However, if you want to go to a real pub in Walsall, and you are willing to venture out into the town centre, then look no further than this page as it holds the secrets of a good night out. Walsall has recently blossomed (in a pub sense) with about seven new town centre pubs/bars opening in the past three years. Along with the traditional pubs Walsall now has a wide and varied collection of watering holes. The best (and the worst) are given the once over below, in helpful nearly-alphabetical order
Disclaimer - A number of the establishments listed below have never been visited by the authors, so don't take any of this as the bible truth. In fact, very little, if any, of it is true.

Bar Sport (Bar)
Bridge Street
Appearance: Like every other Bar Sport in every other town
Customers: Idiots
Drink: overpriced
Food: overpriced and bland
Music: of sorts
Comments: To quote Marlon Brando, 'The horror....'

Bar to Seven (Bar)
Bridge Street
Appearance: Modern Bar
Customers: All sorts
Drink: Standard range
Food: Snacks only
Music: ?
Comments: This new bar has replaced a quaint old coffee shop, and is possibly the smallest bar in Walsall. When we tried to check it out, the place had shut early for no apparent reason, so it could be good or it could be bad. Who cares?

The Brewery Stores / Vaults (Pub)
Digbeth
Appearance: Traditional pub
Customers: Friendly sorts
Drink: All sorts
Food: ?
Music: Yes - Live music in Vaults
Comments: A good old pub. It used to be the Punch and Judy. New owners have transformed it into the pub it is today. The Vaults is located below and provides a venue for live acts ranging from country music to blues and jazz - a friendly atmosphere (open untill 2.00am on weekends) with most people being rat-arsed at the end of the night.

Chicago Rock Cafe (Bar)
Lichfield Street
Appearance: Neon-covered bar
Customers: Male - Ben Sherman Shirt Brigade; Female - showing lots of flesh
Drink: Lots (you'd need to)
Food: Yes, in the day
Music: Chicago Rock, presumably
Comments: This place put the chic into Chicago. Unfortunately, some people would also say that it put the 'shit' into 'this place is shit'. Queues are inexplicably enormous on a weekend, but it's a pity it's not actually in Chicago, along with most of the people who go there. Nevertheless, a good place to pull slappers on a weekend, and Members of Walsall FC can be spotted here.

Green Dragon (Pub)
Digbeth
Appearance: Traditional Pub
Customers: see below
Drink: Usual
Food: Yes in the day
Music: Jukebox and Karaoke
Comments: Standard pub opposite the Brewery Stores. Okay, I'll level with you, I haven't bothered to go there yet.

The Hogshead (Bar)
Leicester Street
Appearance: If IKEA sold bars....
Customers: Wide variety, all friendly
Drink: Big Selection
Food: Yes
Music: Jukebox/dance music
Comments: Typical Hogshead bar with a friendly atmosphere at night. Wide and varied clientele and good selection of drinks makes this one of the better bars in town. Open until 1.00am, so be prepared for a hangover! The taxi rank is outside, keeping the staggering distance to a minimum.

The Imperial (Pub)
Darwall Street
Appearance: Traditional pub
Customers: Poor students, tramps, office workers (ie allsorts)
Drink: Very cheap
Food: All day/ very cheap
Music: None
Comments: This is the only Wetherspoon's pub in Walsall and is situated in an old bingo hall/cinema. It used to have a fixation with dinosaurs which is still a mystery to all Walsall people. When it first opened, the centre of the pub was filled with a 100ft long dinosaur which has unfortunately since been removed. You can, however, still marvel at a wooly mammoth. Cheap and cheerful, and ideal for a quieter night out.

Old Court House (Bar)
Leicester Street
Appearance: Impressive
Customers: Yes
Drink: Standard range
Food: Yes, all day
Music: Dance music at night/quiet in the day
Comments: The most impressive looking pub in Walsall as it's situated in the old courthouse. Good looking inside with big leather sofas and armchairs and good food. Dress restrictions may apply at night and it gets jammed. Large conservatory at the rear makes it ideal in the summer. Music is extremely loud on the weekend. Not to be confused with the real (magistrates) court, where you might end up if you have one too many.

