The Bricklayer's was my local for 18 months, but it took me more than a year to venture in. Basically it's in a rough area and looks rough. It looks like an Irish pub (shamrocks etc.).
However it is neither particularly rough nor an Irish pub. It's an old man pub with surprisingly good little pool table. The pool table doesn't look like much, but it's got probably the truest surface I've ever found in a pub. It plays better than half the tables in Rileys ffs! The locals are also a pretty friendly bunch and will happily challenge you to a game.
The regulars are also what, for my experience, make this pub unique. Basically it's a black pub. The staff and 75% of the punters are black. Also most people are over the age of 50 it would seem, so a few, er, white lads walking in to take over the pool table kinda makes people's heads turn. Like I said though, they're all really friendly nice fellars. Beer is only OK, but decently priced. They also sorta serve food. Often it's homemade soup - pretty good.
There are a few TVs in the place too, mostly they seem to show horse racing though. read more