Secret Drinker reviews The Still in Lincoln
The Still is a real grand-looking old boozer.
With it’s wooden-panelled walls, stained-glass door and U-shaped bar - my, I’m a sucker for a U-shaped bar - it has that certain charm you can expect to find in many well-established city pubs.
Indeed, were you to wake up from a drunken stupor in this place you could easily be convinced you were in a central London hostelry, one of the many renowned Dublin establishments (even the exterior has a bit of that Irish boozer vibe) or even one of Amsterdam’s famed brown pubs.
But look around long enough and the Chelsea FC and England rugby memorabilia may help you realise you’re actually still in Blighty - even if there’s little to let you know you’re actually in Lincoln.
“You should have come in last night,” said a rather affable barman. “It was crazy.”
“But it’s like a ghost town on Sundays, especially just before payday.”
While ‘ghost town’ was a little harsh a description - there were cackles coming from the pool room and two old boys sat by the bar were discussing the merits of certain bands - there was no shortage of seating options as I waited for my pint to be poured.
“The Damned. They were good,” piped up one of the chaps.
“Yeah,” his mate nodded. “They wore them red berets.”
Taking a pew, I joined the others around me in fixing my eyes on the F1 unfolding on one of the many big screens dotted on numerous walls (don’t ever suggest you don’t get a good view of the action here).Continuing the sports theme, there was also some darts memorabilia on the walls and an eye catching clock made from repurposed dominoes.
With the TVs turned down I struggled to keep up with the action on the box, instead taking in the music being piped in.
After a series of classics from throughout the ages a bit of 50s rock came on.
“Elvis, I’ll tell you about Elvis,” the old boy leading the conversation added, presumably unaware this song wasn’t by the King.
“He’s more popular now than he was then.”
“Yeah,” his mate nodded.
I presume he added ‘he used to wear jumpsuits’, but I missed that bit.
As the pool table crowd headed out into the daylight - perhaps saving their beer money for Tuesday nights when the table is free to play? - the place felt that little bit emptier.
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Quiet? yes. But still an attractive-looking spot.
THE STILL, SALTERGATE, LINCOLN, LN2 1DH
DECOR: A lovely-looking traditional old boozer, made even better by its delightful U-shaped bar. 3/5
DRINK: Hobgoblin Gold (ABV 4.2%) - a lovely golden beer that should need little introduction. 3/5
PRICE: Any pint under a fiver is ok with me, so at £4.45 I thought that was decent value. 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: I missed the ‘crazy’ Saturday night, and it was very quiet, but kind iof enjoyed being able to sniff about the place. 2/5
STAFF: A likeable gent at the bar was full of chat. 4/5
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