Take a gander at the OVT (Old Varsity Tavern (OVT))

Member Name: MGirl

Product:	Old Varsity Tavern (OVT)
Date:	07/07/01 (319 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap Beer, Cheap Food, Nice Staff

Disadvantages: Lacking in atmosphere

The OVT (Old Varsity Tavern) in Selly Oak Birmingham is one of the cheapest pubs I have ever been to. Beer retails at about £1.35 a pint and some fairly decent pub food make it the ideal student hangout. The OVT has undergone a few changes in recent years, about 5 years ago it was the grimy student haunt we all knew and loved. People would queue outside to get in and fight to the bar across the sticky floor for warm beer. None of the chairs matched and all looked like they’d been pilfered from student houses. Societies would hire out the top room (which they sometimes had impromptu DJs in at weekends) or Sporting Junction (the basement with handy hose downable concrete floors). People would be squashed up at the windows smiling outside as if to say, “I’m having fun folks!” It was grim but the place had atmosphere. Then the evil that is the Firkin chain bought up the pub, renamed it “The Farce and Firkin at the OVT” because the students refused to call it anything but the OVT whatever they did. This was swiftly followed with the reincarnation of the Gunbarrels from a “family pub” to a student extravaganza in yellow and the Railway Inn changed from a local pub for local people to another “It’s a Scream!” The cheaper prices (and nicer beer) ebbed away at the OVTs profits. It was the only place you could be sure of a seat in at the weekend. Eventually the owners saw sense and the place was rebranded again as a Goose pub. The atmosphere unfortunately has long gone and the cheap prices draw in as many drunks as students. It’s a pleasant place though and the change to warmer lighting means it looks very inviting from outside on cold winter days. The food is decent general pub grub and very reasonably priced. A refit has made the place seem brighter and larger but something is still missing.

I would say that "The Goose at the OVT" is worth a visit but since "The G
unbarrels" became an It's a Scream pub, it's beating the other Selly Oak pubs hands down.

In summary, the students are returning but the atmosphere has long gone.

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