The Smithfield in Derby

One of my all time favourite pubs in the whole country, I very much enjoy travelling up from London to pop in for a few jars and have even contemplated moving to Derby so I can do it more often. A phenomenally well-run pub suited to real ale drinkers, with an ever changing selection of well chosen beer. The atmosphere in this place can be quite something to behold. I hope the younger generations cotton on and realise it's more fun having a natter out here than indoors behind a phone screen! Here's to many more years at the Smithfield and I hope to see you again soon.

Ok, however the woman behind the bar, when we went in, was very sarcastic and unfriendly, not what you want in a public house, I don't know her name because if I did i would name and shame her.

Very nice place Very welcoming

Good people beer and friendly good beer

Loved great atmosphere, great choice of ales decent prices.

Proper pub. Deserves your support so go!

Very nice old quirky pub. Great for any real ale lovers. Plan to go back on a summers day.

Great real ale pub great service nice atmosphere

Best beer and cheese and onion cobs,pork pies in the world ,And it's 🐕 dog friendly ❤️❤️❤️

Superb real and craft ale pub, jukebox great for classic and progressive rockers!

Ben and his team are incredible. We started going to Sunday afternoon live band sessions and were quickly made to feel welcome and accepted by staff and other music lovers. We have been attending for three months and have yet to see a bad band, oh. And the ale and porkpies are world class!!! BZ all. Thoroughly recommended

What a fantastic pub, great selection and prices. Great staff and punters. Superb beer garden by the river. Comfortably in my top 2 pubs in Derby!

Called in here after going to the Brunswick and Alexander Hotel. This pub was another great place to visit. A lively place (derby was at home). Very friendly place, great selection of ales and a belting beer garden right on the river. I would definitely go back here when I next visit.

Nice and VERY patient bar staff.

One of the best selections of beers in a Derby pub.

Great beer, great choice of beer! Proper pub! Nice seating by the river, good outdoor space. Would definitely visit again

Absolutely the finest pub in Derby! Forget the rest go to the best !

Don't do food but the place have great beers on.

Brilliant multi award winning pub.

Good traditional pub. Good variety of beers etc

Great service, nice Stefan!! Well done keep going!!!!

Always a fantastic selection of beers on, catering to all tastes and dietary requirements. The staff are excellent -friendly and welcoming. Would recommend to anyone..

A real hidden gem of a pub. Friendly and chatty atmosphere with a great selection of ales to tempt too! Pleased we were recommended to visit. Will definitely return.

Impressive service, Cristina made sure everything was perfect, I will come back to this place with great love🤝👏

Great beer, great pub. If you like beer, go there!

Brilliant place friendly people first time going in there last Thursday highly recommend

Sunny afternoon in the car park watching a live rock band with excellent ales, heaven.

Excellent customer service, great choice of craft beers, all very reasonably priced and a delicious pork pie! Would definitely recommend and look forward to visiting again.

Excellent choice of ales and ciders Fantastic bands on at weekend Loads of seating inside and out

Good old school pub. Nice selection of guest beers that are kept well. Good pork pies to compliment.

Terrific pub! Very retro. Unbelievable choice of ales. I was there midweek, so a bit quiet. I expect it's buzzing on a weekend with live bands too. Derby seems to be paradise for real ale drinkers 😊🍻

A first class venue for real ale.

Possibly the best pub beer festival in the UK

A lovely pub slightly hidden away from the town centre. Located next to the river it’s a great little spot to chill with a pint of locally brewed beer. Friendly staff and locals, and reasonably priced beer.

Quality local pub. Decent beer.

Lovely pint, great service, a clean and tidy pub with a beer garden by the river.

Loads of real Ale. Nice atmosphere very friendly

Great little boozer, old style pub! Friendly staff. Good choice of beers!

They don’t do food, hence 1 star, but boy, do they do beer! 9 guest hand pumps, constantly rotating, beers change with frightening frequency, and it’s very rare to see an empty pump. One of the best pubs for beer in the whole country.

