The Dragon Inn, Worcester

Quinno _ left this review about The Dragon Inn

Back once again. Very busy on early Friday evening, with the only spare seats being upstairs where a member of our group gave the Joanna a tinkle to the appreciation of the punters. The garden looks like it had a COVID upgrade and was quite smart. Full bar service is resumed, in case there’s any doubt from the COVID-era review below. Cask-wise, I chugged Church End beers (I forget the amount on and how many guests there were); Goats Milk (NBSS 3 - syrupy), Vicar's Ruin (4) and Stout Coffin (3.5). A let-down was the pitted glasses which were only fit for the skip. I’ve never fully warmed to this one post-takeover and whilst it certainly merits a place on a crawl (and its GBG'24 listing), it doesn’t touch the Plough in my view.

April 2019
My first visit after the demise of the old Dragon and the pub’s takeover by Church End Brewery. It’s all smartened-up now and the individuality has been firmly erased - white walls, dangling hops, new seating and a lack of rules regarding which class of diesel locomotive is banned from conversation this week. It’s not too bad though and will hopefully feel a bit more cosy after it has bedded-in a bit. However on a nippy March evening the pub’s staff decided that heating wasn’t something that was required, so we sat next to the door with our coats on, which quickly curtailed any thoughts of lingering. Loads of Church End beers at the bar, I went for an Old Faithful which was a bit so-so (NBSS 2.5). I know that I am now a proper Pub Man of long-standing as I have this place as a “you should have been here back in the day – that was when it was a GREAT pub, blah blah” anecdote/dull story to trot out. Appreciate the best/leftfield whilst they are around is a hard lesson to learn. Rated 7

April 2014
Not much change from the review below, the interior is perhaps feeling a little worn these days and could do with sympathetic TLC here and there (it did smell a little of damp). A full set of ale on the seven pumps, my LAC Pacific came out well, served by a friendly barman. Selection of papers spotted and the banned topics of conversation list is still going. This is still a must-do in my book, the sort of place you can go in for one and stay for several. Rated 9

June 2011
An unassuming exterior, housing a down-to-earth drinking den owned by the little Ale Cart Brewery. The interior is a single room with wooden benches and is unkempt with old pump clips, postcards, pictures of the mascot on his travels and whisky drums everywhere. I’d call it character, personally. Six ales available, two from Little Ale Cart and four others from well-renowned micros such as Pictish, Blue Monkey, Millstone - an excellent mix and all were gratifyingly cheap (there’s also plenty of bottled beers and a range of single malt whiskies as well as a real cider). The mad Northumbrian barman kept us all entertained and was quite a character - do not ask for lager or Guinness, especially if you lack a sense of humour. There’s a basic rear drinking area with a bus stop sign by gents, nice signposting (purloined?). I especially enjoyed the ‘Banned topics of conversation’ board, which seemed to revolve around Derbyshire and electric loco trains. Daily papers were available and the cycle rack was a nice touch. Food was available and we all tucked into fantastic bacon, sausage and egg cobs, very cheap too. There’s no TV or jukebox in here, just customer conversations. I thought this was a fantastic drinkers pub and it’s top of my list next time I’m in Worcester. Rated 10

On 21^st November 2023 - rating: 7
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