The Mini Monocle — Restaurant in Charnwood

I try to be fair, reasonable and honest, not give poor scores unless necessary. On this occasion I will be. This is a fairly new and small pub which is part of a once much larger pub many years ago called the Barley Mow. A group of 5 of us went to the Cask Bah has we'd heard that it was a good music venue. My friend, an accomplished acoustic guitar player asked if he could play for a short while whilst waiting for the band to play. He was embarrassed when he was enfatically denied in a very brusk and loud manner. Twenty minutes later the duo started to play. The beer was poor and it appeared the landlord didn't give a damn about anyone other than his regulars who hugged the tiny bar making it difficult to buy the rough ale. A bear with a sore head? No... just so let down by a local hostiliary. I'm being generous as maybe if deserves a one...

Wednesday. January. Loughborough. Doesn't seem like the greatest recipe for a night out. How wrong I was! The open-mic night there on a Wednesday evening is not to be missed. Tasty local beers named after punk greats; chipper characterful friendly staff; and truly talented music-acts trying out new tunes and delivering old classics. We had an absolute blast! Felt like a true hidden gem of the Midlands. Wednesday is the new Friday in...

Popped in on Thursday afternoon after meeting Craig the Co-owner. Had a fantastic long chat about his new bar which we had already planned to visit the next night. He was super friendly and passionate about the venue and their plans. Visited on Friday night and met Paul and his partner who were awesome hosts. Great beer. Great music. Excellent atmosphere. Really really enjoyed the night. Thanks for having us, Steve, Nitz, Chris,...