The Patrick Kavanagh’s Bar

The Patrick Kavanagh has one of the prettier exteriors of all the pubs in Moseley, with hanging baskets full of flowers, smart lilac woodwork and large windows filled with tiny panes of glass that must be antique — they certainly are not the sort of thing you can buy in your average DIY superstore. However, once inside, I can’t help but feel there’s something missing. It’s nice enough inside, and those big windows sure do let in a lot of light, but there’s a distinct lacking of atmosphere, like the pub needs something else to lift it into the realms of being something special. Sure, if you’re looking for somewhere to have a nice pint of an afternoon, or somewhere to watch the game of a weekend, the Pat Kav (as it’s often called locally) will do the job, but personally I look for a bit more in a boozer.
One of the favourite topics of Moseley residents of a certain age is how much it’s changed for the worse, getting more expensive whilst loosing it’s personality. It would appear that the Patrick Kavanagh is another victim of the gentrification of Moseley.

Sat on the corner of Trafalgar Road and Woodbridge Road in Moseley, this pub used to be the favoured haunt of punks, Rastafarians, and the cultural underground from the Moseley end of Balsall Heath.
In its current incarnation, the Patrick Kavanagh is now more likely to be frequented by 2^nd generation Irish settlers from across the way in Hall Green. The pub has a neat, clean feel to it with a kind of an Irish hall of fame tack with pictures of the likes of WB Yeats, (have you noticed how much he looks like Dan Ackroyd?) and the man himself Patrick Kavanagh on the walls.
As the main room has no soft furnishings whatsover, weekend night times are super loud as well as super crammed, with everyone’s voices bouncing off the walls. Not nice.
On a positive slant, the upstairs venue room is one of the best places in Moseley to book for a private party. The back bar that has a rural feel to it, and that’s where I’ll try to steer people if we are out for the night and they’ve insisted on dropping in here. Various events take place on weekday and weekend nights including an Irish jam session in the back bar.

There was a time 7 or 8 years ago when this place was pretty much my living room. I played for the pub’s Sunday League side and I lived just down the road. Whilst I’m not there *quite* as often these days, having moved out of Moseley and hung up my Sunday League boots, it is still my favourite of all the pubs along the B13 drag.
There are two bars and plenty of seating and always a friendly welcome from behind the bar. The beer is decent and the food is very good — homemade burgers, breakfast muffins, and so on. There is also an upstairs function room with another bar. This is usually hired out for private parties or to local DJs and promoters.
Out the back there is a tiny courtyard that is the very definition of a sun trap. High, bright walls enclose a smattering of benches and reflect the heat onto the lucky afternoon drinker.
It gets very busy in the evenings at weekends and also when there is a big football or rugby match on the big screen and is particularly popular when there are international matches on. During the day, however, it’s reasonably quiet and a great place for a pint.

Referred to locally as simply ‘Kavs’ this public house is another example of the great atmosphere a customer can always expect in an Irish establishment. This place is lively, friendly, well run and above all a great laugh. Any Friday or Saturday night this place, like much of Moseley Village, is packed to the rafters with drunken revellers toasting the arrival of the weekend! It is very much in keeping with the upmarket cool feel of the Moseley area and has prices similar to most other Moseley pubs, which whilst not exactly cheap are value for money in terms of overall quality. There is an upstairs function room which hosts a lot of top quality nights and they also put on a great open mic night to boot. There’s a real community feel here as the staff know a lot of the customer base, but even if you’re a new face they will give you a warm ‘Kavs’ welcome all the same. As with any respectable pub, the food is good and they also boast an excellent little heated smoking area. Patrick Kavangah’s is another bar which Moseley residents can feel justifiably proud of!

Love the \Pat Cav… great memories from my time living in Moseley… only drawback was how smoky it used to get but hopefully te ban has that sorted!

The Pat Cav, as it’s generally known by the local populace, is a superb pub with a long-​standing reputation as one of the friendlier, trendier bars in Moseley.
Drinks are relatively well-​priced for the area, and there’s plenty of room. The upstairs gets used for DJ nights and live music events with a diverse selection of themes.
It’s a bit like a less pretentious version of the Bull’s Head (another local bar I like), with more room inside and less of a wait at the bar!

nice friendly pub away from the crowd of moseley high street. Better priced but not as nice as other bars. Gets very crowded

This is a great place to drink and watch sport especially when the football season comes into effect. Very reasonably priced for Birmingham with both food and alcohol. Very friendly atmosphere and has a great beer garden for those long languishing summer days. Unfortunately the main screen is not so good when its bright outside, hopefull this will be something they rectify this year.