Well this was a pleasant surprise - a great pub, selling great food and only 5 mins drive from my house. After Hyde's doing the Abel Heywood in town, it's cool to see Holt's doing something similar and really moving with the times in offering a relaxed (if somewhat still faux independent looking boozer) and multi-faceted 3rd place.
I had a meeting here and decided to stay on for lunch so I can comment that the coffee (9 different blends - I only had one mind you...) was pretty good, the black and blue burger was tasty (lovely chips and sides - although the pit beans were a bit off in the spicing - a bit too much star anise I think...) and it was a good place to meet and also get some work done with loads of room to move around in and fairly quiet on a Thurs lunch.
Although I wasn't partaking on this visit, the beer selection on draft was a good mix of Holt's and local breweries - plus regular lagers. What I was impressed with though was the large selection of bottles from Sierra Nevada (3 types), Founders All Day IPA and other great breweries.
Ok so this place is very towny and I imagine could be a haven for the 'shirt and shoes brigade' on a weekend evening but overall it had enough to make me want to keep coming back.
Nice work!
ps amazing cake selection - check out my pic! read more