 The interior of The Golden Hind 
I've struck Gold with this pub!
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Recommendation added: 12/01/2007 11:31
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +756)dewberry has been thanked 7 times for this contribution
"After a tiring walk round Town yesterday, on the way home we decided to stop at The Golden Hind for a quick drink and a bite to eat.
I remember The Golden Hind from years ago and it was an awful pub which seemed to cater for the criminal and downright scabby element of Kingstanding's society, so I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed from the exterior how much more upmarket it now looks.
It has recently come under new ownership and the changes throughout the pub are phenomenal; gone are the rickety tables and broken stools, replaced by a soothing décor and comfortable surroundings. A new menu has also replaced the older style 'chips with everything' version and there's a wider variety of drinks behind the bar.
The interior of the pub itself is very spacious with the bar being separate to the lounge/dining area, while the bar area is quite small the owners have used the space cleverly to fit in several tables along the wall and a section for a dart board. The lounge is much bigger and has tables and seating both along the walls and bar, with extra smaller tables arranged through the centre of the room. We sat in the bar as my partner wanted to watch the large TV's showing Sky Sports, which are easily visible from all tables.
The menu is fantastic for a pub in this area, with decent prices and large portion sizes. I ate Sausages & Onion Gravy in a Giant Yorkshire Pudding and was shocked at the amount of food on my plate when it was brought to the table, no less than 4 thick sausages in a Yorkshire the size of a dinner plate! Massive. This meal cost just £4.25 which is brilliant value considering it was so huge that I didn't need to eat for the rest of the day!
Mark had his usual Steak & Chips which was also a very large meal and easily affordable at only £4.95. Both meals were absolutely delicious; the food was freshly cooked and of an obviously high quality – Mark's meal in particular was great value as it was a full £1.00 cheaper than other pubs in the area and the steak and chips were cooked to absolute perfection. His meal was also served with onion rings and peas, which was a nice surprise as these weren't mentioned on the menu. Just to mention the sausages in my meal; absolutely delicious. Really meaty with a lovely tangy herb aftertaste. Yummy.
The whole menu is very good actually. There's a wide range of starters, light meals, the heftier main section (which we ate from) and desserts. All are of very reasonable prices with starters and desserts being uniformly less than £3 a throw, I didn't personally eat a pudding but I saw a lady on the next table tucking into a sticky toffee pudding; it was huge and looked fabulously gooey. There are also a couple of menu options for people with bigger bellies than me which were obviously man sized portions of Mixed Grill and general meaty dishes – I didn't see one of these but judging from the menu description they would have filled me up for a week!
We washed our meals down with drinks from the well stocked bar. Being pregnant I stuck to the J20's, which were very cheaply priced, while Mark drank pints of Carling Extra Cold. Each round of two drinks cost just £3.05 which is an absolute steal when compared to any other pub I've visited recently. All of the other top name lagers, beers and spirits are also available along with some decent looking bottles of wine and soft drinks. A small selection of crisps, nuts and other bar snacks are available so you can have the all-important salty munch with your drinks.
The staff are great in The Golden Hind, it's a husband and wife team who run the pub and they're out front serving most of the time. Any problems are referred directly to them rather than the general serving staff as they have the ability to sort things out quickly. Saying that, we had no problems during our visit and all members of staff that I encountered were without fail extremely friendly and helpful; all were well groomed and smartly turned out.
The pub and restaurant is spotlessly clean and well maintained with members of staff clearing away plates and glasses, emptying ashtrays and removing empty crisp wrappers as soon as possible. The toilets are cleaned thoroughly and have a nice fresh fragrance which is there simply as an adornment, not to mask the stench of a badly kept restroom!
Disabled access is fine, there are a couple of steps inside the pub but the general layout means these can be avoided and you'll still be able to get where you want to by making a detour through a different section. The majority of tables are accessible to those using a wheelchair and the wide spacing between seating means you'll have no problems getting around once you're inside.
The only drawback to The Golden Hind is the car park. At the time of my visit, there was only space for 5 or 6 cars in a very small car park at the front of the pub. You can park on the road along the side, but this isn't really practical if you're planning to spend more than an hour or so relaxing in the pub. However, renovations are ongoing so it could be that a larger car park around the back will be made available at some point in the future.
To find The Golden Hind you'll first need to find Kingstanding. Located in North Birmingham, you need to follow the signs directing you towards 'Sutton Coldfield' from the City Centre. If you turn left at the first Kingstanding sign and follow the long Kingstanding Road you'll easily spot The Golden Hind on your left hand side. Bus routes are erratic in this area, but your best bet would probably be to jump on the 107 from either Sutton Coldfield or Birmingham City Centre. This bus will drop you at the bottom of Kingstanding Road and the pub can then be reached after a short 4 – 5 minute walk.
So go on, what are you waiting for? Cheap beer, cheap delicious food and good staff – it really doesn't get much better than that!
The Golden Hind
Kingstanding Road
Kingstanding
Birmingham
B44 8JR
Tel – 0121 3312951"
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