 One of the pictures inside 
Local Pub In No Food Shocker!
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Recommendation added: 13/04/2007 11:19
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +817)dewberry has been thanked 1 times for this contribution
"It's not often these days that you come across a pub which doesn't serve food, but the Imperial Inn in Gloucester is just one such place. We came across it quite by accident while looking for somewhere to have a couple of drinks before heading off to a nearby restaurant for a meal, so for us at least it was no great hardship that we couldn't get anything to eat here.
From the outside of the Imperial Inn it's kinda obvious that this is a PUB rather than a pub/restaurant – I can't put into words why I thought this, but the rather basic exterior of the place just says 'watering hole' to me not 'come and fill yer boots'. Perhaps it's down to the shabby looking paintwork or oversized pub sign, or then again it could just be the fact that there are no poster advertising a menu or special meal deal offers that made me think this.
Anyway, we went inside to see what the place had to offer. As soon as we went through the large entrance doors it was obvious that the Imperial Inn is, in fact, made up of one single room rather than the two or three areas I was expecting from the largeness of the outside of the building. This is fine by me, although I'd reckon that non-smokers would wish they could have been provided with at least one area where they wouldn't have to breathe in other customers second hand smoke – the very idea of a non-smoking room/area seems to have been lost on the people who modernised this very old building! As a smoker this isn't an issue for me, but I can just imagine my chronic asthmatic mum's reaction to the place!
The interior décor is lovely; authentically old fashioned with lots of Victoriana style posters and framed pictures dotted around the walls. The Imperial Inn have used very comfortable bench style seating and also some squishy chairs; because food isn't available here the space which would ordinarily have been taken up by tables has been used to stuff in as many seats as possible. Saying this, at the time of our visit the pub wasn't particularly busy and because of the sheer hugeness of the room they could easily have put in even more chairs without the place seeming overcrowded or claustrophobic. Personally I loved the fact that there were so many different seats to choose from as usually I'm the one who goes to the pub and ends up sitting somewhere I'm not happy with just because it was the only chair left!
Our first visit to the ultra long bar was a revelation. The Imperial Inn sell more real ales and 'proper' draught ciders than I've seen in any other pub, the emphasis being on these unusual beers rather than your more run of the mill Carling and Grolsch. This is a wonderful change from the norm as, although I don't drink beer or cider much, I can understand why some people get so bored with the never changing range of pints available in most pubs. Mark was practically beside himself at the sheer choice of drinks available and much of our visit was spent discussing the merits of one beer or another – as I sat nursing my usual Malibu and feeling a bit boring!
His favourite was a locally produced Mild that had a really odd name (can't remember it now!) but he also sampled a glass of Cheddar Valley Cider which he said was perfectly served and extremely refreshing. We got chatting to an elderly couple sitting near to us and they told us that the Imperial Inn is a bit of a celebrity in these parts for their excellent range of unusual beers, also the fact that their real ales are not usually rotated meaning that if you visit every month or so your favourite beer will most probably still be available. This is great news as there's nothing worse than discovering a delicious drink in your local pub only to discover it's been replaced with something else next time you visit.
The prices across the board here are very reasonable, I'd say on a par with 'locals' in Birmingham and not nearly as expensive as the pub chains I usually visit. Of course you're going to pay slightly more for a pint of good quality real ale than you would for a glass of Heineken, but this is more than made up for by the freshness and quality of the ales on offer at the Imperial Inn.
Aside from ales and ciders, the Imperial has a brilliantly stocked bar. I've concentrated on their more unusual beers up to now but you can also choose from all the standard lagers, beers and ciders (both on draught and bottled) as well as all the top branded spirits, alcopops and a good selection of wine. Everything is reasonably priced and there were several special offers available on the more run of the mill lagers which could make for a very cheap drinking session.
Small-time bar snacks are available in the form of crisps, scratchings, nuts and small bags of sweets. I was told they sometimes serve a selection of freshly made cobs and sandwiches when the pub is particularly busy, but there were none available at the time of our visit so I can't really comment on this. To be honest, in this pub a bag of crisps is all you need as the character of the place would definitely change for the worse if they suddenly starting serving hot food like most of the other pubs in the UK seem to now – it's actually a lovely novelty to be able to have a drink without smelling someone else's scampi and chips all night!
The staff are lovely in the Imperial Inn. Everyone who was working during our visit was knowledgeable about the beers served, and were even happy to give advice on things to do in the local area – advice which turned out to be spot on when we acted upon it a couple of days later. The three staff members I interacted with were all really friendly, but not overly so to make me feel uncomfortable, and seemed to take great delight (and amusement!) in my Brummie accent – one asked me to say 'Bostin' half a dozen times despite my explanation that this was a Black Country phrase, not a Birmingham one!
Disabled access is fine; the wide doorways and lack of steps makes for easy access for those of you who use a wheelchair or have more generalised mobility problems. Even though the room is fairly crowded with chairs there is still a wide area within the pub to make it easy to get around, whether you're going to the loo or the bar. There was a gentleman in a wheelchair visiting at the same time as us and he had no trouble at all when it came to manoeuvring himself around the Imperial Inn.
We spent around an hour and a half in this pub and it cost us roughly £15 for our drinks plus a packet of nuts each. I had a double Malibu while Mark drank 3 – 4 pints of various real ales and draught cider, so as far as value for money goes I'd say this place is excellent.
The Imperial Inn is located within Gloucester City Centre and can be found by following the main A4301 Southgate Street, and then making a couple of left turns leading you to Northgate Street. Car parking is at a premium in this area so be aware that you may need to park in one of the neighbouring roads and walk back on yourself to find the pub.
Imperial Inn
59 Northgate Street
Gloucester
Gloucestershire
GL1 2AG
Tel: 01452 529918"
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