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The Organ Grinder, Nottingham
Nottingham
NG7 3JE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Organ Grinder
One of Blue Monkey brewery’s pubs, the clue's in the name, finished in their usual ale house style. It's not changed much in the many years I’ve been coming here. Blue grey lower panels and woodwork, cream plaster, bench seating at wooden and cast iron based tables. A couple of old barrels and bicycle ads complete the fairly minimal decor. Nine pulls, mostly from Blue Monkey of course, two from elsewhere. There are three ciders and 8 kegs mostly prosaic ones.
On 13th February 2020
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3269 recommendations about 2978 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Delboy 20 left this review about The Organ Grinder
Brewery Tap for the Blue Monkey brewery selling the full range of their beers. We tried the BG Sips and Infinity IPA. Both were excellent. I would happily return - especially as there are so many good pubs close by.
On 25th March 2019
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1656 recommendations about 1556 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Mark Davey left this review about The Organ Grinder
17/01/18 The OG is still a great pub, nothing has changed and Canning Circus is soon to be improved with the recent addition of Room With A Brew and the Totally Brewed tap moving into the old bank/fancy dress shop. Set to be called the Overdraught, Canning Circus really is a beer destination in Nottingham.
14/10/13 Another must do pub in Nottingham, serving an almost complete collection of Blue Monkey brews and a couple of worthy guests. Along with the Falcon, the Sir John Borlase Warren and the Hand & Heart, the Organ Grinder is doing it's bit to make the Canning Circus area of Nottingham into a bit of a beer destination. If someone was to buy the poor old Running Horse accross the road and put some brews on the bar, you would never have to go into town!
On 17th January 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 292 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Organ Grinder
I wasn't quite so enthusiastic about this pub as some others have been - but there's no doubt that it's a good pub. I guess because we were in there on Friday evening it was very busy and thus perhaps not so comfortable as at a quieter time. Anyway, it's got the look of a traditional pub with traditional seating, and with a raised area at the back on the left. I thought it seemed larger than at first sight. We managed to get a few seats next to the real fire at the front on the left, and near the bookshelf library. They could have done without the glittering fairy lights, but that's just my opinion and maybe the kids like these flashing lights.
Of course they had on a range of Blue Monkey ales. I can't remember which one I had, but I do recall that it was OK. We (that is the person whose round it was) were lucky to benefit from a Friday deal whereby all pints of real ale are £2.50 a pint between 4.30 and 7.30. Perhaps that's why it was so busy. I saw no sign of food.
I'm surprised that I've managed to avoid visiting this pub in all the years that I've been coming to Nottingham. But I do expect to visit this one again.
On 3rd December 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
custodian 42 left this review about The Organ Grinder
A Blue Monkey pub with many of their real ales on sale. One room with the bar on the right side. Unfortunately the Ape Ale went of during being pulled, which was a shame, but credit to the girl behind the bar who noticed it. A suitable replacement was nevertheless found.
On 15th October 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alex Conway left this review about The Organ Grinder
The organ grinder is the newest pub in Canning Circus that took over from the former Red Lion. Once inside there is one open plan room with wall divides of were there used to be separate rooms with the bar running along the right hand side with more seating to the back on a raised back room. There pub is completely hard wood floor and is very cosy with cushioned traditional seats. There is also a nice outside drinking area up a flight of stairs that is good for sunny days. On the bar is an extensive range of Blue Monkeys beers and the odd guest or two. On my visit there was Blue Monkey Guerrilla (£3.30) BG Sips (£3.10) Winter Woolly (£3.60) Ape Ale (£3.40) Chip Chimaney (£3.10) Infinity (£3.30) and Funky Gibbon (£3.10), the guest ales were Dark Star Winter Solstice (£3.10) and Doombar (£2.85). The funky gibbon way in a nice shape and very tasty and this is a very nice place to start or end the Canning Circus run, It has a proper pub feel and the open fire in winter makes it feel like a log cabin in winter with all the hard wood flooring and furniture, great at Christmas time. The only slight downside is the usual presence of Doombar on the bar which makes no sense to me whatsoever, especially charged significantly cheaper that their own brewed beers?!? Overall another great pub in Canning circus and one well worth seeking out.
On 15th November 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 457 recommendations about 457 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Organ Grinder
This place was my main reason for coming to Nottingham but I had been so impressed by the previous five pubs that it had a lot to live up to. It's an original pub called the Red Lion as can be seen from the earliest picture but the fact that it's a terraced pub makes it look a bit like a shop conversion. It was my final stop of the Canning Circus group of four pubs.
Inside it's a single room with the bar on the right and wooden floorboards. It was relatively quiet on my late Saturday afternoon visit.
The bar has nine hand pumps which on my visit had seven Blue Monkey beers, Grain Oak and Doom Bore.
I tried three Blue Monkey beers, Marmalape (£3.15), Infinity (£3.15) and Chocolate Guerilla (£3.40). All three were in great condition although I wasn't that impressed with the possibly experimental Marmalape which isn't even mentioned on their website.
There were also two ciders and a perry at the blanket price of £3.60 despite the perry being a full 3% higher ABV than the ciders.
It's a pub that shouldn't be missed but somehow I didn't find quite as good as the Loughborough one and I'm not sure exactly why. It is GBG 2015 listed.
On 9th July 2015
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Peter Rydings left this review about The Organ Grinder
ok boozer called in had a couple of pints of Bg Tips dont no weather its the Organ Grinder or the Blue Monkey
On 4th July 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 948 recommendations about 917 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about Organ Grinder
A very good pub for real ales with most of the Blue Monkey beers on offer with a couple of guests. All beers tried were in very good order.
On 19th June 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Organ Grinder
The Organ Grinder opened in June 2011 in the former Red Lion, and became the first pub operated by the Blue Monkey Brewery. You enter into a spacious front room with bare floorboards and some plush curved leather banquette seating. The servery runs along the right hand side of the room with enough space at either end for some seating and a fireplace with a small, lit burner. On the left hand wall there is a large bookcase packed with enough reference books to solve the most heated of pub arguments and the walls have been decorated with several local black and white photographs (and the occasional picture of a blue monkey). The room extends quite a way back to the rear where there are some more comfortable seating options and there is also a decent sized garden at the back with a smoking shelter. The pub still feels fairly new but it also had something homely about it and I enjoyed settling down with a pint, paper and plenty of time on my hands.
Blue Monkey beers rightly take centre stage and on my visit I was faced with the tricky task of picking one from Ape Ale, BG Sips, Magic, Guerrilla and Amarillo, not to mention guest ales Liverpool Organic Ale and Iron Man, Batemans XB and Ossett Excelsior. I plumped for the Amarillo, which wasn’t quite up to the standards of other Blue Monkey beers I’ve enjoyed in the past, although it still went down well nonetheless.
In my experience, Blue Monkey tends to be a by-word for excellence and in that respect, a visit to this pub should guarantee you quality beer in a warm and friendly environment. A great addition to the Nottingham pub scene.
On 2nd November 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]