The Little B

I have been to this place many times as it was near my work place and we would ring in and pre-​order our food.
This is a family pub and you’ll get people of all ages coming in here.
I recently went in here before a Sale FC match, and surprisiingly there weren’t many people from the match in here (beer is cheaper at the club) but the place was full of families so don’t expect a quiet pub meal, but screaming kids.
They often show sport in here and if you don’t finish your meal, you can take a doggy bag home. The food is your normal pub food. Nothing flash, but the portions have gone bigger which is why I have given it 4 stars.

A mixed review for the three course Sunday lunch (£16). I opted for two stars with room for doubt. I had a pint of very good ale. I had an un-​seasoned chicken patè for my starter, which if it’s not cheaply made in a factory it really should be. Let me tel you what it didn’t contain; it had no thyme, no shallots, no allspice, no nutmeg. It did not have any any brandy or butter either. The five or six small bread pieces served alongside the patè were soggy but not too unpleasant; had these been toasted or popped in an oven for a short while to refresh they would have been perfectly good and they must have a hot oven to heat the Yorkshire puds. How hard can it be to do the job right? The relish on the side was tasty. The pork main course was advertised as having a crunchy crackling, which is what attracted me to order it as crispy crackling is wonderful, but the crackling wasn’t crispy. not even close, it was squidgy and that was a real disappointment — how hard can it be to do the job right? If I hadn’t been in company I wild have sent it right back. The pork meat was perfectly cooked, it was also tasty and a good portion. The mash was good too and was seasoned. The fried potato pieces and the vegetables served on the side (carrot & parsnip, cauliflower and cabbage) tasted ok but they arrived cool, and again unseasoned, once again why is it so hard to do the job right. The Yorkshire pudding was quite good and an alright light gravy was poured into the Yorkshire pudding and some gravy was also poured over the meat. Dessert: the factory made cheesecake was almost flavourless, it was served with a scoop of vegetable oil based, factory made, ice cream. I had a latte which was very good. I also tried a piece of a cod goujon from a kids meal, and I found it very oily again you don’t have to be a chef to know how to do this right. If hhis is what the sell on their Friday deal that’s scary. The kids meal also had factory made chips. Y’know if the owners focussed on the quality of the food a bit more and if they could persuade the chef/​cook to be less lazy and have love for food this place could be a very good eatery indeed. It’s a real shame that so much of the on — the — plate unseasoned meal is bought — in factory made produce and any argument that it’s only £16 just isn’t persuasive. I found the staff friendly and efficient but I’m not really a fan of having to pay for my meal up front; this is just another bit of reversible laziness for the owners to work on if they could be bothered. We’ll see.

First time at the Little B but was really pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. Though the menu wasn’t the most extensive I’d seen, it was honest British classics which would satisfy the masses.
I’d heard it used to be the haunt for footie mad punters, since it’s renovation it’s done well to shift this towards a modern family-​friendly restaurant.
The roast dinner was excellent, tender beef and decent veg. Everyone cleared their plates and the kids enjoyed it too. Can’t get better than that.

The Little B is another of Sale’s well known pubs that has gone through a number of different styles of décor, breweries and presumably managers over the years. In years gone by when Sale Sharks Rugby Union were based next door to the B (as it’s known by locals), it was perfectly located for the pre– and post– match fans who didn’t want to drink in the rugby club. But since the Sharks moved to Stockport, I can now see little that would draw customers to drink here, being as it is at least 25 minutes walk from Sale town centre and the rest of its ‘nightspots’ (and I use the term loosely!). This would perhaps explain the ever changing décor, range of beers, variety of food on offer and the multiple different themed nights that are hosted here.
The B has it all, from quiz nights, a pool table, lots of screens for watching sporting events and the occasional live music act (the last one I saw there was a Billy Idol impersonator… unique!). There is a lot of seating, food priced from very cheap (less than a fiver) to more comprehensive meals (steaks etc) for around a tenner. A large terrace out the front of the pub with heaters under the umbrellas for smokers is a welcome facility on both warm and cold nights. There is also a large car park behind the pub.
And yet, for all the features above, I have grown to dislike the B for some reason. It lacks any real atmosphere, and beyond a rather cliquey set of locals, it can feel quite unwelcoming to the occasional visitor. I’ve also suffered ill-​effects from drinking draught beer there before, on more than one occasion which leads me to question their cleanliness (or at the very least, the quality of their beer). There is plenty to recommend the B, but also plenty to put me off it which is why for me it warrants only 2 stars.

I spent one of the most memorable days of my life in the Little B in Sale. My friend lived round the corner off Brooklands and it was in walking distance.
Anyway, I had arrived the day before to stay the summer kickin it around Manchester with some awesome peeps, but I was denied entry into the country and was only allowed to stay for about 36 hours. So I had one full day and what would I do with it? I’d spend it in a PUB! How proper?
My friend, Claire and I were lining up outside before it even opened around 11 am while my other friend went to fetch her boyfriend somewhere closer to Manchester! The double vodka-​lime and lemonades began flowing and about 60 pound was spent on the Pub Quiz… it wasn’t like I needed the $ 2000 in my pocket for anyting else that day! Was in the pub well into the afternoon and had a great day playing pool and hanging out!
Thank you, Little B for showing me how fantastic the pub life of England could be!
See you soon!

The Little B is a nice enough pub on Marsland Road in Sale. It’s a decent size and has quite a traditional pub interior. The service is adequate and the range of drinks on offer and prices make it an altogether rather average pub. It’s located outside of the town centre of Sale and is the sort of place you’d probably only visit if you either lived nearby or were planning to stop there for the full evening as it’s either a long walk or a quick taxi ride into the centre of town where the more upbeat pubs and bars are to be found. In the summer, there is usually a fair set up at the back of the Little B which makes for a fun day out there so if you pop by that weekend you may find it a far more fun and upbeat place altogether.