The Old Fox

I’m always on the lookout for an ‘old man pub’, you know, the kind of place that’s had the same paint on the walls for decades, probably smells a bit stale, and definitely does not serve food on wooden cutting boards. I feel like these old gems represent the quintessential nature of what Britain is all about, or perhaps used to be, with so many shuttering on a weekly basis. It was to my delight then that Brittany A. and I happened upon the Old Fox on our way to a recent Unilocal Social. Our group decided to go out for drinks afterward, and we suggested this pub for its proximity.
The Old Fox has been around since the 1890’s and is perfectly situated for pre-​theatre drinks across from the Hippodrome. You won’t miss the building — it’s decorated with a loud green and red paint scheme accented with original decorative glass windows and signage all over. The pub, as a 19^th century relic, is divided into a bar and a lounge, which offers comfortable seating with leather chairs abounding. During our visit at night music was blaring from the jukebox loudly. The lights used overhead also give the pub a harsh, unpleasant feeling visually. The bar serves a full range of alcohol, as well as food and tea. The beers here are fairly standard Greene King choices, which are an upgrade from what could be served at a pub not appealing to a younger crowd.
Ultimately this is a quaint old school pub that is otherwise average in all respects. Stop by if you are looking for an authentic pub experience while in the area of the Hippodrome, but don’t make a special trip.

I went here with a group after dinner to have a round of pints and teas. The atmosphere from the outside looks really quaint and traditional and is nice enough inside. The seating options leave a little to be desired. The chairs are not in keeping with the style and some are not the most comfortable. I heard the leather chairs were quite cushy though.
I ordered a cup of tea. The tea tasted nice. It was a traditional breakfast. It was a little overpriced in my opinion for what you get. Because I didn’t get a pot of tea, no milk or sugar were offered. I felt too awkward asking for them after sitting down as the bartender was busy talking to a regular customer at the bar.
The overall vibe was very average — it felt like being in a Weatherspoons even though the pub is independent. At least I crossed this one off the bucket list. The exterior charm did a good job of luring me in.

This place resembles myself, a sly old fox. It brings a little suburbia in to the city. It is yet to be touched by hipsters, with an outdated interior that really does feel refreshing. Service is ok, prices fair, drinks selection isn’t huge, music and atmosphere quiet. It has comfy sofas.

Beautiful exterior, and based on some older reviews, I believe a somewhat recently refurbished interior? Maybe not, but it didn’t seem incredibly ‘worn’ to me as others point out.
Anyway, the Old Fox is a theatre bar and does a great job at being a pub with a ‘traditional English pub’ vibe. Decent pints and cheap coffee, and comfortable sofas! The walls are covered with theatre posters and memorabilia, which is fun to look at. There’s also a free jukebox in the back.
With 2 bars, the Old Fox is quite spacious, and conveniently located to the Arcadian and the Hippodrome. I imagine the pre– and post-​theatre crowds fill it up, but on a Monday night it was quiet, just a few tables taken, and served as a nice casual spot to grab a drink with friends.
If you’re in the neighborhood looking for a nice traditional city pub, this place is as good as any!

A very decent old pub. Fairly cheap for the area and the food is decent. I’d recommend the Hunters Chicken. Décor is a little scruffy around the edges but it has a homely feel and they have done a couple of renovations lately. Big bunos is… They have jukebox with a large library of tunes! :)

So, Friday was a manic day. Between meetings and finishing off tasks on the to do list, I was dashing from one side of town to the others. Due to this madness, I had totally forgotten I had scheduled in a call for that afternoon! My phone alarm went off and gave me a 10 minute countdown to find somewhere I could settle down and set up my laptop to be ready. A quick search on Unilocal revealed «The Old Fox».
Upon entry, the place was almost empty. Perfect. I nabbed a table, turned the laptop on, connected to the WiFi (as with most places in Birmingham, the Cloud Wifi is strong in this venue) and grabbed myself a drink from the bar. As it was a Friday afternoon, I thought a nice glass of white wine would be in order. I was very pleased to note that a glass of house wine (which was perfectly tolerable) was a bargainous £2.75! With drink in hand and equipment ready to go, I settled in to my chat.
The Old Fox is a theatre bar which is situated over the road from the Hippodrome, round the corner from Glee Club and just on the gateway to the Gay Quarter. It’s lovely from the outside! A cheery old man boozer which looks really well kept and cared for.
The inside is worn, but comfortable. It’s not a place to go for a posh night out, but I would definitely recommend it if a group of you are looking for somewhere to chat and relax for a few hours. Throughout the course of my swift visit (I was in there for about an hour) more people came in, but it didn’t get busy. They also had some music on in the background, but this wasn’t offensive or intrusive.
The staff were perfectly friendly and helpful and the venue has the usual sort of «pub» paraphernalia inside. I spotted a dart board, a gambling machine and a basic menu of food. I didn’t get to investigate the place in too much detail, but it’s somewhere I would revisit if I was in this neck of the woods and wanted to grab a decent pint (and avoid the nearby Wetherspoons).

