UK’s roughest pubs: Four lost Birmingham boozers named among UK’s most notorious

It’s a title some pubs might wear as a badge of honour: the UK’s roughest pub.

There’s a number of pubs across the country that some people might find a little intimidating to enter, but what’s the most daunting pub to walk into?

Well, a simple post on X, formerly called Twitter, has now managed to crown the roughest boozers in the land, and a number of pubs in Birmingham have been named - although some have been nominated in a tongue and cheek way.

@ROUNDTHEBEND__’s post asking “what’s the roughest pub you’ve ever been in and why?” has had a staggering five million impressions on X.

Five local Birmingham pubs were among hundreds of suggestions from people across the country in response to the question - they may have all closed, but their legend lives on! So, here are they local pubs that residents believe to be the roughest.

West End Bar, Snow Hill Queensway

The West End bar was situated on Snow Hill and closed in the 1990s. The pub was mentioned in the thread. It’s been described as the ‘first real afterhours club in Brum’ and the ‘birthplace of the real Birmingham underground sound’. There’s also a Facebook page dedicated to the bar called the West End Bar Appreciation Society.

Known for its live music scene, the pub certainly had a reputation as a party pub in the city. It received a couple of honourable mentions in the thread, including from one person who joked on Twitter: “not sure how I’m still alive.”

The Lyndhurst, Erdington

The Lyndhurst even had a function room for birthday parties, but also had a bit of a reputation. It was viewed as very much a pub for the locals at the time, and was mentioned in the Twitter thread. The site off Sutton Road is now a housing estate. This area is still known as the Lyndhurst estate.

Monkey House, Cato Street, Birmingham

The Monkey House pub on Cato Street also got a mention in the thread. The pub closed its doors in the 80s but was known as a bit of a party pub in the city.

One punter even descrbed it as the ‘roughest pub I have ever been in’ - on a forum about rough pubs online. They even said ‘often there were no glasses so customers would bring their own’.

Mercat

Manor House, Stechford

One Twitter user said the Manor House was one of the roughest he’d entered.

The pub was situated on Station Road. The original pub was called The Bulls Head and was demolished and re-built. It was a popular watering-hole for locals over the years, but was demolished in 2016 with houses built on the site.

An unnmamed pub in West Brom also got a mention in the thread. One Twitter user claimed the entire pub ‘stopped what they were doing after hearing an East End accent, although he didn’t say which one. The full thread is well worth your time.