Fresh from spending a week in Cologne drinking pretty much nothing but Kolsch, we headed into town this weekend to visit the recently reopened Smithfield Tavern.

On the fringe of the Northern Quarter (across the street from Bar Fringe, incidentally), the Smithfield is now being operated by the team behind the nearby Blackjack Brewery. It’s had a lick of paint on the outside and a much-needed design revamp on the inside.

We’d first called in a few months back. At that time, the outside was surrounded by scaffolding and the decor was…unique to say the least. One of its most distinctive features was a pool table cut in half for use as an actual table. A bar takeover by Seven Bro7hers had alerted us to the pub and we were pretty chuffed by the sheer value for money it offered. But it was very quiet and didn’t look like this would…