This old pub is located on Hurst Street opposite the Hippodrome Theatre. Theres a few bars around here all competing for the trade of pre/​post theatre patrons. In the area itself theres not a bad mix of venues and arguably theres something for everyone.
This place looks great from the outside and on a cold evening the warm glow of the lights look very inviting.
On entry its a great traditional looking bar and I was warmly greeted by the barman. 4 ales were on — Malvern Hills Black Pear, Slaters Premium Bitter, Greene King Old Speckled Hen & St Austell Tribute.
I plumbed for Old Speckled Hen which was a nice pint.
There is a another room on the otherside of the building which is warmer looking and more comfortable, I guess the front room is more like a saloon bar. The décor is not grand or lavish, its a real pub type affair. There does tend to be more guys in here although there a couple of the fairer sex throughout. I guess some of the other local venues are probably more attractive to couples on a nice evening out.
The pub has big windows on the front and it was great to sit and people watch, which is one of my favourite pasttimes! So what better way to indulge in it than sat in the window of a great traditional pub watching people just be people.
This is also a great place to start if heading into the gay quarter for an evening.
I’ll definately be back.

I had to write about this place as it’s where I had a Rupert Pupkin moment some years ago…
…Picture the scene, myself and a friend are giddy (and yep, I admit it ever so slightly drunk) after a night at the Hippodrome watching ‘Jerry Springer — the Opera. We’ve dodged the religious people handing out leaflets outside, we’ve giggled along to songs like ‘Talk to the hand’ and ‘Diaper Man’ and we’ve enjoyed a very tasty Cornetto in the half time interval.
We are just discussing the merits of Stewart Lee — isn’t he talented, doesn’t he have nice hair etc when the man himself walks in. Queue 30 excruciating minutes where we try to ply Stew (as we are now calling him) with crisps, Guinness and… well anything the Old Fox has to offer.
He very graciously accepts a pint and we spend the rest of the evening staring at him like the mad women we are only to scream as he’s leaving ‘WE LOVE YOU STEW!‘
Weirdly the bar staff didn’t bat an eye and even let us order another drink.
Anyway the pub hasn’t changed much since then. It consists of two rooms and the walls are decorated with theatre memorabilia — mostly pantos etc that have been shown at the Hippodrome (which is just over the road).
There’s quite a mixed clientele and its a bit pricey for what it is but its a nice enough place and if you’re lucky you might spot a celeb — my mate once saw the Chuckle Brothers at the bar but I doubt she tried to ply them with bar snacks on that occasion.

One of the only places I know in Birmingham that serves Carlsberg Export on tap, The Old Fox is definitely worth a visit, not only if you’re heading to the Hippodrome, located directly opposite it.
Renowned as the ‘Theatre Bar’, this old Victorian pub doesn’t seem particularly appealing from its bland exterior, but inside the level of history really does become apparent.
Situated not too far from Arcadian and Gales, it does attract its fair share of ‘characters’, but regardless of this, the atmosphere itself really is something unique.
On every occasion I have visited, it has been busy, but not so busy that I’ve had to wait an eternity to get served, just busy enough to generate a quality atmosphere, but maybe not an ideal place if you need a sit down.
Overall, I would recommend the Old Fox, even if it’s just for one, just to experience to unique vibe that this old Victorian establishment gives off.

