The Doctor’s Orders on Mansfield road is a pub or rather ‘micropub’ set in an old Doctors Surgery. This last Friday we found ourselves inside by the prescription window for our weekly dose of ale served in the waiting room alongside the other ‘patients’. OK enough of the doctors practice references now. It is not like a traditional pub as there is no bar to lean on, instead you take your seat at one of the small wooden tables and the barman comes around to take your order before popping back behind reception to pour your beer which he then brings back to you. I liked that as it was back to the table service that I enjoyed over in the states. It did seem wrong though that we weren’t tipping the waiter, but that really is so quite British of us anyhow so we could all rest with easy consience.

We had managed to snag a pretty good seat right in the corner by the chalkboard with the daily beer offerings. The walls are strewn with the tap pumps of all the beers that have been quoffed in the establishment, and we happily sat waiting for our beers while pointing out to each other the beers that we have previously encountered on our MyFoodHunt beer swilling adventures (and occasional mishaps).

My companion Martin already had his beer lined up a pint of Side Pocket for a Toad from the Tring Brewery, in Hertfordshire. The name quite tickled my fancy, but sadly the beer didn’t quite manage to do so, I had a taste and it was a little bit too tangy for me. The story behind the name for the ‘Side Pocket for a Toad’ beer is that it is “An old Hertfordshire saying alluding to the uselessness of anything”.

Instead I ordered a pint of Outlaw from the Caythorpe Brewery. They are based and brew beers at the rear of The Black Horse pub in Caythorpe. Happily I found myself to be quite a fan of this particular beer described on their own website as “A Pale beer with real character. A fresh, smooth bitterness with a light orangey, citrus hop finish”

The next beer on the list for me was the Dancing Dragonfly from the Pheasantry Brewery a ‘modern micro brewery with a restaurant café and bar’. This beer is brewed on the Nottinghamshire / Lincolnshire border at East Markam near Newark and is described on their website as “Brewed from Maris Otter Malt, Pheasantry Pale Ale is a pale coloured smooth tasting beer. The blend of hops added during the brewing process gives this 4% ABV ale floral and citrusy notes with a dry finish.” All I can add to that is that it was quite refreshing and most enjoyable.

On the Doctors Orders website they have a nice page listing the breweries that they are supplied from with the tagline “Doctor’s Orders are proud to support micro-breweries both local and further afield.” Most excellent sentiment, cheers to that.

Apart from walking in through the door and reading the chalkboard, it appears that the best way to see what beers are going to be served at the Doctors Order it to view their virtual blackboard which gets posted to their Twitter stream and Facebook page, where you can alos get more info on what they are upto.

The latest events listed are ‘Caribbean Food Nights’ where according to the website “Every Tuesday, our Neighbours on Mansfield Road will deliver fresh Caribbean takeaway food to your table in the pub.” That sounds like another good excuse to attend surgery at the Doctor’s Orders Micropub (not that I think I need any excuse)

The Doctor’s Orders Micropub is a short bus ride from the Victoria Centre up Mansfield Road to Carrington, only a 5-10 ride. It is also a good starting point for a real ale pub crawl back into town, which is how we found ourselves here this past week. It is a really good place to sit and sup a pint, a little off the beaten path but that’s all the more reason to take a little diversion away from your usual haunts and try somewhere new. Its worth the effort.