Does it get any better than this fine Derbyshire boozer. A must visit if you're ever in the area.

The Smithfield is a great place for music, real ale and good company! It's dog friendly too - fabulous 👌

Great pub fantastic prices and quality ale

My first visit here and really enjoyed it, a great selection of ales. The ones I sampled were spot on. I'll be back (Said like Arnie).

Great staff, and mine hosts Ben and Emily. Best wet-led public house in Derby, and one of the best in the UK.

For me, this is certainly the best pub in town for real ales. Derby, in general, is v good for beer; The Smithfield leads the way, making the effort to provide a forever changing rotation of lesser-seen/rarer breweries. BUT... The reason why I am not giving The Smithfield it's deserv'ed 5 stars, is it's tardy updating of RealAleFinder. Three times I've got off the train, for an hour step-back, to find the beer I wanted had run out. Speaking to the person in The Smithfield this evening whom updates RAF, his very relaxed approach, to be quest honest, annoyed me; no gen is better than 2-days out of date gen! Everywhere else in Derby keeps RAF updated. I'm hoping my post will encourage an improvement in culture in The Smithfield, and I look forward to scoring it 5/5 in the future.

Great choice of beers in good condition. Terrace by the river was great on a hot day.

Great atmosphere and service,will be back

Great beer selection and kept well

Great music venue, lovely outset size overlooking the river Derwent. Lovely crowd for the Sunday afternoon band & friendly, helpful staff. Will definitely be back in future! Afternoon gigs particularly fit around my schedule so that was great to see! Thank you!

Wonderful ale, friendly staff and customers, always a great band on a Sunday. What more can you ask for!

Specialist Ales & cider on regular rotation, also a banging location with outdoor seats by the River Derwent

Nice friendship + shift like it there

Fantastic beer festival as ever!

Excellent pub. Great staff and beer selection

Cracking selection of cask beer

A real ale drinkers pub..no frills ....basic fittings .People seem to like it .It's OK

Great pub, slightly off the beaten track. Wide selection of beers from traditional to craft. Friendly staff and welcoming atmosphere. Fabulous pint of Bass original. Highly recommend.

One of the best pubs in derby landlord and landlady absolute stars aswell as the staff make me and my dog ken most welcome aswell as the wife

Great pub. Comfortable seating. Very interesting choice of real ales.

Proper English pub! Always a warm welcome, friendly staff and regulars and a nice place for a quiet pint or three. Huge selection of cask ales and always a gluten free option either on cask or in the fridge. Good prices, good beer, clean loos, good banter and conveniently a 10 min walk from the bus station. What more could we want?!

Great pub with lovely staff ,real ale served with excellent bar snacks pie's etc. Live music with great bands and friendly locals definitely will be revisiting soon

Derbys highly rated and multiple winner of CAMRA'S pub of the year. Great and ever changing choice of ales. Friendly locals, lovely beer garden overlooking the river. Emily and Ben are great hosts. It's hidden away but well worth seeking out, it's 5 minutes walk away from Brunswick Inn and the Alexandra, make a day of it ! Live bands most Sundays. M

Great pub with a large selection of beers friendly staff and locals. Well, worth a visit if your in Derby.

Brilliant proper pub. Friendly locals joined our game of darts. Good beers, good decor

Best pub in town for me, and anyone looking for first class ales. Always pleasantly busy, and it's good for live music on Sundays.

An excellent friendly pub. Very knowledgable staff. Lage variety of ales 🍺 Live music. Absolutely cracking boozer. If your in the area its a really is worth visiting. Luv it !!!!

Excellent quality beers. Festivals are worth going to.

First visit. Good choice of beers. Settled for the Bass. Excellent drink.

Stopped in for a pint and half while waiting for the daughter. Perfect condition ale and plenty of choice.

Good old fashioned public house with a tremendous variety of ales on offer. No annoying background music or TV screens. Set next to the river Derwent, which at the start of November was looking very angry!

