GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 3 – THE HUNGRY HORSE, NELSON

January 2024. Nelson.

I realise that nominating a Greene King ping food family pub as a “Great Pub” for my revisits series may undermine the whole “Great Pubs” brand, but wait till you hear the context.

The ONLY real ale pub in Nelson (pop. ), as evidence by What Pub.

“So, Retired Martin, you’re telling me the only other cask outlets in a town of 29,135 souls are members clubs catering for Warp Dressers, Short Homers & Poultry enthusiasts” (don’t even ask me about cricket) ?

Yep.

And the Thatch & Thistle, mere feet off the M65, awaiting a chicken run from Blackpool Jane,

was the last Hungry Horse pub to EVER make the Beer Guide (after the Birds in Spalding). That may not actually be true, but I’ve completed the GBG so you believe me. Anyway, I visited it, in 2014, and have been agonising over a return ever since (not really).

The nice man in New Man Lee said “half an hour”; I reckoned just long enough to fully absorb the unique atmosphere of a Hungry Horse.

No-one else had walked there.

And no-one else was drinking the cask, despite the stellar line-up.

This is the chain with worse food than Spoons (quite a convincing curry smell coming from the kitchen, mind),

and it’s not entirely surprising to see that half the custom is young folk on the beer,

entranced by the Manchester City Treble Winner scarf above the Women’s Super League match.

No-one was watching the football, no-one was drinking the cask. What were they doing ?

Reader, they were TALKING to each other.

Quietly thrilling, and the Greene King IPA was OK, a bit too foamy. If you’ve had it in Spoons (presumably by accident) you’ll know exactly what it tastes like.

The Thatch & Thistle isn’t getting back in the Guide soon, but New Man Lee makes it straight into my Chinese Takeaway Top 20 (NCTSS 4.5),

thanks mainly to a generous portion of prawns in the Singapore Rice.

“Would you like prawn crackers with that ?“. YES I WOULD PLEASE. Some folk said NO.

Honestly, luxury is eating Crispy Beef in a campervan after 4 pints. As long as you remember to pack your “portable toilet”.

Unknown's avatar

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

6 thoughts on “GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 3 – THE HUNGRY HORSE, NELSON”

  1. From my experience of the King’s Horse in Stafford I can’t agree with “This is the chain with worse food than Spoons”.
    I don’t know of any pub built only ten years ago with a separate Bar and Lounge and, though it’s recently lost its Hungry Horse livery, it still offers keen prices such as a Classic Beef Burger for £7.79.
    Some people though would never have a good word for Greene King.

    Like

    Reply

    1. A good defence, Paul. It’s a while since I ate in Hungry Horse and they were certainly the worst of the chains. Wetherspoons have also cut a lot of corners, but their Katsu chicken.

      The Thatch & Thistle was very lively, as befits the only cask pub in Nelson.

      Like

      Reply

      1. I had a Marstons carvery two days ago.
        It’s just the wrong side of town but I’ll see if I can get a Greene King one there before long.

        Like

    1. You’re lucky to escape with all four wheels and both lungs in Burnley.

      The Cambridge Hungry Horse is on the northern approach into town and after closure of the pubs in those housing estates since 2007 is the very definition of unsalubrious.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. This a pub I have visited a lot over the years with my wife having family in Burnley. I have to admit we haven’t been since before the Rona Pandemic. The beer selection definitely seems to have gone the wrong way. In 2019 there was always a choice of two different Moorhouse beers (Blonde Witch / White Witch).

    I think it may have even had a thatched roof at one point (hence the name).

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment