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Disappointment of the week with Gann
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The Sun on the Hill, Birmingham
Birmingham
B2 5QP
Pub Type
Punch TavernsReviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Sun on the Hill
Better than expected really. Large open plan single roomer, with high ceilings and a mezzanine floor.
Four real ales on and my Purity UBU (£4.80) was in fine nick. Others from that brewery and (I think) a Wye Valley).
Popular with football fans on a Saturday morning, having breakfast. Wait till they out how much further their dollar would have gone at the Wetherspoons next door :-)
On 13th March 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1337 recommendations about 1323 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about The Sun on the Hill
Its not great but it's not that bad. A single open plan room with an upstairs bit at the front. 4 handpumps on the bar and apart from the dull Doom Bore and Tribute there were 2 more pretty dull beers. They were Purity UBU and Wye Valley Butty Bach.
On 19th January 2017
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about The Sun on the Hill
Large open plan interior with a mezzanine area. 4 real ales and food served.
On 28th July 2015
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Sun on the Hill
Large modern bar, with a small mezzanine at the front closed off for a private function. Loud music seeking to make up for a slightly lack of mid-evening customers and atmosphere. Four real ales on handpump: Pride, Tribute, Doom Bar and Purity Mad Goose (£3.50).
On 17th December 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8092 recommendations about 8092 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Sun on the Hill
Another pub on the little drinking strip of Bennet’s Hill. A modern interior with aqua blue colourings, beer-label wallpaper and impressive bare brick rear wall with pub motif which presumably doubles-up as a stage area. It looks like a big refit since the last reviewer – another new owner here?. Big on DJ’s, live music and the like. Four ales on and a surprisingly decent choice; Hooky Lion and Purity Gold sampled, both in good nick. Loud music belting out on a Friday lunchtime better suited to a Friday night. Still, it was a decent enough stop if not exactly a ‘must-do’. A 6.5 sort of place but in the context of the local competition, I'll round down.
On 11th November 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about The Sun on the Hill
I had time for a swift half before my train, but when I popped into the Wetherspoons just up the hill there were customers two deep at the bar and only three serving, so I came in here where it was quiet. I was served almost immediately by a friendly and efficient bar person. My half of Purity Mad Goose was in good condition and went down a treat. At £1.70 for a half it was quite a bit more expensive than a similar beer would have been at the 'Spoons, but I got served within half a minute of walking through the door, which was a big plus considering the imminent departure of my train. The pub seemed to be much as described by Soup Dragon - I was struck by the number of mirrors, and there were some empty picture frames high up on a back wall; perhaps they wanted to put mirrors there too but ran out of money. I didn't make a note of the other beers, but I may well call back when I've more time to spare and will write a more leisurely review, assuming the place is still open - charging more than £3 a pint just a few metres from a 'Spoons is not a business plan that is going to last forever.
On 9th November 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3734 recommendations about 3471 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Soup Dragon left this review about The Sun on the Hill
A terraced pub and eatery. The upper part of the building is in a plain Georgian style, with the lower pub facade in plain stone and glass, with moulded stone doorways.
The interior is an open plan room, with a staircase that leads up to a balcony level. The decor is a mix of mushroomy coloured walls, with some green, red, wood panel, exposed brick and patterned wallpaper, with a white ceiling and mainly wood floor - there is some nice black and white tiling around the large serving bar area to the left. There are a few old pictures as well as several mirror dotted about on the walls. Seating and dining comes in the form of high stools at high tables and sofas and low tables in the middle of the room. I didn't eat here so can't comment on that. There are a few TVs with sport on - silently and the background music was loud and charty. The gents bogs are up a flight of steps too. The service was functional and the clientele was mixed and the place was completely rammed out, likely due to the German market that is on in the neighbouring streets.
Beer; usual tap stuff with Sharpe's Doombar, Greene King IPA and Saddler's Worcester Sorcerer on handpull. The Sorcerer was a tad warm.
In my opinion, it is a generic 'lets decorate it like your front room' kind of place; one to pop in for one at best, or to eat.
On 28th November 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3067 recommendations about 3062 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Sun on the Hill
The Hill was closed a couple of times in 2009 but now reopened. However, like Bennetts nearby, it has the feel of a pub that needs some close management to improve it.
At the time of my visit they had run out of draught beer and Guiness, though the bar staff were confident that the pub wasn't closing again.
The toilets were disgusting and you would not think it had had a refurb this year.
The pub itsself is one room with the bar along one edge and a balcony above the entrance and a pool table at the far end. High ceiling & bare boards.
It needs much closer management and probably suffers from the similarity with Bennetts, the cheaper, better run Wetherspoons next door and the Wellington being 100 yards up the hill.
On 1st June 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Sun on the Hill
A re-visit for me here, the pub seems to have improved (at least they had some beer this time!).
I'm not sure about the decor, strange & seems to just trying to be different for the sake of it, but its now neater, appears friendly and over all the management is better. 2 real ales, the Purity, in its proper glass, was ok, but its not a fave of mine usually anyway. Indie rock music playing & the market appears to be that way inclined.
Better, but as Andy Ven says below, you can't help comparing with the other 2 - 3 pubs here & the Briar Rose next door is still better to me. On the up though.
On 1st June 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Andy Ven left this review about The Sun on the Hill
Previously The Factotum and Firkin, then The Hill, this place had some unfavourable write ups but it underwent a revamp in February 2010 so I thought it only fair to pay it a weekday lunchtime visit.
Smart and modern inside, fitted out in dark wood, wooden floors but with black and white floor tiles by the bar. Five large angled mirrors above the bar reflect light back in and to create the illusion of space. The ground floor of the pub is only about half the size of the JDW Briar Rose next door but a balcony with an upstairs bar (available for hire) adds another third. (Comparisons with its neighbour are inevitable - not that I'm especially a JDW fan.)
There are many tall tables and padded stools but also stools and settees at a few coffee tables. Several muted flat screen TVs showed Sky Sports News while background pop music allowed conversation without me having to raise my voice.
Lunch menu offered the usual pub grub for between £6 - £7. I didn’t eat but the sandwiches served up seemed to be a reasonable size.
Staff were friendly enough but 3 or 4 initially seemed a high ratio for the 15-20 customers when I arrived but then the customer count doubled over the course of the 45 minutes I was in there. The clientele was typically aged mid 20s upwards but mainly office workers and therefore less mixed than the Wetherspoon’s.
The usual tap offerings were Carling, Guinness, Strongbow, Worthington, Magners, Red Stripe and Grolsch. From the cask choices there was Abbot, Bombardier, Old Speckled Hen and (my choice) Purity Mad Goose. Served in a handled glass and priced at £3 a pint.
To be fair, I felt reasonably comfortable in here although personally I prefer more traditional establishments with character. It’s never going to compete with its neighbour on price and therefore won’t have the same wide appeal. As I left I noticed that the Briar Rose was fairly busy, as ever. OK though.
6.5 stars
On 21st April 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 244 recommendations about 240 pubs]