The Mean-Eyed Cat, Newcastle upon Tyne

Johnny Cash is following me around the room. Not in the flesh, obviously; but his gimlet eye oversees every move at the Mean-Eyed Cat in Newcastle.

The pub is located at one end of a striking Georgian terrace. The tag-line, “A very small independent bar, just left of centre” pins it accurately. It’s named after a song the Man in Black recorded for Sun Records back in 1955 (it wasn’t released until 1960, by which time Cash had left the label). A copy of the disc hangs on the wall.

Unlike the funereal Mr Cash, The Mean-Eyed Cat is colourful in every sense. Yellow, deep blue and terracotta lend the interior a Tex-Mex feel. Owners Dave and Julie Campbell have let their creative urges loose, covering the walls and soft furnishings with all manner of musicthemed paraphernalia. One social media post described it as: “What my dad did with the house after Mam left”.

Whimsy might put a smile on your face, but there’s a real seriousness to this pub’s beer choice; professionalism and customer care. Seven keg taps satisfy the adventurous soul, while six cask beers cater for the traditionalists. Front and centre just now are Cramped from Newcastle-based Almasty and White Rat from Rat Brewery in Huddersfield.

In between, sits a rotation of pale ales, IPAs and full-bodied stouts or porters – overwhelmingly local, from, for example, Errant and Out There breweries.

A spirits shelf is ripe with promise for cocktail aficionados; wine leans towards Spain, Argentina and New Zealand; and a “sour fridge” is an inspired addition, with the likes of Das Ist Techno Sex passion fruit gose (an unfiltered wheat beer) hardly touching the sides. Capacity has been halved, track-and-trace is in place, some furniture removed. It’s table service from masked staff. But a Cat’s a cat for a’that – its spirit and sense of style endure.

Two White Rats and a Wylam Macchiato porter later, I spot a Cash album in the charity shop next door. I buy it, even though it doesn’t include

It’s 1 St Thomas’ Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LE: 0191 222 0952; meaneyedcat.co.uk