Gem quarter watering hole has had its chips; Pub Grub ROPEWALK, ST PAUL'S SQUARE, JEWELLERY QUARTER.

Byline: PHIL VINTER

FROM the outside, The Ropewalk looks like an upmarket pub in a smart part of the city centre.

Inside, the decor is modern and it's very spacious, but unfortunately that's just the icing on some distinctly average tasting cake.

But despite the best efforts of the owners, this Jewellery Quarter drinking hole is no precious gem unfortunately.

When you drop into a pub for a bite to eat, you want good, tasty traditional food at a reasonable price.

Yet the two classic pub dishes we ordered both tasted distinctly average.

Admittedly for pounds 6.95 you don't expect restaurant quality food, but my rump steak, chips and peas was poor even by chain pub food standards.

The medium cooked steak was chewy and rubbery and the chips and peas were both slightly raw. The peas tasted as if they'd been given about three seconds on the hob.

My colleague was less disappointed with his scampi, but independently commented on the raw texture of his chips and thought the battered scampi pieces weres bit stodgy.

However, the worst aspect of the food was the mushrooms in breadcrumbs.

Like I said, you expect pub grub to offer good value for money and I'm afraid pounds 3.50 for three slivers of mushrooms is unforgivable.

Who knows, maybe we were unlucky and just caught the chef on a bad day?

But pub grub is judged by its consistency and so on that basis The Ropewalk really wasn't up to scratch.

The location and cheap nature of this pub make it a good spot for an afterwork pint or a stopping off point for a drink for people on the way to the Jam House, but the low quality of the food means you shouldn't step into The Ropewalk to eat.

The Bill *****

Two pints of Coca Cola (pounds 2.10 each)

Rump steak, peas and chips (pounds 6.95)

Scampi and chips (pounds 4.95)

Mushrooms in breadcrumbs (pounds 3.50)

CAPTION(S):

Pub grub at The Ropewalk in St Paul's Square. was disappointing.

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Title Annotation:	Features
Publication:	Birmingham Mail (England)
Date:	Nov 6, 2008
Words:	344
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