The Old Contemptibles

The pub itself is a well presented traditional pub, it has a range of beer and ales and when not busy can be a nice place to go for a quiet drink. However, on a busy Friday night or after work the place is extremely busy and feels like a networking venue for the range of offices that surround it.

This is a really good looking «typical british» pub, a beautiful Victorian red brick building that is just so beautiful inside with heavily embossed ceiling coving, chandeliers, mirrors behind the bar and plenty of dark wood. A wonderful selection of gins all served with fentimans tonic and a really good selection of beers too. I’ve yet to eat here but every visit someone in our party has had something to eat and it’s always smelt and looked so good. With a small area outside for tables too this stunning looking pub with its real old world charm is well worth a visit and an absolute «must» if you have overseas visitors and want to show them a fine example of our pub heritage.

The Old Contemptibles is a pub. A nice pub, but a pub nonetheless. Situated in the Colmore Business District, this lovely building is just down the road from Snow Hill Station and in the middle of a number of offices, so it’s an ideal place to grab some lunch (or a cheeky drink) if you’re coming into town, heading out of town or after work.
It’s got very classic pub features (dark wood bar, stained glass windows and good selection of ales and spirits), but has a «well loved» feel to it. It’s not shiny and fancy, but just wandering in feels like a bit of a hug from a Beefeater… Comforting and stereotypically British. It’s not huge inside, but has a selection of different places to sit and chill, depending on who you’re with and what size group you are hosting. I particularly like the corner table by the door (with space for around 8 — 10 people), but there is a selection of tables and some snug style areas (if you were having a catch up with a friend or on a date).
Now, this place doesn’t do cocktails (again, it’s a pub; did I mention that?) but it has a regularly changing selection of different ales from around the UK and beyond. As it’s a Nicholson’s bar, you can download the Hop Circle app for rewards and offers on different seasonal ales (and get your first pint of Nicholson’s IPA for £1). It also has a food menu, which seems to be pretty darn fine for good quality, stomach lining grub.
The bar staff have always been friendly and helpful and are more than willing to offer a taster if you’re not sure what to have. It has a small area outside with some tables and chairs, so if the sun is out you can guarantee there will be an after work crowd grabbing the last of the days rays and enjoying a nice pint.
This is a great little place to enjoy a quiet pint and have a catch up with a group of friends. It’s not the kind of place you would go «before a night on the town» (it’s got too much of a chilled out atmosphere for that), but I would happily take my parents here for a spot of lunch or have a quiet night here with the other half. An all round goodun’ in my books.

This pub is a Birmingham institution which I’d not been to. Just behind Snow Hill Station, it’s in a beautiful old building on the lovely Edmund Street.
I’ve been to Nicholson pubs before (Bacchus, The Shakespeare) so I knew pretty much what to expect. A decent food menu, a relaxed and charming environment.
I was there for the Unilocal book club and the place was really busy on a Monday night! I loved the traditional but welcoming feel of the pub. I was pleased to see some different ciders on tap. I went for their standard cider first and then an Orchard Pig medium still cider, both of which went down very well.
I also had some food. I went for the classic cheese and bacon burger which was a reasonable £8.50. It came with delicious fries and coleslaw which wasn’t too mayo heavy. The burger itself was good, tasty beef, cheese and bacon with crisp salad and a soft bun.
I found it a very cosy and relaxing place to sit and admire the surroundings, eat and chat about books. A beautful staircase up to the toilets too!

I didn’t get a chance to try any of the beers (hence another trip is in order!) but the English Breakfast tea was lovely. £1.75 for a pot of tea which holds three and a bit cups of tea. The décor is nice. It reminds me of The Wellington, as in my dad would have frequented in the 70s but slightly brought into the modern day. Is it weird that I thought it was a nice touch to have fresh pink lillies in the ladies’ toilets?

Singularly the best Christmas dinner that I’ve eaten in a restaurant. The service was excellent and the staff were in no hurry to get you away from your table. Did I mention the excellent range of real ales? Can’t wait to go back.

Excellent service. Bar staff are working really hard to meet customers needs. Especially William who went hunting for a sack of plain spuds.

What a beautiful beautiful pub.
Its all bean said before so wont bore you. But for relaxation in wonderful surrounding, great choice of ales, friendly staff and great food. This is your place

Nice Characteristic pub with a wide range of cask ales and beers.
Awesome food menu with a selection of pies, classics and burgers.
Prices are fairly reasonable, good atmosphere and and has traditional all over it. A cozy yet vibrant pub with distinctive historical features and a friendly atmosphere. Located very close to Snowhill Station, it makes an ideal retreat for weary travellers into Birmingham looking for a pint and a bite or socialising with friends and work colleagues.
Be wary that the toilets are upstairs and the stairs are slightly steep.
If you haven’t already done so — Check it out!

Now a Nicholsons pub this is a unique Victorian corner pub with many original features. Very popular. Sells a good range of real ales at reasonable prices.

