3699 recommendations about 3440 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Talbot

Another of St Helens’ ale houses located on the fringes of the town centre, this place is a good sized, two bar pub with a strong commitment to cask ale. Turning right in the entrance porch, you enter the Public Bar which has a pool table to the front, a long banquette down the right-hand wall and an area for playing darts to the rear. A conventional servery runs down the left side of the room with a dark wood counter and a very handy beer board on the bar back which details the ales on in both rooms. The highlight here has to be the very impressive collection of St Helens rugby league shirts, photos and other such memorabilia plus a very large, well-stocked trophy cabinet that must give the one at Langtree Park a run for its money. The Lounge Bar, to the left, has smart floorboards which contrast with the tatty, if admittedly comfy, banquettes that run around the front part of the room. The servery mirrors that from the Public Bar and has an impressive whisky box collection running along the gantry. A TV screen showing live sports coverage with the sound turned on, stands in the front corner and has a small collection of rubber ducks in front of it, apropos of nothing. Beyond, this seating area, the room opens out to the left, into a nicely styled area with plenty more comfy looking seating options, another big TV screen and a very attractive fireplace on the end wall. My October visit saw the pub decked out with some very impressive Halloween decorations including a sound activated parrot in a cage, which was triggered into life every time something exciting happened in the football match shown on the TV screen it was hung from!
Ales were split between the two bars and I noted Severn Double Hopped, Tatton Best, 4T’s European Pale, Swan Arm Breaker, Wily Fox Karma Citra, Raven Stout and one other that I couldn’t make out. The Raven Stout was an excellent drop and I enjoyed relaxing in the Lounge Bar with a small but chatty bunch of regulars.
I thought this was a very good pub with enough different seating areas to appeal to a wide range of customers and enough well-kept beer to service a good long session. I was more than happy settling down in here and had there not been other pubs to check out, I would’ve gladly stayed to try a few more from their ale range.

On 16th December 2019 - rating: 8
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Al Bundy left this review about Sportsmans Inn

As the name suggests shows plenty of sport. Shows a lot of Everton games so can be empty at times.

On 13th January 2015 - rating: 5
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]