The Dark Horse is owned and managed by Pub Paradox Ltd. We’re a small, family-run business with almost twenty years’ experience of running great pubs, and winners of the British Institute of Innkeeping’s prestigious Licensee of the Year in 2015. Established in 2007 by Diane Marsden, we currently manage not only The Dark Horse but also The British Oak in Stirchley. While Diane manages the day-to-day business of managing two bustling venues, her daughter Maria holds the reins at the British Oak, and Maria’s partner Mathew is at the wheel in Moseley. We’re passionate about great drinks, great food, and great vibes. And did we mention we love pubs? 

Here at The Dark Horse, we are committed to sustainability and have implemented several measures to offset our emissions. By installing bi-fold windows, which besides looking pretty stylish have almost completely eliminated heat loss in the colder months but allow us to naturally cool the venue in the warmer ones. Alongside this, we’ve swapped to motion sensor lights in our toilets and storage areas, eliminating the unnecessary wastage of electricity. 

It’s no secret that brewing is an incredibly resource-heavy industry with multiple emission sources, so we’re also proud of our relationships with a range of absolutely brilliant local breweries and suppliers. We love supporting local institutions like Glasshouse and Nothing Bound, and our gluten-free lager and ale offering comes courtesy of Purity Brewing Co., named Sustainable Manufacturer of the Year by SIBA in 2023. In June 2024 we visited Purity’s brewery in Warwickshire: the team learnt all about Purity’s wetlands system for naturally cleaning water before it re-enters the ecosystem and, because Purity is based on a farm, just how much of their spent yeast and grain goes back into farming. We also have a line of beer dedicated to the produce of Missing Link. Based in Chiddinglye on 360 acres of farmland, the brewery is almost entirely solar powered and supports rewilding projects and sustainable farming. 

In 2025 we fired up the grills and started running our own in-house kitchen, which gave us a fantastic change to reevaluate our approach to sustainability. We’ve made a commitment to using only the best, ethically sourced ingredients. All of the meat we use is prepared by Rossiter’s, Birmingham’s oldest organic butchers, and the bread we use is baked by a variety of local bakeries. All of the sauces we use are homemade, in-house, by the team – apart from our ketchup, which is Heinz, on the understanding that all of their tomatoes will be sustainably sourced by 2025. 

And when they aren’t pulling pints and shaking cocktails, our team are always looking for opportunities to fundraise for charitable causes. Over the years we’ve taken part in our fair share of charity mud runs, teaming up with our colleagues over at The British Oak to add some 

friendly competition to a great cause. Every December, both pubs team up and compete in Birmingham Mind’s Mental ‘Elf fun run, utilising social media to fundraise.