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The Briar Rose (JD Wetherspoon), Birmingham
Birmingham
B2 5RE
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Briar Rose (JD Wetherspoon)
This is a city centre Spoons that was alarmingly busy at 10:00 on Saturday with both drinkers and people having breakfasts. It's also a JDW hotel but I can't believe all these people were staying here. It's one big room with the usual mix of Spoons furniture. The bar has two banks of five pumps the "boring" one having the 2 GK beers, Pride, a cider and a festival Wadworth Ye Old Admiral. The "interesting" one had festival Daleside New Dawn & Adnam's Golden Road California Breakfast Ale, Doom Bore, Oakleaf Blake's Gosport Bitter and Rooster's Fort Smith. I went for the Daleside beer (£2.35) which was in good nick but as it transpired dearer than the "Earlybird" beer offering up the road in the Wellington.
It's not a bad Spoons but if it's so busy at 10:00am on a Saturday how busy does it get?
On 16th March 2015
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Briar Rose (JD Wetherspoon)
Just off New Street, this is a decent sized, well positioned Wetherspoons pub that always seems to be doing a good trade whenever I’ve walked past. The pub has a fairly large, single room layout with the servery located midway down the left hand side. There is a sizeable seating area underneath the front windows, including some impressive high backed banquettes which run down the right hand wall, whilst high tables and stools fill up the space closer to the bar. The servery is quite unusual, in that it has some large upturned silver domes decorating the bar back and a tiger print image running below the bar counter. The rest of the pub has lots of stylish curved lines and period fixtures such as lamp shades which hint at an art deco look. The room opens out a lot to the rear, where a pleasant carpeted seating area can be found. This space boasts some nice wood panelling, large frosted windows with small square stained panes and a handsome fireplace with an elaborate carved mantle and surround fitted with a small stove. The usual TV screens were present and correct, showing muted Sky News to a busy Saturday lunchtime crowd, which staff seemed unable to cope with, resulting in a number of tables remaining uncleared for long periods.
I think I noted four guest ales, three regular Wetherspoons ales and three unused pumps whilst stood at the bar. I decided to try something called Dark Odyssey from The Beer Studio, which was a decent enough pint to start off a crawl around the city. The staff at the bar seemed much better equipped to deal with the crowds than those waiting the tables.
This is a fairly standard city centre Wetherspoons that will be an attractive option because of its location rather than any specific point of difference. It’s also very close to several excellent ale houses, including the neighbouring Wellington, which makes it an obvious addition to a crawl around the immediate area.
On 7th May 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Briar Rose (JD Wetherspoon)
The Briar Rose is a Spoons that is housed in an old building,this is probably Birminghams premier Spoons.
Once inside there was a long oblong shaped room with the bar on the left side,there were tall tables and chairs very close to the bar,making this area very busy with people drinking at the bar and generally clogging the bar area up,i walked round and eventually got to the bar where the service was very quick.
I had a drink of Exmoor Gold which was a very nice drink,the other beers i noted were Ringwood Fortyniner,GK Abbot and Ruddles best.
I was a bit dissapointed with this spoons.
Pub visited 17/8/2013
On 17th August 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Briar Rose (JD Wetherspoon)
there's very much an Art Deco feel to the decor but it's still unmistakably a 'spoons, the Greene King beer is a give away of course. The long thin shape with a low ceiling and windows just at one end make it dark inside. As befits a flagship city centre pub it seems well run with fewer of the usual gripes about 'spoons, it has a shortish straight counter which helps and there appeared to be a reasonable number of staff. The beers were in good shape. The toilets are downstairs with the Hotel bit upstairs.
On 25th June 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3276 recommendations about 2982 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Briar Rose (JD Wetherspoon)
The Briar Rose is a large Wetherspoons with a long bar along the left hand wall that supports a standard draught range and ten hand pumps. Four of these were off during my visit just before midday last Friday and the other six were drawing Spoon’s favourites and a couple of guests. The usual cheap food is available and I enjoyed a large breakfast that was very good value for money at £2.99. The service was friendly and I was even asked if I was enjoying my food which is a first in my experience for a pub chain.
There is a plasma screen at the rear that was showing muted rolling news and unsurprisingly there was no music playing.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to drink or eat here again, but like most JDW pubs it is handy to know of its existence.
On 9th October 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5268 recommendations about 5236 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Briar Rose (JD Wetherspoon)
Very good service here in this spoons. A varied mix of customers, always have a good selection of ales at good prices. I went for the Warwickshire Brewery Market Ale, so well worth a look in.
On 26th July 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about The Briar Rose (Wetherlodge)
Large Wetherspoon's that had a good range of real ales.Although it gets packed the service is pretty good.
On 25th July 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Soup Dragon left this review about The Briar Rose (Wetherlodge)
A stone and glass frontage, terraced, ‘Spoons pub and eatery, which also offers accommodation upstairs.
The interior is in fact one long room, set out, in typical ‘Spoons fashion for eating, but the far end opens out a little wider for diners. The serving bar to the left and half way up the room on entry. The decor is a mix of white, mustard and green, with some wood panel and a strange tiger striped design around the serving bar. There are a few pictures and some art dotted about and an interesting safe outside the toilets (downstairs) from when the building was a bank (Bennett’s Hill was once the banking/building society road in Brum). There was no music and i didn’t see a TV, even a silent one. The service was fine, considering the usual lack of numbers and the place being rammed out with the usual mixed Spoonsy crowd. I have eaten here twice and the food was fine on both occasions, then i usually chose things that can’t be fouled up too easily.
Beer; tap stuff, with the usual Abbotts and Ruddles on handpull, along with several others depending on availability. Usual up and down quality of beer.
It is a Spoons, so you know what you will generally get , but this is one of the better ones in my opinion.
On 4th October 2010
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3067 recommendations about 3062 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
I L left this review about The Briar Rose (Wetherlodge)
On our visit there were three Warwickshire Brewery ales on and the two we tried were in good condition. There was a good cross section of people both young and old in here for a Friday night. Service was also pretty slick for a busy Wetherspoons. Accommodation is also very good.
On 21st August 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 287 recommendations about 284 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Owen O'Neill left this review about The Briar Rose (Wetherlodge)
Until recently was pretty much my 'local'.
Refurbed carpets and toilets about 6-9 months ago, this has improved it no end in terms of getting rid of the smell of vomit from the old carpet - which has also resulted in a slight change in clientel - mostly out with the students - and in with an older crowd that actually knows when they've had enough.
Superb prices, excellent range (particularly of ciders)
Service patchy and poor when busy, especially table clearing, but hey can't have everything.
Worth dropping in when in town, not worth a special trip unless meeting up with friends to catch up in which case the lack of music and cheap prices are excellent.
On 11th July 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 11 recommendations about 11 pubs]