The Vat & Fiddle image

The Vat & Fiddle

Bar Pub

1930s brewery tap serving Castle Rock beers and pub grub, plus a visitors' centre for the brewhouse. People often mention Castle, Rock, staff, great, good, beers, Nottingham, brewery, ales, beer,


Address

12 Queensbridge Rd, Nottingham NG2 1NB, United Kingdom

Website

www.castlerockbrewery.co.uk

Contact

+44 115 985 0611

Price rating

$$ $$

Rating on Google Maps

4.40 (1.1K reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Saturday: 11:30 am to 12 pm
  • Sunday: 11:30 am to 9:30 pm
  • Monday: (New Year's Day), 11:30 am to 10 pm, Hours might differ
  • Tuesday: 11:30 am to 11 pm
  • Wednesday: 11:30 am to 11 pm
  • Thursday: 11:30 am to 11 pm
  • Friday: 11:30 am to 12 pm

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: Castle (16) Rock (14) staff (13) great (12) good (12) beers (11) Nottingham (10) brewery (7) ales (7) beer (7)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Alasdair P. 1 year ago on Google
    Hired the function room at the back for my wife's 30th party. All the staff were so accommodating, easygoing and very helpful. They let us decorate and helped with music. We had a great time and many of our guests commented on what a cool space it was.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Neil Le M. 2 years ago on Google
    A must visit if ever going to Nottingham. A brewery pub with character, real ales/ciders, and fantastic pub food. All at great prices.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Angela H. 1 year ago on Google
    Dog friendly, pleasant, friendly, bar staff, good selection of beers, good choice of menu great chef, hard working management. Nice outside in front back garden areas. With heaters. Also shelters, toilets clean. Entertainment bands on weekends. Pub brings football supporters in for food n beer before and after matches. No pool table, not much for children to do. Needs bouncy castle face painting probs once a month. But very good 4 stars.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Jason W. 2 years ago on Google
    This is The Old Coldstore venue at the back of the pub. The sound is excellent. It's great to have another decent Nottingham venue to play having lost some recently. Outdoor gigs when the weather is good. Easily accessible by tram of 10 minutes walk from town.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Matty (Naomi St K. 2 years ago on Google
    Great place, excellent choice of beers incl full Castle Rock range (of course !). Been here a few times before but not got round to leaving a review. What would be news is anything other than a 5 🌟 review ... staff couldn't do enough to help, incl offering tasters of beers. Excellent value cobs. Also staff offered and explained the Castle Rock loyalty card which I will certainly use on my next visits to Nottingham Castle Rock pubs. Thanks to the staff, Matty
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Steve 2 years ago on Google
    Great pub adjacent to the Castle Rock brewery. Friendly and efficient service. Extensive range of ales. Outdoor seating front and back. Handy for station (2 minutes walk) and football grounds.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 win t. 8 months ago on Google
    Not a bad place for a drink. Superb location just next to the train station which is more handy.service was good so as ales from the Castle Rock brewery.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Thomas Müthing (. 1 year ago on Google
    Return visit, October 2022: Still the good real ale pub that I first visited in the mid 2010s. Castle Rock beers from the well (the brewery is right next door), and at moderate prices. How much you'll gravitate towards Castle Rock's ales is another question, but there's always a wide variety available and they are all certainly the freshest here that they can be. Relaxed atmosphere, friendly staff. I don't remember the covered outside seating from my previous visits, and it's certainly nice to relax out there on a mild autumn evening. Certainly a nicer place to hang out than the sparsely decorated, "colder" BeerhHeadZ right AT Nottingham Station, also far less expensive.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Mark A. 3 months ago on Google New
    First time - went to a gig - staff were good, beer was good, wine was meh! Venue lived up to it's name old cold store 🥶 sound was okay, atmosphere not the best but artists were excellent. Won't be rushing back, pick up other dates on artist tours.

  • 5/5 Jeremy D. 4 months ago on Google
    Great as ever. My favourite Nottingham pub. Harvest Pale was its usual excellence and the service was quick. Only thing is that I really miss the old cobs they used to do, huge thick slices of cheese with strong onion. The cobs they sell now are very average!

  • 5/5 Matt D. 3 months ago on Google New
    One of the world's best pubs. What more could you want in an establishment? Quality staff. Always knowledgeable and friendly, and willing to let you have a taster. Quality beer, Sherwood reserve especially is a favourite of mine as well as DDH Citra India Pale Ale Beer Hazy. The vibe is of course exclusively and always purely immaculate. I'd happily sit there for all my days and just be at peace in the relaxing environment.

