Campaign for Real Pubs: The Victoria

The Victoria, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 1HX

A bay-windowed street corner pub just east of Newcastle town centre on the main road to Hanley. Internally, it has been knocked through into one room, but retains a carpeted snug area to the right of the entrance door, together with a longer, wood-floored bar area to the left, both liberally provided with red dralon bench seating.

Draught Bass is at the core of the beer range, alongside, on my recent visit, Doom Bar and Titanic Plum Porter. Not, maybe, an absolute unspoilt classic that people will travel miles to visit, but a fine example of that vanishing species, the cosy, welcoming local.

WHAT ARE REAL PUBS?

Real pubs are pubs whose primary function is still the original core purpose of pubs – for people to meet and socialise over a few drinks.

They may serve food, and very good food at that, but they don’t allow it to dominate to the exclusion of all else. They’ll probably have a strong core of regular customers, but still make casual drinkers welcome. They may well serve a good drop of real ale, but won’t be full of beer bores droning on about hop varieties and IBUs.

In many parts of the country they’re getting very hard to find. In recent years, the smoking ban, beer duty hikes, the demonisation of “one-drink driving” and the general anti-alcohol climate have all had their effect, but such pubs do still survive if you know where to look and deserve to be celebrated.

Although in many ways they are a laudable organisation, this blog is not connected with and does not in any way represent the Campaign for Real Ale.

The inclusion of a pub does not necessarily reflect a recent visit by myself, although often it does.

Campaign for Real Pubs

The Victoria

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