coventry pubs: the best craft beer bars in coventry

Welcome to the Drink in the Sights guide to the best bars in Coventry, the ultimate ale and craft beer in Coventry pub crawl. Coventry is one of those wonderful, slightly off the beaten track, and hugely underrated British cities with a rich history, a very famous cathedral, and a very colourful local legend in the form of lady Godiva. Over the last few years an array of real ale and craft beer pubs have started emerging in the city centre helped along by local breweries Twisted Barrel and Dhillons so keep an eye out for them while visiting the best pubs in Coventry.

Coventry Pubs

Twisted Barrel Brewery and Tap House

Lets face it anyone who knows me or has read my pub guides before won't be surprised to find the Twisted Barrel Tap House right at the top of this list of the best bars in Coventry. I just love these proper industrial brewery taps with the equipment proudly on show, in a real back to basics, can't get closer to where the magic happens style. All the staff are proper beer people who clearly love the craft beers their serving, and will happily provide suggestions to you. On that note I'd suggest the God's Twisted Sister oatmeal Stout, it's properly tasty. Everything about this place is how I like a brewery tap to be. Certainly one of the very best pubs in Coventry.

Dhillons Brewery Spire Bar

Now this really is a thing of beauty. I've been to a few bars converted from churches but this one from local brewery Dhillons is just out of this world good. Sure you could go to the actually brewery tap, which is only open on a Friday, but for sheer convenience why not drink in this spectacular city centre venue. Not surprisingly you'll find an array or wonderful Dhillon Brewery beers, with Red Rebel IPA as my favourite on tap and in cans along with a few other offerings like Guinness, Blue moon and a huge array of cocktail offerings. Quite simply if you want to drink local craft beer in Coventry served by great staff, in a truly incredible building this is the place for you. Certainly one of the best bars in Coventry.

The Castle Grounds

This spacious beer drinkers pub has a really nice selection of 4 ales and plenty of craft beers on tap and in cans. ​There's wooden floorboards and bare brick walls aplenty as well as a cool terrace area that lets you look down on the drinkers below. The sofas are comfy, the staff are friendly and know how to pour a good pint, while the general vibe is just a bit more lively than your average pub. I really like a pub that has all the proper old pub charm, but gives it a bit of a modern twist, and that's very much what's going on here. One of the top Coventry bars.

The Old Windmill

The Old Windmill is Coventry's oldest pub, and still one of the best pubs in Coventry. It's one of those great places with a proper traditional pub look featuring everything from wood beam ceilings and carpeted floors to open fire places and beer pins covering the walls. This really is everything a proper ye olde type pub should be, and to be honest they are just about my favourite type of pubs. The staff are top class, know their beers, and keep them flowing for the happy punters. There's 6 ales on tap for you to sample, and they tend to cover most styles. A proper pub with proper beer, what more could you want?

Hops d'Amour Micropub

I love a good micropub and ​Hops d'Amour is about as good as they come, clearly CAMRA feels the same as this is the current Coventry CAMRA pub of the year. I also love any bar that has its own glasses, and the skeletal angel with a top hat and bow and arrow is a seriously cool logo. This really is a gorgeous little place run by proper beer geeks who really know their beers, and love talking about them. On top of the 10 on tap you'll find loads of craft beer cans and bottles from the likes of Tiny Rebel and Brew York. It's a small place with a big heart, and one of the best selections of craft beer in Coventry. It's a great place, and certainly one of my favourite Coventry pubs.

Coventry Bars

Aardvark

I miss the old Scream pub in my home town of Lincoln so I couldn't resist checking out the Coventry version. As expected it's a fun, lively place, with plenty of football, or the big fight on TV, along with frequent live music sessions. This really is a place with a bit of a buzz, and a bit of an atmosphere, and that's at least partly down to the excellent staff. You'll find 4 ales on tap, although sadly one always seems to be Doom Bar, along with a few bottles to try. I have to say this is a much nicer building than the one we had in Lincoln with a mix of carpeted and wooden floors and even a bare brick fire place giving it a proper homely pub feel. One of the most lively, and most fun Coventry bars.

Broomfield Tavern

Featuring up to 10 ever changing ales and a huge array of ciders on tap the Broomfield Tavern is one not to be missed on your Coventry pub crawl. It's also a wonderfully pretty pub with a perfect wooden bar, wooden floorboards, and even some bare brick walls, and you know I love a bare brick wall. This really is everything a proper, traditional English pub should be right down to the beer glasses hanging above the bar, and the regular live music sessions. The staff all know their beers, and seem to know most the locals too which is always good to see. One of the real traditional Coventry pubs.

Gatehouse Tavern

They really do love a proper traditional real ale boozer in Coventry and the Gatehouse Tavern certainly fits the mold nicely. When there's a big game on this very quickly becomes one of the busiest Coventry pubs while other times there's just a nice calm buzz about the place. I love the red ceilings, proper wooden bar, and bare brick walls, but there's also a huge array of beer and sports related merchandise dotted around. The part covered, part open beer garden is a fantastic sun trap, and you'll find live music gigs here. You'll also find great staff serving 6, usually local, ales as well as a decent selection of cans and bottles. This really is a proper beer drinkers pub, and one of the best bars in Coventry.

Town Crier

With 5 beers on tap served by lovely talkative bar staff and regular music sessions on Saturday's the Town Crier belongs on any list of the best pubs in Coventry. You'll find all the best pub trappings here like bare brick walls, a wooden bar, and a cool illuminated clock. I'm assuming from the beer selection when I went that this is a Marston's pub so you'll almost certainly find a pint of Pedigree or Hobgoblin on tap among the 5 ales. Because the pub is right in the city centre there's a nice mix of people just popping in for one and more steady drinkers enjoying a good old session. A lovely place.

Town Wall Tavern

There's no better place to end a Coventry pub crawl than the Town Wall Tavern with its 8 beers on tap and lovely homely pub atmosphere featuring a proper old wooden bar, a bare brick fireplace, and plenty of old beer memorabilia. Like so many of the Coventry pubs on this list the Town Wall Tavern just feels like it belongs in the city, and it's welcoming with both locals and visitors like myself alike. The staff clearly know how to pull a decent pint, and give the place a really nice atmosphere. This really does seem like the perfect place to end this guide to the best pubs in Coventry.

Thanks for reading my guide to the best bars in Coventry. I hope you enjoy your real ale and craft beer in Coventry pub crawl.