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Canalhouse, Nottingham
Nottingham
NG1 7EH
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Canalhouse
There are plenty of reviews detailing this unique pub below so I'll confine myself to saying that I have never been in a pub within which was moored a narrowboat until now.
The building is magnificent but I'm not convinced that the sofas in the bar make the best use of space or that showing Doctor Who with subtitles on the large screen early on Saturday evening adds to the atmosphere.
Beers on: Castle Rock Harvest Pale, Sheriffs Tipple, Yellow Archangel and Preservation, Flipside Dusty Penny and Purbeck Solar Power. Everything we tried was at best so-so but I'm sure that the location, building and food attracts plenty of custom without having to keep tip top ale. And it is a very good place to enjoy the canal views on a nice day with a beer.
I'd treat it in the same way as Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, nip in for one and a look around then head off elsewhere for a decent pint.
On 17th April 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
A B left this review about Canalhouse
Definitely a top 10 Nottingham pub. great venue, great beer (both real ale and foreign bottles) and good food - I recommend the pizzas. its got a nice outdoors area by the canalside for when the sun is out. Had a brilliant pint of Moorhouse Black Cat Mild here.
Good place for a session with the mates or also to take a girl on a date.
On 8th January 2013
- rating: 9
[User has posted 27 recommendations about 26 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Canalhouse
A Tynemill (aka Castle Rock) pub which has a USP that means it is worthy of a visit, the canal spur that runs into the pub (you cross a footbridge over it at the entrance to the bar) which often has a boat or two moored in it as it is accessible - the boats are not merely decorative. Now that bit’s out of the way, let’s do the rest of the review. The pub is housed in a large converted warehouse on the canal-side. The interior bar is pretty barn-like (a turn-of-the-millennium modern interior conversion) and didn’t do a huge amount for me, I think this is Tynemill’s attempt at attracting the student/city-dweller crowd for late opening. Beer-wise there are half a dozen ales with four from Castle Rock and there’s a big emphasis on bottled beers alongside some premium keg. The beer quality was a mixed bag and the female bar staff were pretty uninspiring on my visit, brusque and clearly preferring to relax than work. Another big selling point of the is the outside ‘garden’ which is a large cobbled wharf-side area packed with seating and covered by a glass roof, an ideal summer’s sun-trap and a great spot to watch the passing boat traffic. The gents, as noted elsewhere, are quite a hike up numerous stairs.
Well-worth the visit for the novelty value or on a summer's day. However I’d be less inclined to do this one over the other two Tynemill pubs in Nottingham on a return visit unless I had plenty of time.
On 18th November 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Canalhouse
Can safely say this is the first time I have visited a pub that has had a working boat in the middle of it.
But it works very well as a pub and is good to see a fine Victorian building continue life in this guise.
As other reviewers have mentioned the large internal space has been well utilised, allowing plenty of space for dining and a large area for vertical drinking by the long central serving bar. And a very pleasant outside tabled area by the canal that I would imagine is a great spot on better weather days than the one we had.
Six Castle Rock beers available during our visit and the Screech Owl IPA was well kept. Only slight negative was that the barmaids gave the impression of suffering for their profession, but overall well worth a visit and highly recommended.
On 17th November 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Canalhouse
If you're on a Nottingham crawl, you can't miss this one out, as there is a lot to see inside. Quite surprised how big the place is with plenty of room for diners and drinkers alike. Went for the Castle Rock Screech Owl, a good IPA. Castle Rock Elsie Bo was on the turn though and was not pleasant, just like one of the bar staff on the day, but will give it another chance. Will return.
On 15th November 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Canalhouse
Enjoyed our visit to this converted canal museum, and it felt strange walking across a bridge over the canal inside the building. The Castle Rock Harvest Pale and their Preservation ale went down very well. Friendly staff had no problem taking members of our party up to the gents on the second floor in a lift so that was a plus point, but I would imagine it to be difficult if the pub is crowded. Food menu looked good and the outside seating area will be popular in the summer.
Above was written on 18.11 10. Revisited on Friday and tried their Castle Rock William "Bendigo" Thompson which was very good. Still worthy of a visit on a crawl of Nottingham.
On 14th November 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Soup Dragon left this review about Canalhouse
A somewhat austere looking detached former Victorian canal-side warehouse in brick with rounded windows. There is a large covered patio area where the old wharf equipment is a feature. I believe it was a former canal museum.
The interior has two stories, with the main bar being approach via a bridge over a loading bay complete with two canal barges, which makes for a pretty unique feature. The main bar room is in the cold, exposed brick of the warehouse, with wood floor, and a wood ceiling supported by black painted iron columns. There is a mix of stools, tables and chairs, as well as a couple of sofas in case you need to feel at home. Further seating and the bogs are upstairs. The ceiling has a collection of beer mats, which slightly brightens a rather uninspiring room. They do food here, but we had must the deadline for serving, so can't comment on that. There was a large screen TV which wasn't on at my visit and the music was general and at a decent level. The service was functional, and the clientele a small mixed crowd for a Sunday afternoon.
Beer; usual tap stuff with Castle Rock Harvest Pale Ale, Preservation, Elsie Mo a decent Black Gold, as well as Batemans Spring Goddess and Blue Minkey's 99 Red Baboons.
A great feature in the boats, a good beer choice and an excellent MILD - again, the review was written in May and i re-visited the other day - with the Clayton's next door, you would be hard pushed not to do it.
On 12th November 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3067 recommendations about 3062 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Canal House Bar & Restaurant
Famously quirky canalside ex-warehouse with its retained unloading dock and narrow boats. The main bar is a large open room, with a bit more seating available on the entrance side of the bridge. Apart from the heritage features, the main attraction is probably the Castle Rock brewery beers on offer. However, only four of the six handpumps were in operation - Harvest Pale, Preservation, Screech Owl and Elsie Mo (£3.00). Food-wise, the menu isn't extensive but I enjoyed the meal I had. Would definitely visit again.
On 24th September 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Canal House Bar & Restaurant
There are already a number of excellent reviews below,I would only add that the unloading dock in the bowels of the building is thankfully preserved and is a real feature.On my Saturday night visit ,the two banks of three handpumps were serving 5 from Castle Rock ,namely Harvest Pale,Elsie Mo,Preservation Bitter,Hemlock Bitter and Screech Owl while Bath Ales Gem was the sole guest.No problem with beer quality and given the warm evening we headed out to the large cobbled canalside terrace which is awash with bench seating and is a great location to watch boating traffic and the antics of the many revellers visiting the canalside bars and clubs for the younger drinkers.Fair comment from others about the steep 2 floor climb to the gents,quite a challenge if well oiled.
Much better than I thought it was going to be given the neon pubsign and doormen at the entrance,I would pop in again for the decent ale and that bit of canal porn.
On 1st August 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Canal House Bar & Restaurant
As you approach this pub, which is situated inside a large canal-side warehouse, initial impressions suggest that you are heading towards a grim 'drinking barn' style experience. There are masses of seats and benches outside which were almost all taken on my sunny Saturday afternoon visit, with most of them occupied by a young, lager drinking crowd. But as you enter it becomes clear that this is something a little different. The entrance leads to a small bridge which takes you over a short spur from the canal which runs into the pub building. There were two canal boats moored inside when I entered. A line of seating runs in an L shape around the spur and beyond this the pub opens out into a single large room with the bar located on the far wall.
This room is fairly unremarkable, with only the large pump clip collection on the ceiling beams standing out. Blackboards list ales and a large number of specials to complement the decently priced menu. They proclaim to specialise in pies, so I tried the steak and ale variety, which I'm sorry to say wasn't really up to scratch. Music was playing at quite a loud volume whilst muted snooker coverage was being shown on the large screen. The gents toilets are located on the second floor so a lengthy session in here will require a fair bit of climbing.
This is another of Nottingham's Castle Rock pubs and they were offering Harvest Pale, Preservation Ale, Cowslip and the royal wedding themed Kiss Me Kate plus a guest of Bateman's XB. Stowford Press cider and Vedett Belgian lager were also available alongside a more mainstream keg selection and a massive bottled beer collection which was helpfully detailed in the menus. My pint of Cowslip was quite nice and I was served by a very quick and efficient, if somewhat brusque, barmaid.
I think this is the sort of pub that will appeal to a wide variety of people and I certainly found it to be an interesting spot to spend a bit of time. Probably best enjoyed with a large group of friends or sat along the canal side in the height of summer.
On 29th April 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]