4 days Ago By [email protected] (Secret Drinker)
“Dog’s welcome. People tolerated.” The scrawl across the A-board on the way into The Old Bank made it pretty clear how the pecking (or should that be barking?) order in this pub works.
That sign made me instantly remember a trip to a boozer in nearby Osbournby , where polaroids are taken of all visiting pooches , with the snaps displayed around the bar. “They can’t top that, surely?” I muttered to myself as I pushed open the door of this grand-old Grantham town centre building. Well, it took me just seconds to realise they possibly could as, stuck on a wall near the bar, was a picture of a four-legged friend, under the words Dog of the Month.
Yes, this place goes as far as rewarding its comely canines - not its employees - with a place on an in-pub shrine, the latest champ a fluffy little scamp sporting a neck roll. I suppose this shows how far we’ve come as a society since those ghastly ‘no dogs’ signs outside hostelries in the 1950s. Paws for thought indeed.
However, despite the warm welcome and opportunity to be lauded as May’s top dog, I’m sad to report I was sold a pup as there was not a single canine to be seen. I can only presume they’ve got better things to do on a Thursday night than watch Manchester United’s players trip over their own feet in France. That evening’s European encounter dominated the majority of the screens.
with the darts relegated to a few smaller TVs at the back. Read more Secret Drinker reviews here The match wasn’t up to much, but it was enough to get the punters out and it was pleasing to see people out drinking in midweek, even if very few of them appeared to be enjoying themselves - give or take a 10 minute period where the English team was in the lead. “Grantham’s usually dead until about 10pm,” a young lady on a nearby table said to her date, clearly disagreeing with my assumption.
But nonetheless, I’ve seen far emptier pubs on supposedly far busier nights - there was even plenty of noise coming from the beer garden, itself stocked with screens to watch the game - so I’m taking this as a win. It may come as a shock to you, but The Old Bank hasn’t always been a pub. It’s tiled-floor, double-doored entrance, high ceilings and large open plan hint to its past life as, well.
.. drum roll, please.
.. a bank.
But these day it has more of a fun pub feel, with neon lighting, faux flower displays and a solid amount of solid wooden tables and booths. The DJ booth, a hint to a livelier weekend schedule, sported an 80s hip hop-inspired mural, while jolly slogans such as There’s Always Room for Desserts were plastered across the walls. I was happy to withdraw a cracking pint of Brixton Reliance and attempt to enjoy a rather forgettable match of football.
The pub can’t be blamed for that. THE OLD BANK, HIGH STREET, GRANTHAM, NG31 6NE DECOR: Think Slug & Lettuce meets Spoons, but without 200 stairs to the toilets. The Dog of the Month was a nice touch, unless you’re a cat.
4/5 DRINK: They had Brixton Reliance (4.2%) - a cracking pale ale - on the pumps. Get in! 4/5 PRICE: I paid £9.
60 for the pint plus a Guinness zero. The Brixton was under £6 so it’s not the most expensive one I’ve had. 3/5 ATMOSPHERE: Plenty of people but the place wasn’t bouncing.
I can only blame Reuben Amorim. 3/5 STAFF: The barmaid, with her bright hair and piercings, was very nice, chatty and particularly tolerant with the guy in the queue before me who appeared to want to tell her his life story (more tolerant than I was being). 4/5 Click here to follow Secret Drinker on Twitter/X.
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