Trials Pub

In my book, a "proper" British/Irish pub has to have the following:- be primarily about serving beer- not have tv screens with sports on them- have pub food, not gastropub food- not be a pickup spot, but a conversation and joviality spot- assorted knickknacks and a lot of wood on the inside- a somewhat dim lighting scheme, not bright...and finally, with all of those, the pub also has to be at least a bit shabby -- not too polished. It should look lived in, and you should be able to imagine it being plunked into the British or Irish countryside.To my knowledge Trials is the only pub south of Palo Alto to nail every single point. O'Flaherty's has session music, which is a BIG advantage, but it and the other close facsimiles are missing one or to of the "must haves".If you want that "lived in" pub, Trials is your spot.

This place is intimate and friendly. The service is always great. I continue to return for their shepherds pie which is great comfort food to accompany your favorite beer on tap.

One of the best bars in San Jose, this place actually feels like a neighborhood British pub, unlike other WE ARE BRITISH bars in the Bay Area. They've got a couple ales on cask, they've got bitters, they've got basic lagers and ciders. They've got a fireplace in the back if you want to warm up in the winter. They play punk music and some reggae. They have a quiz night if you're one of the folks who's into that. Bartenders are great, chill to talk to but ignore you if you want to be ignored. The food is good, if it was a restaurant I'd probably be giving four stars. English breakfast is nice, bangers are solid, fish and chips are pretty good for the Bay Area though if you're from Manchester they'll probably be just enough to make you miss home and be mad about it. Drag a friend out on light rail, have a cask ale, have some dinner. Listen to the Pogues. Have another ale. Listen to the neighborhood folks laugh and chat. It's amazing this place is so close to downtown.

Laid back bar with good vibes!My partner's grandpa frequented this pub before covid and was bummed they stayed close through 2020. When they finally reopened recently, I had a chance to visit to beloved trials pub. The place had great decors, bar seats as well as tables. You order at the bar and seat yourself.So far I've tried the chicken mushroom pot pie and the fish n chips. Chicken mushroom pot pie was delish. It was seasoned well and the pastry was not raw. I was really excited to try the fish n chips as recommended but found it to lack seasoning. Perhaps they forgot to put salt on after it was done frying :s I also got the mashed peas. That was also okay, lacking salt. They have great drinks tho! Beers on tap are good as well as mixed drinks.Food 3.5/5Drinks 5/5Experience 4/5

I love this cute little pub! The food was delicious, the drinks nice and strong, plus the service was friendly. This is definitely a low key spot but great for a more intimate meet up with friends or date night!

Bartenders are really good and attentive. The food was really good. I had the Cajun chicken sandwich with fries. Awesome. Will come back again.

Nice pub as pubs go! Been coming here for years but lately it's changed, the food for starters: the fish and chips was the thing to order the fish pieces were huge not 1 piece really? Bangers and mash... something changed, the sauce? Also some of the favs on tap are on the menu but not available, the service is still awesome glad to see the same gentleman tending the bar, he knows his stuff and good thing too cuz as I said someBeers no longer available so he recommended a good second choice.

Love this place for an evening beer downtown. I like the Guinness split with another beer. It's tasty and eases the taste of the Guinness. Good vibes inside. I can't speak on the food since I haven't tried it. Solid SJ pub!!

We had a very pleasant evening there playing darts and trivia, drinking and eating the shepherds pie, which was very good. It's a cozy place so don't go when it's crowded. It was a Thursday night so I recommend trying it on Thursdays. The bartender was very friendly.

I live above this pos and EVERY TIME I try to give it a chance its th bartenders pushing me and everyone else in the bar out as soon as possible. Its 15-20 min before closing and theyre PUSHING you to finish up "hey, im doing the kitchen cleanup, finish up man" youre SO disrespectful as you sit there watching videos on your phone and i have 1-2 sips im trying to enjoy while youre open for 20 more mins. Way to keep regulars away and I see why others in local buildining communities say stay away. Pandemic must have hit themHard now that basic nobodies are not walking around looking for a cheaper buzz