Quite unusual to have a pub in the U.K. with an outdoor pool, brilliant staff and a great atmosphere.

Really love this place a good selection of real ale and they do third of a pint

Great pub with excellent selection of real ales at a reasonable price.. river side views

Very friendly staff. Great choice of beers. Well priced. Nice location 👌

Traditional pub good pint interesting location . Outside seating area .

Called in for a premier match pint with my son and a friend, beer really good and all the staff friendly apart from the manageress. My son has narcolepsy and fell asleep briefly by my side, the manageress without considering it may be a serious long term brain condition was rude and abruptly told me he can't just sit there asleep and that I should wake him up and move on. I can't understand why these kind of people enter the hospitality industry! Poor show indeed.

Some great beer- always friendly

This is one of the best pubs I’ve ever visited. Friendly, excellent beer and right by the river. Great no nonsense filled rolls. I didn’t want to leave.

Brilliant couple of pints of Bass 👍

No food - called in for a drink

Excellent pre match Pub. I was an ‘away’ supporter and the Smithfield was an excellent discovery. The wide choice of ales was mesmerising and all very well kept. Then, as advised by friendly home fans - a brisk 20 mins walk to the stadium.

It's a traditional pub with no restaurant.

Always a great selection of real ales, ciders , and a few nice lagers too. The staff are always polite , there always seems to be a fair few people in regardless of the time of day, but all are welcome. Beautiful views of the river outside and good sheltered area with plenty of seating. They also do live music at the venue, check the posters by the bar. Been here a few times over the past 5 years and always had a good experience.

Great for real ale lovers. Very friend and sociable

Wonderful beer, great surroundings and a very attentive team of staff! Loved it! We will be back soon!

Great (noisy) rock band and a few great 5.2% pints of milk stout.

Love this pub. The people, the place, the beer, the bands and extra kudos to the bar staff. Just brilliant.

Fabulous evening. Great beer and music from Crossroads. Love the Smithfield.

First visit and had a great time, so much so I'm going up there again this week.

An excellent traditional pub with great beer, friendly staff and customers across the age range, and occasional live music.

Bar snacks but was lovely pork pie pork scratchings crisps sausage roll and cobs .Arrived at 8 so not sure if they do food or not .Great atmosphere beer festival on .They have bands on and people were playing cards and chatting .The bar staff were fab really looked after .A proper pub the sort of place anyone is made welcome .Thanks Sarah Smith

Great place for ale and free live music on a Sunday afternoon. Bands on from 3-7pm. Get there hours before though if you want a seat!

I and some friends have visited the Smithfield a few times recently, I have visited in the past as well and have always found the service excellent with a variety of ales to choose from. One of my friends is celiac, so having gluten-free ales and beers is a bonus as he can enjoy a drink with us. It's not just one gluten-free drink on offer but a few so he has a choice also.

A good real ale House with music but cold and not cosy

Great traditional pub, excellent range of real/cask beers, real ciders, a range of canned craft beers plus your standard lagers and a selection wine/spirits/lagers and soft drinks. Look out for live music which is a weekly event, they have some genuinely good bands playing. Also Smithfest, their annual beer festival with a huge range of cask beer, live music and food. Warm, friendly and relaxed atmosphere, the jukebox has a massive catalogue of songs and there's a nice beer garden overlooking the river that's part covered so still useable during the winter. A little out of the way but worth the walk from the city centre.

Have been to this pub a few times, real ale and cider pub. They often have live bands on. Nice pub

Nice pub, good range of beer, friendly staff and locals.

We went on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Had a really good time listening to and watching Unchained. There was a good atmosphere, although it did feel a little bit cramped. The music was great. The bar staff were very friendly and attentive, as always. Well done to the Smithfield team 🎶🍻🍺😀👍

Friendly pub, great choice of ales and spirits, first time visiting was made to feel really welcome by staff and fellow drinkers

Lovely and friendly atmosphere and a great selection of ales etc 👌