The Ye Old Salutation Inn is one of the Oldest Pubs in the UK, I say “one of” because 2 other nearby pubs lay claim to the same title and rather than get involved in this argument ill be straight and say CBA.

If I’m honest however I would say the Salutation is the “least modernised” of the pubs which lay claim to the title and represents an authenticate English pub to the tee. To give you an idea of how old this place is it was built in 1240, lets not beat about the bush, that’s bloody old.

The interior is made up of a lot of stone and a lot of old timber which makes a beautiful change to the usual modern pub interiors, its obvious the owners have been careful not to change the old feel of this pub.

Beneath “The Sal” are caves (Nottingham is known as the “City of Caves”) which date back to the 9th century which people are free to take a look at (assuming Pete the landlord is in a good mood likely) and are usually given to “LARP” and role-playing geeks (and to be clear I myself in the past have role-played occasionally)

Keep your eyes peeled for the resident ghost which is apparently a small girl (no really..)

The pub is broke up into 4 main rooms. 2 smaller rooms near the entrance are nice and cozy, the main bar is a quite large room with a great jukebox (usual MP3 one with a zillion choices, however is usually dominated by rock/metal)

The upstairs is a large room usually for functions or karaoke and live bands. I had my wedding reception up there (for a small fee Pete kindly put on a barman and a barrel of Nottingham: EPA which was sublime) which was fantastic.

The Salutation has a great selection of beers on, usually with a great backup of real ciders and a myriad of bottled beer/cider and spirits (They even have the Dan Akroyd vodka in a skull bottle)

To be clear the selection in the Sal rivals wetherspoons for sheer volume

There is usually at least 3-5 real ales on as well as the usual fare. The beer is always kept excellently with a great selection usually rotating daily. The Sal doesn’t appear to favour any brewery over another with guests from The Nottingham Brewery, Blue Monkey (Pete seems to have a monkey fetish), Milestone and many more regularly appearing.

Occasionally there is a beer festival and about 10-15 barrels materialise in the main bar.

CAMRA discounts apply here if you’re a member.

Another great point of the Sal is the food. You would be forgiven for looking at the beer stained folded sheet of paper with the menu printed on and thinking “cripes”. The reality is The Sal has a great chef and do some great food at decent prices.

The Chilli the salutation do is literally the best I’ve had anywhere. Its nice and spicy and well worth a try. The burgers are handmade and excellent.

While the Salutation is primarily a rock pub (Its motto is “Rock and Ale”) don’t let that put you off. The Sal is a friendly pub, with friendly staff, great food and ale.

Just what you should expect from a real ale pub.

Click here for google maps location

Cheers!