Barley Mow

This place stands out like a sore thumb amongst the modern buildings in this area. I mean this in nice way, its a really old pub. perhaps I should say a rose between two thorns?
Anyway stepping in the décor matched the outside, very traditional, warm and cosey feeling with an excellent bar holding lots of great ales.
We had popped in here to escape the people and grab a light lunch. The menu is one of those cheap and cheerful Wetherspoony ones but quite plentiful.
They had a devout veggie range crammed with quorn products, various fish and lots of meat. I decided on a veggie pasta with crumbled nachos where the boys settled on a pulled pork ciabatta.
When it arrived, to be honest mine looked rubbish compared to the lads, which made me doubt my veggiehood. however it really was «tastes better than it looks moments».
I give it 3 stars because the food is average, but the beer is fab. it works be nice to see a pub like this do proper home made food to match it’s image

Absolutely disgusting the fish was still swimming in what ever water it was caught from and when we complained about an uneaten meal we got £1.50 back! My southern fried chicken burger, well there was nothing southern fried about it and they were cold which complimented the hard chips perfectly.

Some decent real ales on tap and a relaxed Saturday night atmosphere.
The food is your standard pub grub but at least it’s cheap if you fancy a burger with your beer.

Nice little pub, very dark inside due to its lack of windows but that kind of adds to its quality.
bad points, my sister looks young for her age (she’s 27 but looks about 20). she showed ID and they gave drinks begrudgingly, after we had 2 glasses of wine they refused to serve her.
Isn’t that what ID is for?
Not a great visit to this pub! seriously don’t think I’ll go back and wont recommend it to anyone that is under 40 years of age ‘just in case’ they happen to look younger ;-)

I used to really like this place, a few bad experiences in here over the last few months have put me off and I wont be going again. Shame as at xmas time its great to go in to a cosy pub and have a few drinks, for me, it wont be in here this year sadly.

i always liked having dinner in this pub, inbetween shopping i found the food good value, i had not visited for a while and would now say the pub has improved, the service is much better, i was a bit put out at first because we was asked to move tables, but then realised it was for someone in a wheelchair, and attention was given to making them comfortable, they have slightly smartened up the décor and better seating for now for outdoors with tables and chairs, previously uncomfortable benches, i only visit during afternoon times so cannot speak for night time service.
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Sadly only one of the hand pumps was in use and that was an unimaginative Timothy Taylor Landlord.
Admitted one pump is better than none and puts it up above the majority of town centre pubs but it’s not much of an effort to get real ale drinkers to visit.
2 stars because at least it’s got one pump running.
The pub is worth seeking out for it’s looks and history but it is nothing special inside.

This is a really nice pub to go and get some food or a drink during a heavy days shopping. You have to leave the shopping centre and walk out to the square but it is well worth it. It’s much better than any of the places to eat inside the centre, as there are only pasty and coffee shops really. The food is nice and reasonable the fish and chips are especially good. The service is relatively good but you can wait a while when it’s busy. My only criticism would be that it can get a bit dark inside.

I’ve frequented the Barleymow for several years. At the moment I wouldn’t recommend this pub to anyone.
The bar is filthy and has had a vomit aroma for months. I recently waited more than 30 minutes to get served. It was a busy night just before Christmas but it’s not a huge pub and the bar staff weren’t serving in order. Fast service is guaranteed but only if you’re the mate of any of the bar staff.
Closing times are inconsistent depending on the whims of the bar staff. I’ve seen them close early when the pub’s busy.
For a long time the Barleymow has been a pub where the music is predominantly rock & indie however this weekend they were playing hard core rave music at high volume to deter their regulars. It had the desired effect as me and my mates left after one drink. The bar staff were finding it highly amusing.
If you want coke don’t get draught as it’s flat as a pancake and has been for ages.
The food is nice and good value for money but given that the bar doesn’t appear to have been cleaned properly I’d question what the kitchen is like.
This pub doesn’t appear to want our money and custom so we’ve gone elsewhere.
It’s a shame as it’s a really nice pub and in past times was THE place to go.
My advice would be to give the Barleymow a miss until its run and managed properly and go to Porters instead. The atmosphere is really good. The bar staff are efficient and friendly and you get the feeling they appreciate your custom. The smoking facilities are excellent too.

Summer 2013; The Barley Mow has «cleaned up its act» and is now, once again, the favoured meeting place for many age groups.
Updated January 2009. Have checked out other reviewers comments and they are backed up by my sons and their friends. The service at the Mow has deteriorated dramatically. They used to meet there wherever they were going later. Now they meet at the Ringers or Porters as the only places they can feel welcome and get served something resembling a decent drink. Obviously the Albion would come into the reckoning but is too far from the centre night scene!
A good intro to original community pubs, but rather overhyped purely because of its age. Occasionally serves excellent real ale. Monday night quizzes are interesting to all abilities.

Ah, the pub of my youth! This is a lovely little historic pub, with the usual pool table/​juke box combo. It’s always been a bit of a rock pub which usually leads to friendly atmosphere. They’ve had some right bar staff over the years but now they don’t seem too bad. Picnic table seating out the front and wifi access mean that it has everything you need in a central location and the prices, although not strictly cheap, aren’t too bad.