“We’re the second cheapest pub after Wetherspoons,” the friendly guy behind the bar told us proudly after my husband asked the price of a pint of Guinness (£3.80). He had said the same to the guy in front of us after charging him £5.60 for two Malibu and mixers. “That’s cheap, isn’t it?” the customer had said, clearly impressed.
While prices didn’t quite match the bold promise of being “cheaper than Wetherspoons” made by the owners before the new pub opened in Moseley – a Guinness at the Elizabeth of York five doors down costs £3.15 – it still seemed very reasonable compared to other bars in the trendy village.
The no-frills pub opened its doors in June in the old Bohemian site on the corner of Alcester Road, making it the third branch of the Pub at in Birmingham after Kings Heath and Bearwood. I was happy to see a prominent empty unit filled, but did Moseley really need another pub? I wondered.
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When we went to see for ourselves on a Thursday night, it wasn’t particularly busy, but a few tables were occupied by people from Birmingham making an early start to the weekend. The atmosphere was relaxed. The Malibu drinkers at the window were laughing loudly and another group was watching the horse racing on TV while “Now 70s” played quietly over the loudspeaker on a second screen.
As someone who has spent a few nights at Bohemian before, it was strange to see the venue so tame (and the floors so clean). The crowd was diverse and the atmosphere so relaxed that I didn’t feel underdressed in my sweater and sneakers.
There was a selection of beers and ciders on tap – Carling, Cruzcampo, Level Head and Ice Breaker Pale Ale, Inch’s Cider and Stowford Press, plus a few bottles, wines and spirits. The food offering didn’t extend beyond pork cracklings and chips, but the owners had previously mentioned plans to serve “healthy English” fare in the future.
There was a dart board at the back, a slot machine just waiting to be plugged in and the posters on the wall told us there would be live DJs every Friday and Saturday. There were a few obvious differences but it wasn’t just the cheap drink prices and patterned furniture that reminded me of a Wetherspoons.
My pilgrimage to the bathroom took me up two flights of stairs and down a hallway. It was as if they’d taken the floor plan straight out of a JD Wetherspoon manual. On the way down I bumped into a confused-looking guy I saw sitting at the bar. “I’ll let you go first,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s my first time here, so I’m a bit lost.”
Back at our table, I was sure I had the place figured out, but the biggest surprise of the night was yet to come. We were finishing our drinks when an older guy in a camouflage hat walked in, ordered a beer, then pulled out his own speaker and started playing Daydream Believer at twice the volume of the TV from his table. And the bartender didn’t even bat an eyelid.
My husband and I looked around the room in disbelief, but no one else in the audience seemed bothered by the sudden change in the soundtrack. When Jolene and Stuck in the Middle With You came on, we were bouncing around in our seats—and the people at the corner table sang along.
I felt like I was at a 60th birthday party at the local club. And I mean that as a compliment. As the bosses themselves have said, the Pub at Moseley is nothing special. But it is warm, welcoming and the definition of cheap and cheerful – something Moseley definitely needed if you ask me.
