Snobs

This was a very unexpected pub visit, I was on my way from The Old Fox to The Shakespeare to meet my mate Bill before going to see Airbourne and Black Stone Cherry at the NEC when I noticed that the new home to Snobs was open. It was too good an opportunity to miss, Snobs is/was a Birmingham institution. In an age when pubs/clubs come and go Snobs stayed virtually unchanged in its Paradise Circus venue for an incredible forty years, it is estimated that some two and a half million people passed through its doors in this time.

The new Snobs has been built in Smallbrook Queensway at a cost of £2m and I was initially quite impressed by the fact that the faces that used to greet clubbers as they entered the original venue have been retained..

Unfortunately this was as good as it got. The place is a shadow of its former self, modern, bordering on upmarket, the Snobs legacy has been ruined. For those who remember Snobs as it was check out the new look...

Okay the bar in the centre of the venue (based loosely around the tardis in Doctor Who) is true to the original but that's where the similarity ends. If I was to tell you that there were menus on the tables offering up such delicacies as Chicken Caesar Salad that's probably as much as you need to know !!

I wasn't expecting much from the drink selection so played it safe with a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale, and sat down in one of the plush new seats..

Sky News was being shown, without volume, on several screens throughout the venue. In many ways I wished the volume had been turned up it may have drowned out 'Irreplacable' by Beyoncé. Yes Birmingham's premier alternative music venue was playing a tune by Mrs Z !! Outrageous !!

I will admit that Snobs the nightclub is probably a better prospect than Snobs the pub (the venue can be split so I was only able to sit in the front bar) but I was very unimpressed.

One word.....avoid !!