The British Oak

Being my new local, its only fair that I write a review for the British Oak. There are a lot of pubs in the stirchley/​selly park area and most of them are pretty dire, so the British Oak stands out as being the best of the bunch by a mile.
In recent years it’s gone through quite a few changes, were not talking full on gentrification, but there is now a full selection of craft beer bottles and wood fired pizza. The rest of the pub though is classic british boozer, with loads of screens showing the football, well worn booths and lots of lager of tap.
A special mention has to be given to the beer garden out back, it has to be one of the best in south birmingham, with plenty of covered areas and sofas to enjoy come rain or shine.
The British Oak serves a huge cross section of people, and that’s part of its charm, students sit alongside old regulars and younger groups of friends. The changes that have been made over the last few years haven’t been done at the expense of the people who used to use it, but have resulted in a place where anyone can wander in and grab a pint.

The British Oak is nice and pleasant pub that hosts an enlightening atmosphere and essence to the place. It’s fairly elegant with its modern cross Tudor architecture and interior design considering the dull and grim area that surrounds this pub. It’s great to go to for a few drinks with both friends and family, or if you wanted to do both you could also have a gander at their reasonably priced menu. The British Oak also provides private hiring for many different occasions, in which they also allow you to provide your own bouncy castle if you wished. They also supply a great and spacious beer garden that has a great sheltered spot as well as a jungle gym and climbing frame for children and young teenagers. I would definitely recommend checking out the place if you want somewhere new or somewhere to hire.

This is such a great, old pub with a big beer garden as well as a swing set for the kids. The pub has a great relaxed atmosphere and they like to go all out for big occasions from bunting and themed parties. They have a range of guest ales and ciders as well as a whiskey chart for those harder drinkers. The menu has pub classics at a good price. The food was probably the only thing that let them down on my last visit here. Having ordered a light bit of BBQ chicken, which was pretty cheap really, it was a good portion size but kinda lukewarm. Aside from that it’s the perfect pub to visit in the sun and the toilets are just like old Victorian school toilets, love it!

The British Oak is possibly the best known pub in it’s area. It’s a large pub with several different rooms, ample parking out the front and a covered terrace out the back with what can only be described as a picturesque view over the childrens play area and bowling club that is situated behind the pub garden. The bar serves a constanly changing mix of real ales and traditional ciders alongside the usual lagers and alcopops, as well as a large range of food which features baguettes and panninis, pizzas and burgers and roast dinners on sunday. With regular live jazz nights, special events, fucntion rooms for hire and hosting the meetings of local groups such as the Stirchley food Co Operative, the place is busy most days. A few tweaks of the bar menu, and this place would be within reach of being the perfect pub. Reccomended.

Built in the 1920s by the Mitchells & Butlers brewery this large, Grade II listed pub in the middle of the Birmingham suburb of Stirchley is something of a hidden treasure, despite being situated in plain sight along the busy Pershore Road.
You step across a small car park and into the public bar, which is a large open space that can often get busy when there are sporting events on the big screen, but venture past this and The British Oak slowly starts to reveal its many charms over a series of side and back rooms, and an extensive garden. You may think that the place looks big when viewed from the front, but this really only tells half the story.
When the pub was originally built, and for many years that followed, the side rooms were variously ‘The Gents’ Only Lounge’, or ‘The Smoke Room’, but in 21^st Century, smoke-​free Britain these are now simply extra rooms within the same pub that offer quiet places for customers to drink, eat and talk, away from the bustle of the main bar.
Move towards the back of the building and you could almost be in another pub entirely as you enter the small and cosy back bar, more than likely stepping over a sleeping dog or two in process. With an open fire and the genuine feel of a small, country boozer, this snug space is particularly welcoming on dark and damp Winter afternoons. To the side of the back bar there is yet another room, the last of the 5, which is variously used as a venue for family parties (particularly at weekends) or for any number of events promoted by Stirchley’s burgeoning creative community, including film screenings and a comedy night.
Whilst the 5 interconnecting rooms of the main building offer an impressive array of different pub experiences under the same roof, it is only once you move outside at the back of the pub that you really get a sense of the size of the place. The back door opens onto a large, covered area containing leather sofas and long tables that offer a rare chance to drink and smoke in comfort, before leading you down the steps into a seriously huge garden that is also the perfect afternoon sun trap. The garden has a slide and various other play equipment for the kids (and big kids) and even when busy, as it often is during the summer months, it never feels too crowded.
Further still, and at the very back of the garden, there is the quintessentially English site of a manicured bowling green and wooden clubhouse, for this is the home of The British Oak Bowling Club. Listen to sound of polite applause and muted cheers drifting across the garden on summer afternoons and you will be a million miles away from the slow drudge of the Pershore Road.
The British Oak is child and dog-​friendly and offers a decent selection of wines, spirits and lagers, as well as a range of cask ales sufficiently varied to make it one of CAMRA’s ‘Real Heritage Pubs’. The food an offer ranges from good, honest pub grub — the gammon, egg and chips is particularly fine — as well as bar snacks, such as bowls of chips, sandwiches, pizzas and hot pies.
In an age of homogenised chain pubs and regenerated urban boozers that often try too hard to impress, The British Oak is a welcome change to the norm. It’s a traditional pub that is moving with the times but doing so at its own pace, thank you very much, and therein lies its charm. If you are looking for a place to sit and read a newspaper over a pint, or for somewhere to take family or friends, in summer or winter, I recommend a visit.

Many people tell me this pub used to be rough but it isn’t any more. I don’t go there often but sometimes pop in for a pint with a friend and the few times I have been there so far this year, it has been friendly and had a nice feel to it. We tend to try and sit in the small bar or outside (heaters on the verandah — I know not good for the environment but makes it possible to sit outside in Britain at least!). They have a variety of beers, and the beer fans that I know tell me it has been kept well. I haven’t tried the menu of late — but the food I saw on my visit last week looked okay. As I live in quaker territory it is nice to have a pub that feels looked after, is busy and isn’t as anonymous as the Ember Inn Country Girl that is within walking distance!