The Wrens Hotel

It is a pub, it feels like a pub in how chilled out it is but then it has a cocktail list :) which of course makes me smile.
They offer up a full bar and a pie minster menu. What more could you want.

Been here a few times since the refurb and found it to be a nice ‘stop-​off’ to cool our heels between the pubs near my work and the trendier bars like Verve and Reform.
The décor is lovely and the staff are friendly enough, but it gets super cramped in there and the drinks arent anything to write home about considering the prices. It gets a bit stuffy in there too which can make you feel a bit claustrophobic.
The best feature of this pub is certainly the little nook area with the fire, so if you can get in there and claim a table it will make your visit more enjoyable.
Protip: some of the cast of Emmerdale pop in here from time to time for a quiet drink :)

Decided to try the wrens for a coffee and cake rather than costas, 1^st time I’ve been in since its been decorated and a nice job they’ve done, good choice of ales, sadly no wheat beer, barman said not much call for it, tell that to the reliance which seem to serve one every other drink, this aside there’s plenty of other stuff to go at and which ill sample this week at some point.

On a recent random Friday, we ended up on a sort of mini crawl of sorts, and decided to bob into the (relatively) newly fixed up Wrens Hotel. I’ve heard quite a bit about it, some folks lamenting that it lost it’s ‘old man pub’ vibe, some folks hating on the fact that there’s a marble bar top. For me, whilst I love an old man pub, I’m not unhappy with a marble bar — it doesn’t really cross my mind what kind of bar a place has, unless it was ridiculously tall, or made with elephant tusks, or something. (I haven’t, for the record, seen a bar made with elephant tusks — don’t worry.)
Anyway, the Friday evening was a quiet one in general, so there were a handful of folk in the bar when we came in. The girl at the bar was really welcoming, and gave us time to peruse the options, for which there seemed to be a decent mix. In amongst some good ales, continental beer choices, and even some intriguing tequilas — I spotted the coffee Patron liqueur, to name one. Happy days!
We only stopped for the one, and sat in the snug to the left of the bar, admiring the tall ceilings and real fire. Yes, that’s a real fire to warm your cockles, and you know that it’s still ruddy cold outside so we’re going to need that for a few weeks yet. The atmosphere was perhaps a little lacking, but given that it was a quiet one, and we’d only really started on a pint, I sometimes think context is everything — it could well have been the post-​food lull that meant things weren’t a little more vibrant! In any case, I still like the place, and I’m sure I’ll nip in another time for a pint.

The Wrens Hotel is almost invisible next to the over the top nightclubs such as Gatecrasher and classy retro bars like Verve and Mojo at this end of town. A friend told me to meet her here for a traditional Sunday roast one afternoon last winter and despite passing the building everyday on my way through town, I had no idea where she was on about!
I can’t say I was too happy when I found out where it was, this end of town has a bit of a reputation for being a little dangerous and there are often fights outside the pub around here. Nevertheless I ignored my inhibitions, entered and was pleasantly surprised. The inside was a lot more sophisticated than the fading and worn exterior and is definitely a stereotypical traditional public house.
Our Sunday roast was superb and I thoroughly enjoyed my half a lager and lime. Call Lane would have been the perfect choice for me, however Wrens Hotel was a welcomed change with some very down to earth clientele and staff mainly over the age of 40 and nothing pretentious about the venue at all. It was a very relaxing few hours on a Sunday and only a fiver for my Sunday meal, bargain!

There aren’t many traditional-​type pubs around this end of town that you can enter without fearing slightly for your life, but this comfortable boozer is one of the few. Holding its own in an area of fashionable, late-​night bars, the Wrens is comfortable, welcoming and — most importantly — not staffed by Topshop mannequins who are too cool to pull you a pint. They serve Old Rosie scrumpy, a clear winner in my book, and do simple, tasty pub grub that’s great value for money. The clientele are generally an older, more gentile crowd than I’m used to seeing in the city centre, and you can expect a fair bit of culture with your pint — the pub is particularly popular with pre and post-​theatre drinkers, and even plays host to a book club. A great place to hole up of a Sunday with a roast and the papers, or just to escape the oblivious crowds on a Friday and Saturday night.