Before anyone thinks that this Featured Pub article is about the classic 1972 US version of Bruce Lee’s “Way of the Dragon”, it’s not! (However, if you’ve not seen the film, we’d definitely recommended it.) And whilst on the subject of recommendations, this is a more important one to communicate and the actual subject of the article.
The Dragon, on Long Row in the City Centre, has finally returned to the hallowed pages of the Good Beer Guide, as a new entry in the 2025 edition. It has been over 10 years since this pub was included, the 2014 edition, and during that time the well-known landlady, Aunit Sandhu, has worked tirelessly to ensure its return. Aunit’s vision and personality has helped turn this pub into a “must visit” city centre attraction, which given the transient nature of city centre drinking is testament to her hard work, as she stated “I’ve been at the Dragon for over 20 years, so have seen a lot of changes and faced a lot of challenges, including the awful “Covid” times, but I’ve loved every minute and am looking forward to the next 20 years!”
If it’s your first visit, what you will be immediately struck with is its size, as from the small front entrance it’s a venue that you could easily walk past without noticing. However, on walking in you’ll see that it spreads out over three separate floors, comprising a comfy front room seating area, a well-appointed bar area with 4 hand pulls and a separate dedicated DJ station, and then a well laid out backyard area.
One of the other noticeable things about The Dragon, is the eclectic mix of people that frequent it. As a pub that holds fond memories of the 70s & 80s for the old punks, skins and mods that are still around, you’ll always see a fine mix of these now mature-ish folks there, particularly when the legendary “Mole” is on the decks. A man well known for his ghost walks, Mole’s vinyl collection is always worth a listen, attracting both old and new to the varied selection of tunes, spanning the 1930’s to the 2000s. The venue also has a lively young vibe to it, with the ever-youthful Aunit and her well-disciplined staff making sure there is always a friendly welcome. This was well publicised when one of cricket’s legends, David “Bumble” Lloyd, famously said after a visit in 2015, “The secret gem pub in Nottingham, The Dragon, excellent staff, ale and DJ. Music and DJ different class, just right”.
Aunit is equally as passionate about her plants as she is about hospitality and the backyard area is a fusion of colour, as are the decorative walls that surround the outdoor seating. Given the inclement nature of our weather, the pub invested in an electronic roof covering, that can quickly be activated at the first sign of rain. However, behind that friendly landlady smile there is a no-nonsense approach to behaviour in making sure that everyone can enjoy themselves in a safe and inclusive space. As you can imagine in any city centre pub, the occasional visitor may need to be reminded of that, and Aunit will not ask them twice!
It would be amiss if the cask ales were not mentioned and the four hand pulls that are available, feature a changing selection of local and national beers, with Castle Rock, Dancing Duck and Lenton Lane regularly on. In addition to her customer service skills, Aunit keeps a well-run cellar and the consistent quality, and therefore scoring of her beers by CAMRA members, has finally been recognised. One other attraction to all beer drinkers is the excellent Hambleton Bakery cobs that are available, the perfect accompaniment to a fine pint! So apart from a friendly venue, good beers, great cobs and some interesting music nights, what has the Dragon done for its drinkers…?
Well, if it’s a trip down memory lane you’re interested in, look no further than the Racing Room, located discreetly in the backyard area. The Racing Room, has a fully equipped Scalextric track and is open for regular racing nights. Aunit commented on a typical race evening stating “it’s a unique atmosphere, everyone’s having fun and I’m sure it brings back a lot of childhood memories for a lot of people there”.
