The Vine, January 2001

An unusual Victorian pub buried in the backstreets of West Bromwich but very popular with both locals and visitors alike - in fact I think that everyone seems to go there. It's a few hundred yards from the Kenrick Park Midland Metro station which provides useful access to fok in both Birmingham and Wolverhampton. When you enter the pub, you enter into a fairly standard sort of bar full of chatting locals in 3 small rooms enjoying their beer. A little further back along the corridor you step into a large airy sky-lit room with families sat at tables eating a wide variety of curries and kebabs. Then, right at the back there's a sort of a café style room with plastic bucket-seats and, wait for it, an indoor barbecue with chefs busily cooking a range of Tandoori starters. They're very popular and the marinades are made using a secret recipe. I've visited a couple of times and even during the afternoon on a Saturday the place is packed full of folk. The curries really are excellent value for money (generally less than the price of 2 pints of beer!) and go down very well with a pint of their real ale. They generally only have one real ale on offer but they change it frequently. Oh yes, and for those of you that don't like curries, they do offer other food options.

'This is Kenrick Park. Change here for the Vine!', April 2001