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The Old Joint Stock, Birmingham

4 Temple Row West
Birmingham
B2 5NY

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


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Shivaji Shiva left this review about The Old Joint Stock

Welcoming pub with a great interior and good selection of beer. I have enjoyed every visit. Unsurprisingly given the location,it is often filled with suited office workers. It is also surprisingly child-friendly with a handy board-room like dining area in the rear and, in my experience, friendly staff. Running late to meet my family on a recent visit I asked where they might be and met the warm response "Ah, so you're dad - come this way..." I have also found the doorman friendly and cheerful - and enjoy nipping through the back from the Wellington.

On 15th August 2015 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 2 recommendations about 2 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


hondo . left this review about The Old Joint Stock

Ornate Fuller's Ale & Pie pub. A central island bar serves an extensive Fuller's selection.

On 28th July 2015 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Oggwyn Great left this review about The Old Joint Stock

A must do when in Brum its pretty spectacular inside and well described by the eloquent reviewers below .
A good hoice of beers available but you will pay for it , my Backyard Nelson (exellent)and wifes half of Amstell came in at well over £6 , but still its well worth a visit .

On 26th April 2015 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 797 recommendations about 683 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Alan Winfield left this review about The Old Joint Stock

The Old Joint Stock is a Fullers tied house that is in a grand looking former bank.
Once inside there was a very large room with a large island bar in the middle of it,the room was carpeted and had a mix of seating types.
There was a good range of Fullers beers on the bar,i had a drink of Chiswick bitter which is my favourite Fullers beer,this went down very well,the other beers i noted were London Pride,ESB,Discovery and Summer Ale.
The pub was packed on my late Saturday afternoon visit,this was because the pub was cordoned off on each side with scaffolding which also went over the island bar,ths slightly spoilt my visit to this pub.

Pub visited 17/8/2013

On 17th August 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


MJ 71 left this review about The Old Joint Stock

Lovely pub but I was shocked to be charged 9.25 for a pint (Titanic Plum Porter) plus a small white wine and lemonade. The pricing is way too high and for that reason I shaln't use the pub again which is a shame.

On 19th June 2013 - rating: 5
[User has posted 8 recommendations about 8 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Old Joint Stock

The late May Bank Holiday saw me make a long overdue inaugural visit to this splendid Fuller’s pub. London based drinkers will no doubt be familiar with the fine bank conversions that Fuller’s have perfected across the capital with their ‘Ale and Pie House’ brand, but this place is a match for the finest examples the big smoke can offer. The front entrance takes you into the main bar which is vast in size and centres around a huge island servery which has plenty of ornate dark woodwork and a clock centrepiece perched high above the punters below. The eye is drawn further upwards to the amazing cupola which arguably provides the focal point for the entire pub. There is plenty of marble running through the place either in pillars or as a decorative frieze tracing a line underneath the ceiling. The remainder of the walls are dark panels with red paint above and many sections have been covered with huge portraits or sets of local photographs. Seating is a mix of high tables and stools under the front windows and to the left of the bar and standard tables and chairs down the right hand side of the room, with space broken up by a few partitioning screens with large lamps attached to them. At the back is what appears to be a former office space – a carpeted room with a small fireplace and some standard seating which has been renamed the ‘Club Room’. Stairs lead up to the first floor gallery and second floor theatre, for which numerous flyers promoted upcoming shows. A passage at the rear of the pub is decorated with copies of old bank cheques and leads out to a small patio garden and a few cafe style tables in the alleyway which effectively connects this pub to the nearby Wellington.
A good range of Fullers ales including London Pride, ESB, Chiswick, Spring Sprinter and Discovery were available alongside guests in the shape of Hobson’s Mild, WSB Boojum and Beer Geek Legend of the Golden Geek. My pint of Mild was sublime and really deserved more than the one pint I allowed myself. We ate here too and I found the food to be okay without being anything special.
A winning combination of a beautiful setting and some well kept and interesting beers won me over. I’m not sure why I never got round to visiting this place before – perhaps the thought of travelling so far out of London only to drink in a Fullers house might have put me off – but this is now firmly on my radar for future visits and should be included on any crawl of the city centre.

On 7th June 2013 - rating: 8
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


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Mark Davey left this review about The Old Joint Stock

Right next to the Wellingtons with adjoining rear entrances, this place is a must on any Birmingham beer crawl for the architecture alone. A big open room with stunning walls and cielings and a central bar. the beer stock was primarily Fullers with a full range of products including a new one to me called Wild River. I decided to try one of the 3 or 4 non Fullers brews and was quite happy with my selection. probably won't call again as you can drink Fullers anywhere and I like to try different stuff but well worth the first visit.

