Hem Heath

You're walking into the kind of pub that doesn't need to try too hard. Hem Heath sits comfortably on Stanley Matthews Way, doing exactly what a neighbourhood local should do—serving decent food, pouring a decent pint, and not making a song and dance about it. It's the sort of place where you'll see the same faces propping up the bar on a Friday night, where the quiz machine still gets a hammering, and where a pint tastes exactly how you want it to taste. The Greene King chain means you know what you're getting: consistent, unpretentious, and frankly, exactly what Stoke needs more of.