WHILE this mesmerising pub is by no means a madhouse, it certainly has a touch of eccentric genius - beautiful, brilliant and unrepentantly bizarre like a zany uncle run amok.
Where else but at The Chestnut Tree Inn in Lansdowne Road in Worcester can you encounter a loveable wildman dressed like a Morris dancing medieval harlequin, playing a trombone? I'll wait.
This is a place known as the premier music pub in Worcester and now Mantra Street Kitchen has moved into the Chestnut it is appealing to other senses too, forging a reputation as the go-to pub for food, blending culinary traditions from across the globe.
This pub, it is safe to say, is not like any other pub in Worcester. In truth, it is probably not like any other pub in the world. This is in no small part down to the landlord, Colin Robinson, who is known to most as 'Mad Pierre' (more on this later).
Here the self-confessed 'hoarder' has created an exuberant cabinet of curiosities which resembles a brilliant museum or private collection as much as it does a cracking pub (which it is).
But now another creative soul, James Williams, owner of Mantra Street Kitchen, an experienced chef, has joined the crew and, together, they are already making waves and sailing into uncharted waters.
Anyone who knows the Nut will be aware of its colourful paintings, many by Will Killeen, and featuring legends of the world of music (John Lennon, Little Richard, Elvis, Keith Richards and many more ) and comedy greats including Laurel and Hardy and Steptoe and Son, The Two Ronnies.
He opened his kitchen in the Chestnut eight weeks ago and it is already going from strength to strength.
The former pupil at The Chase in Malvern has been a chef at several award-winning pubs and restaurants including the King's Arms in Ombersley, the Venture In, also in Ombersley, the former Marwood in Worcester and at a restaurant in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham.
He takes his inspiration not only from his experience in the kitchen but his travels abroad, bringing Indian, Thai, American and South American influences together in his cuisine.
The father-of-one said the kitchen offered a range of 'street food' including loaded chips and flatbreads (with a choice of jerk chicken, ratatouille masala, pork chicharrones, barbecue beef brisket and lamb birria) and chicken wings (Thai honey, hot sauce, masala and barbecue sauce) and a variety of sides.
Born in Worcester and brought up in Malvern, he said: "I've not heard any bad feedback so far. I have a background as a chef and the aim was to bring restaurant-quality food to the street food world. The food is a mix of what I've learned - where I have travelled to and what I'm passionate about and interested in."
Because the pub is known primarily as a music venue, the food is served in disposable foil trays. Deliveroo now delivers the food to doorsteps across Worcester.
Food is served from a hatch in the kitchen on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (and often late when music is on).
All the food is 'made from scratch' with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The arrangement came about when Mr Robinson 'put out feelers' for a chef and Mr Williams seized the opportunity as a full-time venture.
Mr Williams also wants to create 'unique' burger menu 'coming soon', offering burgers different to others in the city.
Landlord Mr Robinson, better known as Mad Pierre, is a former accountant and musician described variously as a 'Morris dancer, brass band maniac and crazy hat wearer' who has run 26 pubs over 30 years. He was even born in one - the New Inn in Pershore.
He describes the pub as 'the premier music pub in Worcester' with a stage which plays host to a wide variety of bands playing everything from jazz and blues to Americana.
The lineup is a busy one: Jake Legg Jug Band plays on Sunday, November 17; Groovy Head on Saturday, November 23; Ralph Allin Gypsy Jazz on Sunday, November 23; Jake Marsh Collective on Saturday, November 30; Vo Fletcher on Sunday, December 1; Peter Hyde on Saturday, December 7; Ray Mytton Band on Sunday, December 8; Woodstock Social Club on Saturday, December 14; Journeyman on Sunday, December 15; Percy Vere Band on Saturday, December 21; Woo Town on Sunday, December 22; Bourbon Alley Blues Band on Christmas Eve and Derek and The Checkmates on Saturday, December 28.
When asked what people love about the pub, Mr Robinson answered 'the quirkiness of it'.
It is also listed as a community asset which means it is protected and also reflects its friendly ethos and place in the heart of the city. Customers also the love the beer garden which Mr Robinson says is the best in Worcester.
"If you come in on your own somebody will talk to you," said Mr Robinson.
"Yes, whether you like it or not," chips in bar manager Rob with perfect deadpan delivery.
"I'm a pheasant plucker aren't I?" says Mr Robinson, 68, shaking his hat with its splendid plumage, a relic of his days in Border Morris.
The pub had been a sports bar before Mr Robinson took it over 13 years and turned it into a music venue.
So, the elephant in the room. I'll grab the proverbial bull by the horns. How did he earn the name Mad Pierre?
It is an honour to be able to unravel at last one of Worcester's strangest and most enduring mysteries.
It started, I'm told, as a joke from a friend and business partner of Mr Robinson in 1994.
He joked that Mr Robinson resembled one of the characters in Beau Peep, a popular British comic strip written by Roger Kettle and illustrated by Andrew Christine.
The story centres on Beau Peep, an inept and cowardly British man who joins the tough French Foreign Legion only to meet an assortment of outlandish characters.
Mr Robinson's former business partner thought the landlord looked like 'Mad Pierre'. But the plot thickens. He had actually mixed up Mad Pierre and another character, Egon the chef. So really, Mr Robinson should be nicknamed Egon but Mad Pierre has stuck.
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Remember, you heard it here first.
"So (I hesitate slightly), are you mad?" I ask Mad Pierre, my knees trembling slightly at my own impertinence.
Pierre laughs. "Oh yes, I'm totally mad. Ask anyone. They will confirm it for you," he said.
The pub, managed by Stonegate, serves a number of ales - Timothy Taylor's Knowle Spring, Butty Bach (Wye Valley Brewery) and HPA (Wye Valley Brewery).
Customers can also enjoy Guinness, Birra Moretti, Pravha, Madri, Cruzcampo, Stowford Press, Inch's Medium Apple Cider and Brixton Reliance Pale Ale.
Anyone who ventures inside must also brave the pub's own savage beast, Archibald, a demonic familiar that has assumed the shape of a ginger cat. Be warned. He bites.
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