On 25th July 2012 - rating: 7
[User has posted 292 recommendations about 276 pubs]


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Ale Monster left this review about The Old Joint Stock

This is a magnificent grade II listed building which is Fullers most northerly ale and pie house branded pub since 1997. Built in 1864 it was briefly used as a library before becoming the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank. Soup Dragon has described the architecture of the building better than I could hope to and you should be able to see from the photos that this is the epitome of Victorian opulence. The interior has two rooms, the first is very striking and stands the full height of the building caped with a spectacular glass dome in the middle of the beautifully decorated ceiling, this is directly above the free standing central island bar which is in dark wood with brass fittings, a black granite top and even a small clock tower on top. Across the back third of the room is a mezzanine floor with several tables accessed by a staircase on the left of the room. The huge front windows framed by the impressive columns provide plenty of light, there are two immense paintings on the left wall with old photos of Brum and the building in previous guises dotted around elsewhere, the floor around the bar area is wood, nearer the walls and the area under the mezzanine is carpeted and set with traditional pub furniture. In the middle of the back wall is the entrance to the second room which is much smaller but still quite grand with full wood panel walls and a nice cast iron fire place in the right hand wall, a large window in the back wall looks out over a small enclosed patio area which is served by a corridor on the left of the room. Mention should be made of the well used theatre that is on the first floor at the back of the building.

Regular ales are currently Fullers London Pride, ESB, Chiswick Bitter, Discovery, Bengal Lancer IPA and Gales HSB with a single changing guest beer normally from a local brewery (GBG 2012 and Cask Marque). There is also Fullers London Porter and Honey Dew on Keg with a decent selection of various continental beers. I had a half of all of the regular ales and all were in decent condition, coincidently the ESB and HSB were the best. I agree with many of the other reviewers opinion that it is a little pricey here, even for Brum.

An amazing building that is a bit of a tourist destination due to its Victorian grandeur, I was almost fighting with other photographers for a decent spot to take a picture. The beer is usually good and there is a fair selection of styles available despite them being from the same brewery, also they could do with a mild, but that’s just a personal preference. I would always include this place in a crawl round Brum city centre and would recommend a visit even if it’s just to say you have seen the splendid interior.

On 30th May 2012 - rating: 8
[User has posted 199 recommendations about 199 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Soup Dragon left this review about The Old Joint Stock

A fantastic Victorian building executed in neo-classical style. Now a Fuller's pub and eatery (and theatre) it was originally the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank, before being taken over by that other bastion of Birmingham banks, Lloyds. What appear to be Corinthian and Doric columns adorn the outside, along with wonderful moulding and topped by a balustrade. There is a nice rear patio area too.

The interior has a theatre and function rooms, but the main room is an open-paln room around a central island serving bar, with a gallery and a club room at the back. The decor is amazing - neo-classical with its entablature, alcoves, moulded cornice and a Romanesque dome, with a mix of wood floor and carpet. They do food here, but i have never eaten so i can't comment on that. There are old paintings, mirrors and Birmingham photos on the walls and I can pass half an hour identifying the historical busts on display - and by that i mean statues! Pericles and Alexander the Great for example. I didn't see a TV and there was no background music. The service - well generally (not always) the bar staff are about as merry as the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, and a little less talkative to boot. The clientele are a good mix - it is often busy

Beer; usual tap stuff with Leffe and Hoegaarden, as well as Fuller's Honey Dew. On handpull there are Cheswick Bitter, London Pride, Discovery, ESB and Gales HSB, which was fine - it should be at £3.55. There is a local guest - this time ABC Blooming Tree.

The fact that it is expensive, often crowded, usually functional service and Fullers beer are balanced off completely by the beauty of the building in a gaudy Victorian way. Worth a vist, but not a session place.

On 13th December 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 Old Joint Stock

Fine, ornamental Fullers pub in central Birmingham, easy walk from New Street & Snow Hill stations.

I would agree with some of the other comments on here, that is the service is notoriously slowand it ain't cheap, and the gallery is often shut off, but it is an excellent example of a bank conversion, very Fullers likeand a good addition to Birmingham because of it. Central ornate bar, stools around the outer wall cill, traditional tables and chairs elsewhere, lots f dark wood. Excellent decor and there is a theatre upsatirs.

There is a small, but welcome outside area, which is rare for Birmingham central, and also leads down the stairs to the back door of the real ale'd Wellington.

Its opposite St Phillips Cathedral and square (pigeon park), so handy before or after Evensong if you are that way inclined.

I have a soft spot for the place as I have seen a few England footie games here down the years, though usually there is no TV or sports here.

They have the full Fullers range, which whilst not a personal favourite the Pride and ESB can be very good. Two guest beers, sadly no longer locally sourced - no more Beowulf! But the beer quality tends to be good.

On 23rd May 2011 - rating: 8
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]

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