Situated slap bang in front of the Hippodrome at the top of Hurst Street, The Old Fox is a no-​nonsense theatre bar. It’s not a trendy bar full of people trying to pull, though that might happen here, dahling. The décor inside has the comforting familiarity of a traditional city pub. They haven’t refurbished this place in a long time and I say its all the better for it. Wine by the glass is particularly good value for money, as is the hand-​pulled ale. Expect to see some stars nipping in for a post-​show tipple around 10:30pm.

As a very known pub from the Arcadian Centre area, The Old Fox is pretty attractive from outside and also very exotic from inside. It would be easily denominate like that kind of pub that you spot suddenly and decide to enter and give it a go.
In fact, this traditional Victorian pub is dated from 1891 and it would be enough reason to grab some drinking on it.
I have been there for pure curiosity about the famous theatres pictures on the walls but I ended up having a lot of interesting experiences there.
Firstly, I couldn’t take my eyes of the décor and I am not still sure if it needs a refurbishment or all old furniture and crooked tables are actually intentionally kept the way it is. Secondly, it seemed to be more frequented by men. Is it a men’s bar?
Finally, there are two bars in this pub and exploring more the rooms my husband and I were introduced to a nice Sikh couple who gave us some lessons about their culture in just 20 minutes.
I would love to remember what it was said but after some (many) pints of Guinness, I was just let myself go and enjoyed the conversation, to be honest.

This is a very beautiful pub which survived the Arcadian centre which has been sympathetically built around it. It’s just as nice inside, and they have tables outside too.
I went in there once for a bite to eat as I was hungry and wanted something reasonably priced. I don’t expect pub food to be wonderful, but it should be pretty decent.
Sadly I was very disappointed with it. I had a steak pie and the pastry was literally rock solid. I could not physically break it up with my knife and fork, it lifted right off the pie in one piece. Eventually I had to gnaw on it like a bone — and it took forever to eventually broke through it — it was like chewing on a rock!
So a good place for a drink but if you’re ordering food, I’d avoid the pie — especially if you have any delicate dental work! If you do order it, make you sure don’t leave any teeth in the crust!

We were hungry but fancied a drink. We saw this pub and popped in. we bought drink read the menu and thought why not?
Opposite the Hippodrome theatre, the Old Fox is perfect for a fairly quiet pint either before or after the show. It has two bars, with the public bar being slightly cheaper than the lounge — Both bars serve a good range of real ales and lagers, and the food is cheap. We had veggie lasagnia, chips and side salad. Good and filling with an imaginative vegetable selection in the pasta including asparagus. £9 for 2.
They’ve got a decent selection of beers on tap here including Tetley’s, Guinness, Stella, Carlsberg, Old Speckled Hen and Everard’s Sunchaser, as well as Strongbow. Wines are £3.10 for a glass of dry red. The traditional menu includes faggots with mash and peas and steak and kidney pie which both cost £4.95. And a lemon meringue pie is £1.75. In short, a good spot for a traditional British pub experience.
Established back in 1891 The Old Fox is pure white on the outside and has big windows, colourful hanging flower baskets, posh plant boxes and iron railings.
Inside you’ve got a classic Victorian pub with two main rooms. The wooden bar has a brass rail, brass handpumps and copper drip trays and is lined with high wooden stools. The walls are partly tiled as well as being painted scarlet and the high ceiling is dotted with spotlights.
You can sit down on bucket armchairs and contemplate the walls which are adorned with theatre posters (loved the Whistle Down the Wind and Return to the Forbidden Planet ones and the old B? W movie stars) and pictures of drama kings and queens. Windows and inner glass is stained-​glass (or hand painted) and features a picture of a wily, old fox. The second room is tiled around the bar and carpeted elsewhere. There are mirrored pillars and a comfy corner with dark pink fabric banquettes and stools. There’s a big gold-​framed mirror on the back wall where the two rooms join up.

A decent enough boozer in the busy and cosmopolitan Hurst Street area, sandwiched between Birmingham’s China Town and Gay ‘village’, and very convenient for the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre, opposite.
They serve a reasonable selection of well-​kept real ales (it’s in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide) and a good range of traditional pub grub: I’ve not eaten here, but plenty of others seem to. Staff were helpful and efficient, and most of customers seem to be other visitors to the area.
The interior contains an odd mix of art-​deco and Edwardian-​looking stained glass, but overall the décor and carpets look like they could do with some refurbishment (the exterior is actually rather nicer, and there is outside seating).