Winner of three consecutive ‘Birmingham’s Best Bar None’ award, the Old Contemptibles is a old fashioned English pub, dating back to the Victorian era, a quality perfectly illustrated in its interior.
Situated a stones throw away from Snow Hill train station, the pub is a perfect location for anyone just finishing work nearby or even as a stop before hitting the town on a night out. All in all, the Old Contemptibles holds a welcoming atmosphere, with friendly staff and a great open plan layout.
The drink prices are fairly average, enough to have a good few of a night and the food, despite seeming fairly simple at first, offers a range of different and unusual items (check out the sausage menu). Serving typical Sausage & Mash, the Old Contemptibles is a stereotypical Victorian establishment, offering little outdoor seating, but with a cool interior this doesn’t become much of a problem.
With various real ales, the pub attracts some of the older generation, whilst remaining welcoming to us youngens. Overall, the Old Contemptibles seems to me to be a great old fashioned pub, that has managed to deter from being outdated and is definitely worth a visit.

This isn’t a bad spot for an after-​work pint, or for a couple of warm up beverages after hopping off the train at Snow Hill for a night on the town.
It has bags of old fashion boozer charm — studded leather seats, velvet drapes and stained glass windows.
I normally moan about having to go upstairs to find the toilets in pubs, but I am weirdly attached to the staircase in this place. I’ll have a think about why this is and get back to you.
Anyways, I digress. This is a good old English pub, with a good old English bar. No fancy cocktails here; just real ale, spirits and wine. The food is solid pub grub (i.e. lots of things encased in a «golden crumb»). I like the fact that they sell fancy Fentimans soft drinks.
You get a nice mix of folk — the after work business bunch, ale lovers, young folk and older couples alike. Probably not somewhere you’d spend the whole night, but a perfect pit stop all the same.

This pub has the old world charm of Victorian Pubs as well as a host of guest ales on a regular basis to choose from. If you want a good pub meal then you can’t go wrong. It’s location amongst the Colmore Business District means it can get pretty busy with after work drinkers on a Friday, especially as they have a good range of whiskeys to choose form too.
You get good service here whether you’re on your own or in a large group. It has a great atmosphere and a real mix of clientele that even when its busy the jostle to get to the bar is never too much hassle.
I would say the menu isn’t as good as it was when they prided themselves on offering a great range of sausages to choose from, including wild boar, to accompany your mash or just as a sausage platter to try them all. The menu is much broader now but has lost a bit of it’s unique selling point.

This pub looks really lovely inside. The name comes from the First World War (
) .
Keeps a good selection of rotating guest beers. You can even make a request if there is something you would like them to get in, in future. Not much good to a traveler such as myself, but a great local pleaser one would have thought.
My pint of Darwin original was lovely, containing my favourite hops (Cascade). 3 pounds a pint is above the Brum average though, but that was the only negative.

Been to Birmingham twice this year — visited this pub on both occasions. It’s close to Snow Hill station, which is convenient, but it’s also, in my humble opinion, much better than some of the chain pubs that dominate other parts of the city centre.
Pub is quite long, and arranged on two levels, with a couple of steps about half way along (so not great if you’re on crutches, in a wheelchair or otherwise hampered — I was on crutches the first time I went there!).
Great choice of beers, including real ales, plus the usual Guinness and lagers. Staff friendly and efficient. Place also does food (and pork scratchings!).
Was a bit full of «suits» the last time I was there — this is a pub in a business district, so you would expect that.

I didn’t get to visit this pub before the well-​publicised refurbishment, but from what I hear it’s changed so much I would have barely recognised it anyway.
The Old Contemptibles is a cosy, well-​presented pub with a traditional feel to it that offers a wide range of real ales and other draughts. There’s little in the way of flashiness here, but that to me works in its favour.
Similar to the Old Joint Stock in style and popularity, you’re best off getting in early to beat the after-​work crowd. The place serves a good range of cooked meals, and they especially like you to know about their sausages. I haven’t tried them personally, but they seem to be very popular.
Price-​wise, it’s pretty typical for the area, as in not particularly cheap but not shockingly expensive either. Definitely worth a look-​in if you’re after a nice traditional environment in which to wet your whistle.

I used to use this pub many years ago and then it was closed for some time. First opportunity to try it out again came over xmas. I would not have recognised the place its changed so much — and for the better too.
Great choice of ale although to me it was a little expensive at £2.95 pp, although London Pride and Pedigree were on at £2.50. My partner and I shared the cumberland sausage sandwich, which was served on ciabbatta with chips and garnish at £4.25 — very nice. Lots of different sausages to choose from (do you spot a theme here?) but other foods and dishes on offer too.
Will certainly go again when next in Brum.

I used to run this pub about 5 years ago. Not been in there since. I have heard that it has been re vamped since. Overall very nice pub with nice people and not a youth club like some brum pubs. Alot of history to it and defently worth visiting. When I go there again I will re write this review.

Great pub. It serves fantastic real ales and has quite a variety. It also serves food and has a particular fancy for speciality sausages! The food and ales are not too badly priced and some ales can be on offer. It can get very busy on a Friday with people finishing work for the weekend. Satruday nights are more comfortable. Lots of seating avaialable and def worth a look!

A lively pub with a great atmosphere, it can get very busy on a friday night and as the place is so small it makes it difficult getting around, a run to the toilet can be a bit of a mission.
There’s a good selection of beers, and some guest ales too. Havint tried the food but i’ve heard it is good and it’s a reasonable price.