Inside Nottingham pub after £500k refurbishment turned it into ‘completely different’ place

The pub has reopened its doors with an enhanced social area but also a laid-back space

The pub where Nottingham Forest was founded 160 years ago has reopened its doors following a £500,000 refurbishment.

The Playwright, on Shakespeare Street, reopened after a nearly month-long closure during which extensive renovation works took place.

The improvements include the walls being repainted, a new floor, refurbished toilets, new furniture and an upgraded sound and lighting system.

The biggest upgrade to the pub, however, is represented by the introduction of a social room, which offers pub-goers an enhanced social area with pool tables, a shuffleboard and dart lanes.

Those who prefer to have a warm meal and a quiet drink are also accommodated in a separate area of the pub, contributing to its new “mature” feel.

Thomas Palko, the venue's general manager, said: “We’ve received very positive feedback since the reopening.

“Everyone is very pleasantly surprised because the whole place has a bit of a more mature feel to it - it’s a lot warmer.”

Mr Palko added that the refurbishments were carried out as a way for the pub to distance itself from a common preconception that, because of its location just on the edge of Nottingham Trent University’s City Campus, The Playwright is a student-led pub.

He said: “For a good while, The Playwright was seen as this quirky student pub but we wanted to balance that out a bit and include others in our local community.

“The refurbishment isn’t just about a facelift. We want everyone to come in and enjoy themselves in a nice, safe and inclusive space.”

The outside of the venue is also due to be repainted in January, when the walls are expected to have dried to an acceptable level.

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