£1.5m work is crowning glory for bar

The imposing Kings Head pub has been a landmark on Birmingham's Hagley Road since the 19th Century, but now it has been given a new lease of life following a £1.5 million upgrade.

Walsall-based Bar Leisure Group took on the pub back in December 2006 and has spent the last 12 months masterminding the revamp of the bar, restaurant and music venue.

While the facelift took just 10 weeks to complete, the design process took a lot longer. Designers Tibbatts Kirk Abel went back to the drawing board several time before they were satisfied with the new look.

Richard Perry, general manager, said the interior is unrecognisable, save for the Victorian tiles and original features preserved on the staircase.

He said: "It is difficult to describe what it was like when we took it on 12 months ago. It was a strange cross between gothic and Mediterranean. There was no way we could keep it open like that."

What the designers and Bar Leisure Group have come up with is a sleek, chic restaurant, seating more than 140, he added.

There is also a light and airy bar, an outside terrace for 60 and an upstairs music venue for 200 hosting live acts.

Mr Perry said: "We have had a lot of positive feedback and have built up a local group of regulars.

"We wanted to offer something different for the people in the area and I think we have succeeded in doing that.

"It wasn't easy. We had a very clear idea of what we wanted and went back to the drawing board several times before it was just right.

"We did keep some of the original fixtures, including the Victorian tiles in the stairway as we wanted to give people a sense of the building's past, while keeping a modern restaurant ambience."

The company has taken on around 60 staff to run the restaurant and is hoping to expand the live music upstairs, with sessions on Thursdays as well as Friday and Saturday nights, and on Bank Holiday Sundays.

There is a bar and a restaurant menu available, offering modern British cuisine, alongside pizza and pasta dishes, with a good selection of vegetarian options.

Mr Perry said: "The menu has been especially created for The Kings Head and will change according to the produce in season. Everything is made fresh on site and good fresh food is at the very heart of what we are do here.

"We have done everything possible to get everything 100 per cent right and are looking to continue to build up the business in the West Midlands."

For more information about The Kings Head, on the corner of Hagley and Landsdowne Road on the Bearwood/Harborne border, visit the website at www.kingsheadbirming ham.com