  • 5/5 Phil Y. 4 months ago on Google
    Superb Castle Rock Brewery pub in Nottingham City. 5' minutes walk from main railway station. As an 'away' football fan, have only visited when my team are playing against Forest at The City Ground. Always welcomed by home fans; no rivalry or aggression. Absolutely stunning, superb selection of both Castle Rock & guest beers. + lagers & a good whisky selection! Only sampled food on football matchdays, but if this is an example of normal fayre, then can highly recommend it. Nothing fancy or ponsy! Just basic meals, toasties, chip butties, sausage butties, beef or veggie chilly for example. Staff extremely busy on matchdays so PLEASE be patient with them! They all do a fantastic job. Castle Rock Brewery attached to pub & Brewery tours can be booked. A fantastic pub

  • 5/5 Barry E. 8 months ago on Google
    Visited Saturday 15th July 2023 late afternoon. Been meaning to visit for a while, just never got around to it. Location is ideal if you're around the train station as it's literally across the road. Castle Rocks tap house so obviously has a full range of CR beers; however, as with all CR pubs there's also a great range of guest cask and keg beers alongside a fridge full of craft beer cans and bottles, obviously there's also lager, wine, spirits, soft drinks etc. We ended up eating the loaded fries while we were there, a portion of buffalo and a portion of hamburger, both of which were delicious and reasonable value. Staff were friendly and approachable, the place had a nice atmosphere. The pub itself is a proper old school pub, hard floors throughout and traditional decor with seating out front and a large yard out back. Definitely worth a visit.

  • 5/5 Kevin P. 11 months ago on Google
    After a large challenge walk from Newark to Nottingham recently we organised to visit the Vat and Fiddle for food and drink on completion. We were a group of 24 and the team at the Vat were able to book us tables and supply such a large group with food in a timely manner. They were excellent hosts in a great traditional pub with an excellent real ale choice. Top service from Nicky,Jesse and the team,can't recommend them highly enough.

  • 5/5 My Art U. 9 months ago on Google
    Yesterday, we hosted our social 🎨paint 🥂sip🍡nibble for our 17 ladies and gents to celebrate🎉🎊 Ella's Hen Do🎊🎉We all had a great time at VAT & Fiddle - all staff, especially Nicky and Jesse are always accommodating and thoughtful in helping with our setup. The space has a relaxing vibe that puts our guests at ease as they experiment with social painting🎨

  • 5/5 Matt W. 1 year ago on Google
    Nice traditional looking pub, staff are always friendly & knowledgeable, good variety of beers. Noticed on my last visit they had a room hired out for a board/table-top game group, which I thought was nice. The attached venue puts on good live music too. Added bonus: it's on my walk home from work 😉

  • 5/5 Brendan C. 11 months ago on Google
    Great pub with great selection of beers and great staff. Food is pretty good, crisp selection is wide, and the outdoor seating is lovely in the sunshine too. Great boozer not too far from Nottingham Train Station, great as a place to stop while waiting for that train home.

  • 5/5 Tom 1 year ago on Google
    One of my favourite pubs in Nottingham. Excellent staff with a passion for the excellent beer. Only castle rock pub to offer session on cask as well so get down and give it a go!

  • 4/5 jack L. 1 year ago on Google
    This is the outlet pub for Castle Rock brewery, which is next door. Good selection of their ales and guest ales. The building looks and feels like an old traditional pub, there is a drive though, where you can collect on line orders from, when open. The most important element the ales are well looked after and served, biggest let down is no on-site shop, where customers could do walk-in

  • 5/5 Peter W. 1 year ago on Google
    Lovely traditional pub handily situated opposite the train station. Fantastic range and quality beers - cask, keg and bottles/cans. Lots from Castle Rock as it's the brewery tap, but also plenty of guests. Friendly staff, nice atmosphere, lots of outside space... a winner!

  • 5/5 John Carr (Corinne and J. 1 year ago on Google
    Excellent pub near Nottingham Station. Taproom for Castle Rock Brewery. Classic Art Deco building. 13 cask beers - including 2 stouts - on handpump plus lots of draft ciders when I visited. Lots of outdoor seating much of it covered. Not too busy before or after the game I attended at the City Ground.

  • 4/5 Ste B. 3 years ago on Google
    Castle Rock pub right next to the brewery. Fabulous choice of beer as a result. Nice outside areas at the front and back but rather dull looking inside. A refurb would make this place one of the best pubs in the city, although I suppose it does have its own charm. One of my favourites.

  • 4/5 WhosPhoto 2 years ago on Google
    Price of beer going up too much, soon pubs will close down. This place is great for function rooms different groups meet up, book club was on when I drank here, mostly women holding old second hand paperbacks.

  • 2/5 Neil M. 2 years ago on Google
    Sad to see how this once great pub, the jewel in the Castle Rock crown, has fallen under its current stewardship. A pub once full of character, local characters and an evident pride in decent local ale, has become totally soulless. It now looks dowdy and uncared for. Frequently understaffed, I've lost count now of the times I've walked in...and walked back out again recently. A crying shame ..

  • 1/5 Charles G. 2 years ago on Google
    From this being my go to pub to being one that I avoid like the plague. Dirty tables, slow service and very expensive prices, can't understand why a pint of Blue Moon is 80p dearer than a trendy bar in town. To sum it up, a place to avoid when there's much nicer places to frequent.


Call +44 115 985 0611 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Pets
    • ✓️ Dogs allowed
  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Food
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Spirits
    • ✓️ Food at bar
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible toilet
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible car park
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible entrance
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Seating
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✗ Delivery
    • ✗ Takeaway
    • ✓️ Outdoor seating

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