The Prince (Pub)
Stafford Street
Appearance: Grubby
Customers: Old
Drink: Cheap and mild
Food: Cobs?
Music: Piano in the corner
Comments: A real old person's pub. Only consider it if:
1) you are over 60
2) you have few of your own teeth
3) you own a flat cap
4) you have a broad Walsall accent

Red Lion (Pub)
Park Street
Appearance: Listed building
Customers: locals
Drink: Not a huge choice
Food: Yes
Music: Jukebox, but not too loud
Comments: One of the oldest pubs in town is housed in a listed building. For this reason, it couldn't be knocked down during the recent redevelopment of Park Street, although it now looks odd sandwiched between some clothes shops. There is no truth in the rumour that a tunnel leads from the Gents toilets to the women's changing room in nearby Bhs. Not the biggest pub in the world but serves food upstairs. No atmosphere to speak of.

sofasofa (Bar)
Bridge Street
Appearance: Metropolitan bar
Customers: Wannabe trendies
Drink: expensive
Food: apparently so
Music: as you'd expect
Comments: Oh dear. All the signs are there - the doubled-up name vaguely reminiscent of 'Tiger Tiger', the insistence on lower case typography for all the logos, lots of brown leather sofas inside. Yes, it's an attempt to bring a trendy big-city-style bar to the middle of Walsall. Just one problem - it could be the world's most achingly hip venue (which, incidentally, it isn't. Not by a long shot) but it would still be full of the same small-town tossers come the weekend (which, incidentally, it is).

The Stein Bar (Bar/Nightclub)
Appearance: Tyrolean Ski Lodge (no really).
Customers: A slightly more middle class clientele than most Walsall bars. But this is Walsall remember - don't expect too much.
Drink: The worst beer in Walsall?
Food: No
Music: Dancefloor downstairs
Comments: In one of the more bizarre themes for a theme pub, the Stein Bar is an Austrian ski lodge lovingly recreated in the sympathetic surroundings of a Walsall backstreet. The dark wood panelling and miniscule windows make it a resolutely gloomy place. Why the owners decided on this decorative course of action is unclear. Perhaps in this age of light, minimalist, designer bars they decided that drinkers really needed a dingy hut packed to the rafters with mock Teutonic tat. The concept certainly doesn't extend behind the bar though, no buxom frauleins serving mugs of frothing ale here. In fact you'll be lucky to get a glass of Liebfraumilch. That might not be a bad idea though because the draught beer is uniformly awful and their bottles are often depressingly warm. On the plus side it is open until 2am and the outdoor area is one of Walsall's better summer drinking spots. And if you've always wanted to find out how Hitler spent his hols then this is definitely the place for you.

The Wharf (Bar)
Art Gallery Square
Appearance: A bit like the new Art Gallery
Customers: Thirsty art critics, allsorts
Drink: Large range from cappucino to the local beer (see below)
Food: Yes, all day
Music: DJ sets on weekend nights
Comments: Built next to, and in keeping with the new art gallery, the Wharf is very Scandinavian with lots of pine, large glass windows and a sauna in the toilets. A place of extremes - absolutely packed at the weekends (open untill 1.00am weekends), absolutely dead on week nights (or atleast it was when we checked it out). During the day it's full of art gallery visiters. Warning - car park costs ?3.00 for a ticket which you can exchange for drinks or food inside. It's run by the Walsall brewery, Highgate, which produces excellent beers that are well worth a try. Surprisingly reasonable prices considering the stylish look. Definitely one to try.

Yates's (Wine Bar)
Leicester Street
Appearance: Slick looking inside and out
Customers: Hideous (young) drunks on weekend nights. Better in the day
Drink: Wide range
Food: Yes, in the day
Music: Karaoke and dance music
Comments: A typical Yates's bar. Nice building inside, but can get ugly (in more ways than one) late on weekend nights especially if karaoke is particularly bad

The Varsity (Bar)
Leicester Street
Appearance: Not the most inviting pub
Customers: Young students, people on the pull
Drink: Lots of it
Food: Yes, in the day
Music: Very loud dance music
Comments: Large pub popular with students. During the weekend the queues can be big and music is louder than a jumbo jet taking off, so conversation is rather difficult. Expect to be packed in like sardines and unable to talk to anyone - perfect for the target clientele.

The Victoria (Pub)
Lower Rushall Street
Appearance: Cosy looking pub
Customers: Locals and people wanting a quieter night with good ales.
Drink: Real Ales kept exceptionally well
Food: Crisps and nuts only?
Music: Not really, possibly background music
Comments: Used to be called 'The Katz' and was once home to the local white witch coven (good witches). Superbly kept ales and a good all round traditional pub. Expect to get bladdered and bewitched.