Fitzgeralds, Sunderland Central, Sunderland

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Situated in a part of town that has its fair share of drinking barn style establishments, this is actually a very smart, up-market pub from the Sir John Fitzgerald pub group responsible for the likes of The Bodega, Crown Posada and Bacchus in Newcastle plus pubs of the same name in Newcastle and Whitley Bay. The pub has two distinctly separate areas - the main bar and a dedicated seating area called the 'Chart Room'. You enter into the main bar, a part carpeted, part mosaic tile floored space with the servery down the right hand side. The bar back creates a grand spectacle, with some etched glasswork amidst a vast amount of well worked dark wood, some whisky and brandy barrels and a rudder suspended from above. The area opposite is open plan and offers a good amount of seating, with padded banquettes around the perimeter and a nice tiled fireplace on one wall. Black and white photos line most of the walls and there are numerous nods towards a seafaring theme, although this becomes more apparent in the Chart Room, where more comfortable seating options can be found under a series of wall mounted nautical charts. The place has been fitted out very nicely, with excellent partitioning creating the illusion of privacy whilst dark wood combines with stained and patterned glass to good effect. There was a good crowd in here on a late Saturday evening, ensuring a good buzz right up to closing time.
As with most pubs in this chain, the foundations of the pub's popularity are built upon a strong ale range, which on this visit comprised Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose, Glastonbury Thriller, Durham Smokin' Gun, Thornbridge Jaipur, Fat Cat Chocolate Porter and Consett White Hop. The Dark Side of the Moose was in great shape and a fine way to finish an extensive crawl of the best pubs Sunderland has to offer.
I probably didn't do this pub justice by visiting it at the end of a long crawl around town, but it was clear that this is a fine establishment, offering something a bit more refined in a convenient central location. I liked this one and felt it was a better all round pub than it's award-winning namesake in Newcastle.

On 14^th March 2016 - rating: 8
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