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Picture of The Salmon
Image posted by Quinno _
Submitted on Tuesday, 6th February 2024
With picture contributions to 4974 other pubs
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The Salmon, Leicester

Pub added by Raymond Cunningham
19 Butt Close Lane
Leicester
LE1 4QA
Correct details

Served areas

Reviews of The Salmon (Average Rating: 8 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Quinno _ left this review about The Salmon

BCA couldn’t help themselves. They have gutted, re-arranged and corporatised the interior – the lovely circular bar has now been consigned to the skip; the servery now sits in a corner and the interior is now more open-plan. Sadly it has lost a bit of charm. BCA Pig on the Wall (NBSS 3) and a taster of the missus’ Facers Caramel Stout (3.5) plus a cob, so the basics remain alright.

November 2022
A long overdue revisit and my first since the BCA takeover. Nicely kept place with a friendly and chatty barman. Pints of Fireside (NBSS 3) and Goffs Black Knight (3.5). Feels like a pleasant place to be and there was a nice gentle atmosphere on a Tuesday night. Cobs available. GBG’22 listed. It’s an LE1 default. Rated 8.5

January 2014
A calmer revisit outside of beer festival time (no sign of the purple ponce), so a proper review. A fabulous bolt hole just half a minute from the immediate town centre with six eclectic ales. My Raising Richard Brandy Ale was sublime and at £1.75 also excellent value for a 6%. Stayed on and also had a fantastic Quatermaster stout. Plush burgundy banquettes, lovely interior tiling and some nice picked colour glasswork in the bar area and lobby door. Some tasteful modern touches such as the design of the blinds. A narrow horseshoe shaped bar, the layout is awkward and if even faintly busy you feel in someone's way at the bar. Rugby focussed, with a smattering of Leicester fans in attendance watching their team stage an improbable comeback away to Saracens. A collection of framed international rugby ties en route to the bogs. Key here is pride in the pub as a whole. I can understand why it is so popular with the local CAMRA crowd and I’d certainly put it joint top of the list for a city centre crawl alongside the Swan & Rushes. Rated 9

April 2013
This back street pub (apparently a former Banks house) is now free of tie and is the current Big Noise on the Leicester ale scene. Located just round the back of the Shires it sports a solid if fairly unremarkable Victorian exterior. The interior has a U-shaped bar with some nice features, particularly a slant towards rugby memorabilia. I visited when the beer fest was already in full swing and the place was duly packed out. A really good selection available and the heavy abv (Betjeman) ale I had was first class. Can’t comment much about the interior as I didn’t see much of it, so packed was the pub. I took a quick pic of the pump clip of the beer I was drinking which elicited a massively OTT response from the purple ponce behind the bar, who wildly pointed to signs (hanging well-above my eye-line) above the bar asking patrons not to take photos because of some auction of the clips. Fair enough, but perhaps you could have been rather less self-righteous, eh? Be calm, find your neutral space…

On 20th February 2024 - rating: 8
[User has posted 5050 recommendations about 5033 pubs]


Ian Mapp left this review about The Salmon

Not going to add a score to this - I think it depends on how familiar with BCA pubs you are. If new, then you may love the nod to tradition, with roaring fires, cobs, multiple and bewildering selection of many cask, pub games, tv with sports on at a low level.

However, if you are a veteran of many locations, you may be tired of the exact identikit makeovers where everything looks exactly the same. The electronic beer board, the carpets, the colour scheme, the glassware.

They are popular and I love my local but when you travel and instantly connect to the wifi, even though you've never been there before you maybe wish for a new experience.

On 8th January 2024 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 1329 recommendations about 1315 pubs]


Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Salmon

The Salmon is a backstreet pub just to the north of Leicester city centre in a much more multi-cultural area. It's a Black Country Ales pub, one of two in the city and I'd say that whilst they are both very good, this one is marginally the better one.

Similar to Quinno below, I hadn't been here since 2014. With a good amount of time available to us in Leicester this time around, I tried to arrange a crawl around a re-visit to the Salmon.

The Salmon has a much more traditional feel than most Black Country Ales pubs. Its corner location means there is a circular bar with seating pretty much all around it. A passageway leads from one side to the toilets and an outdoor area.

With a few quiet afternoon drinkers and a young barman, it didn't quite suit our group of drinkers which had gradually been swelling during the afternoon and now numbered 10. I was conscious that our arrival had increased the noise levels in the pub and had therefore altered the atmosphere. But I don't think we were too unruly at this stage!

Black Country Ales on were Fireside, BFG & Pig on the Wall. Guest beers were Mallinson's Nelson Sauvin, Roman Way Hibernia, Phoenix Keltek, Hancock's HB, Leatherbritches The Bounder & Fixed Wheel Chain Reaction. Also on handpull were a cider (Snail's Bank Pig Squeal) and a perry (Purbeck Katy Perry).

Cobs were available, either ham or cheese & onion. Between our group, we soon polished off what was left. There were certainly a rather thick slab of cheese on mine. Sky Sports News was showing on a TV in one corner. This is another of Leicester's best pubs.

On 4th May 2023 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2442 recommendations about 2441 pubs]


View more reviews of The Salmon (18)
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Pub location see interactive map of local area
Map location corrected by Will Larter
Leicester, 0.78 miles, 14 min walk (show)
South Wigston, 4.7 miles, 1 hr 30 min walk (show)
Syston, 4.87 miles, 1 hr 34 min walk (show)
Latest updates View all updates for The Salmon, Leicester
20th Feb 2024, 12:21
Review submitted by Quinno _ amended by Quinno _
 
6th Feb 2024, 19:08
Picture submitted by Quinno _ approved

Pub Details

Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.

  • Accommodation : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Bar Billiards : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Beer Festivals : Yes last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Beer Garden : Yes last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • CAMRA Discount : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Car Park : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Child Friendly : Yes last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Darts : Yes last updated 20 February 2024 by Quinno _
  • Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Function Room : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Hot Food : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Jukebox : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Karaoke : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Live Music : Yes last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Micropub : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Pinball : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Pool Table : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Quiz Night : No last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
  • Real Ale : Yes last updated 20 February 2024 by Quinno _
  • Real Cider : Yes last updated 20 February 2024 by Quinno _
  • Wheelchair Access : No last updated 20 February 2024 by Quinno _
  • WiFi : Yes last updated 12 November 2022 by Quinno _
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