Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Disappointment of the week with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The King's Ditch, Tamworth
Tamworth
B79 7AS
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The King's Ditch
A wonderful micro and a must visit when in Tamworth.A former shop ,two large tables sit in the two window bays while there are wall fitted bench seating elsewhere and a mix of stools ,upturned barrels and comfy chairs to sit in.COVID regulations are well observed and two person booths are created along the bench seating with ceiling to floor clear perspex but this does not inhibit in any way the high quality banter and beer chat that flows so easily in the friendly surroundings.Be prepared to join in with the locals and you will quickly find yourself at home.
The guv'nor has a dry sense of humour and the barman was a font of knowledge about all things ale and pubs.With the front door propped open and the upstairs windows open it felt safe to be inside.Anybody pitching up when all the downstairs space is taken are directed upstairs where there are a few more tables,but then called down when space appears.There was a regular turn around in customers on my trip although some,including us,had settled down for a session.
Table service was from a selection of 4 ales (Muirhouses Tick Tock Boom,Small World Twin Falls and Fixed Wheel King Kelly and Through & Off ) Ale conditioning was superb.
There is also a long and impressive list of 16 ciders and perrys,this micro has in the past been a finalist in the CAMRA National Cider awards .
It's quite close to the Sir Robert Peel so makes a good double header but IMHO this is the better bet for real ale and friendly chat.There is even a very good curry house virtually across the road.
Everything a micro should be ,top marks from me.
On 15th August 2020
- rating: 10
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The King's Ditch
Most micro of micros. Six tables. All in use when I come in. You can't just walk out can you :-)
So I ordered a decent Yeovil Ales Harlequin and managed to perch on a stool in front of the curtain that hides the passage way to the gents.
Everyone stares into the middle of the room. No music to break the tension. If there was a clock, it would be an old one that ticks slowly. A tv is tuned to the beer room, which offers mild entertainment when ever someone orders a pint. Recongnised locals in the street generate some chat to guess where they have been/going/having for tea.
I just don't get micros.
On 8th March 2020
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1337 recommendations about 1323 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The King's Ditch
If only all micropubs were like this! It's styled as a proper pub but just really small. A single room with undressed brick walls, very green dried hops, lots of brewery mirrors, light and bright and comfortable. A friendly bunch inside and I got chatting easily enough, including with the owners. Four ales on, served from a cold room; Shiny Wrench (NBSS 3), Hawkshead Windermere Pale, Kinver Crystal and Kinver Seren, a cask lager I can’t recall (4), alongside 14 ciders. A fairly unique touch were the booklets at the tables telling you their full range (loads of cider, bottles, fruit wines and local butcher sourced pub snacks) with a bit of honest story about the pub and some local history. Also belatedly noticed the TV screen with a live CCTV feed to the cold room, so you can observe the action unfolding. Really enjoyed my stop here and would make sure I called in again if in town. 8.5
On 5th March 2020
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The King's Ditch
This micropub is something of a veteran having opened in early 2015. It's a small room as noted below and there is another room up some stairs where the second one is rather steep.
There is a bar counter but everything is served from the cold room. Four beers were available Green Duck Duck Blonde, Furnace Reprezent, Tollgate Ashby Pale and Magpie Cheery Raven. I went for the Duck Blonde (£3.30) which was OK but a bit lifeless. As the other three beers were all roughly the same strength I went for a Nottingham cider (£3.50) which I thought was slightly on the warm side despite coming from the cellar. Looking through their menu I noticed they stocked a few speciality gins which is fine but then discovered they also sell four rubbish mainstream spirits probably sourced from the local supermarket. For me this is as bad as them having a font with John Smith's Smooth Crap on the bar.
Overall I thought this one was a bit of a let down.
On 13th August 2018
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The King's Ditch
Decent micro-pub with six small tables and some basic bench seating on three sides. Decor based on brewery mirrors and hop bines, but also plenty of Camra awards for cider on one wall (with up to 16 available). Four real ales on gravity, poured in a rear room (with a CCTV feed so you can see all the action...), including Mount Hood Raw (£3.30) and beers from Nethergate, Scarborough and Slightly Foxed.
On 21st April 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Hurdle left this review about The King's Ditch
A very small room and very small low bar in the corner with no beer pumps on view. All the beer is drawn by gravity from the "cellar" in the room just behind the bar. You can see your pint being poured from the barrel on a large video screen on the bar room wall. I agree with Ray about the novel idea and about the bar staff.
When I first walked up to the small bar containing just a covered dish containing pies and sausage rolls, I thought that I had walked into a cafe or tea shop! A quick look round at the tables with pints of beer on them quickly reassured me. When the barmaid returned to tell me that my first choice had just ran out, I already knew and had selected another as I had watched the action on the screen. This and my next two choices were all in excellent condition.
On 8th April 2018
- rating: 9
[User has posted 707 recommendations about 645 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The King's Ditch
A top class micro pub, where the beer is served from a rear chill room. A novel feature here was the large wall mounted plasma screen displaying the barmaid serving your beer from the casks. The young barmaid was also very easy on the eye, maybe another USP attracting a lot of male drinkers.
Another bonus on our visit was the fact that they were having a Byatt's Brewery mini fest, serving up a choice of seven Byatt's ales. We went for the Byatt's Big Cat, Phoenix Gold, Glorious and Regal Blonde. The three remaining ales not tried were Coventry Bitter, Platinum Blonde and XK Strong. We also tried the Beowolf Chasebuster which was also excellent. The Train station was a ten minute walk from here. Opening times Tues to Thurs 1700-2230, Fri 1600- 2230, Sat 1200-2230, Sun 1200-2130 and Monday closed
On 13th March 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about The King's Ditch
A micropub with 4 cask ales on plus a lot of ciders. As expected bottled beers are also on the go. Good.
On 22nd July 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]