Coventry – The Old Windmill

I was reliant again on the Good Beer Guide to find me somewhere suitable to visit in Coventry for lunch and yet again the book didn’t let me down with the historic Old Windmill pub on Spon Street.

My slightly wonky photo of the entrance area, a long corridor with rooms off it, with the bar at the end. The history in this pub is clearly evident and I’m delighted that they haven’t ripped this all out and created an open plan area. CAMRA have some information about the history of the building itself.

The beer options at the bar and there are also numerous ciders to choose from as well.

I ordered at the bar and then took a seat in one of the rooms, still with the heritage of the structure being very evident. This felt a welcoming and comfortable environment, although personally I thought that the music being played took away from the atmosphere rather than adding anything to it. There’s so much community spirit here and conversation that I’m really not sure that the music does much for the pub. There are apparently folk music events held here, which seems more in keeping with the pub’s character, as well as numerous real ale festivals.

Now this is the sort of food that pubs should serve….. I had heard that the pork pies were one of the specialities of the pub, so went with that, although the cheese board sounded very tempting as well.

My half pint of Charrington Oatmeal Stout from Heritage Brewing, suitably refreshing although not quite as rich as I had expected, but still entirely acceptable.

The reviews of the pub are very high, although I like the response that the pub gave to one complaint that it was busy in the evening, namely “Thanks for your review Geoff, I’m sorry you found the pub too busy, although we prefer like that as it helps pay the rent.”

My marvellously well presented pork pie. I sent this to my friend Nathan who correctly guessed that I had carefully picked the jelly out of the pork pie. I went for the pickled onions and mustard as the included sides, with the other option being the chutney. When I was at the bar the local supplier of the pastries came in and I was tempted to order the Cornish Pasty one, but I thought that I should try the pork pies. All a rather lovely lunch and if I come back, I might try the pastries or cheeseboard options.

Anyway, I can see why this pub has won numerous CAMRA awards in the past and the staff member who served me was engaging, conversational and clearly quite brilliant at his role. All very lovely and cosy, and definitely a contender for my little Pub of the Year award….. I like a pub with history and character, with the Old Windmill not letting me down.