Lovely looking pub, with nice vintage aesthetics. I have visited here a couple of times a few years before with friends. My latest visit was a quick solo lunchtime pint.
There was a very good beer selection to pick from, and great, friendly, welcoming service which is something of a rareity around this particular area these days. Definitely one of the best pubs in the city centre.
Very good and friendly staff, service, Guinness was very nice. Fish & chips are very nice and hot, but I could have done with a few more chips, spent 6 hours catching up with a friend. Felt very welcome.
Overall a fantastic, atmospheric and cozy pub. The thing that stands out is the amazing decor - everything is in a WWI style with hints of WWII - which contributes to an unique and incredible experience. Indeed, the pub has a lot of history, as the 'Old Contemptibles' was the name given to the British Expeditionary Force in WW1 by Kaiser Wilhelm - so naturally some of the soldiers came back and opened a pub! Great food too; the steak and ale pie was fantastic and warming, and the desserts were all indulgent and provided a great finish. Fine selection of alcohol to choose from too. Also, I can't forget the brilliant service we received! All in all, a very fine pub with fine furnishing and delicious food.
Another pub in the 2024 Good Beer Guide visited - I do wish Nicholson’s would be more adventurous with their choice of cask ales on sale although the ubiquitous Mad Goose is on fine form.
Russell Joysandsorrows
+5
Olivia served us tonight. Two old pals from primary school catching up over some drinks and food. The food is amazing. The staff eat it and rate it. Live music on a Friday night. Good beer, great ambience. Thank you!!
Today was my first visit . Fantastic pub, great atmosphere, very interesting building, friendly staff and delicious food.
Hell of a bar. Vintage style Pub with amazi g food along with great selection of beers. Oh and the ambiance is mind blowing. Do drop by for catch up with your mates hers. Cheers!
![5]( "Recensione")
We visited this pub while visiting Birmingham from Canada in late May. It is a proper pub with a fantastic history, decor and atmosphere. We visited twice, first during a very busy Thursday evening and again, on a quiet evening the following week. Both visits provided us with differing but equally enjoyable experiences. In total, we ordered the very generous fish and chips, sausages with mash potatoes and a mouth watering onion sauce, steak and ale pie with vegetables. We washed it down with pints of Peroni and Carling beer. On both occasions, we were served by absolutely wonderful staff members. Even on the very busy first visit, our server was aware that our orders were a bit late (we hadn't even noticed). She apologized and offered us a free desert (a pleasant surprise indeed) Many Kudos to her!. On our second visit, we were well taken care of by a friendly male server. We felt like very valued customers.....this is a very proper pub indeed! Thank you for such memorable experiences at your establishment! We highly recommend The Old Contemptibles when visiting Birmingham City Centre.
Great atmosphere, lovely pub. Food and drink was excellent and the service was good. Really impressed with the food and would definitely return. Glad we had booked a table as it's very busy and well used
Called in here with my wife for the first time before going to the Hippodrome. I’d read the reviews and all was good. We’ll it lived up to its reputation. The service was A1 as was the food. Had a great pint of Guinness too. We sat close to the entrance /bar on high tables which was cosy but there were regular tables throughout. Same outside and partially under cover, nice to see folk stood outside too. The menu was varied & good, I tried one of their pies and loved it. We ordered via the app that we found with the menu, all easy and the food came out in very good time. The lady serving us was very friendly and polite and cleared our tables in good time after we’d finished which is always a good sign. A very nice pub, well run so will definitely recommend to family & friends and call in again. We’ll done The Old Contemptibles 👍
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes