Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: West Yorkshire

  • Leeds – Whitelock’s Ale House

    Leeds – Whitelock’s Ale House

    And the third in my little pub crawl of Good Beer Guide pubs in Leeds….

    As the sign notes, this is the oldest pub in the city, originally known at the Turk’s Head. I like that they note the number of real ales available and also mention that craft beer is sold. I visited here because the pub was listed in the Good Beer Guide, but if I had seen this sign then I would have popped in anyway.

    It’s located down an alley, but the signage is clear so it’s not difficult to find. I was welcomed at the entrance by a friendly staff member and was told it was quite busy inside and was asked if I would be OK outside. I decided that this was fine, although decided I’d pop inside to have a look at the historic interior. I’m not a fan of outside (insects, rain, too much sun, etc), but the beer barrel that I was seated at was perfectly fine and the weather allowed such outside dining.

    And there it is, an interior not really much changed from the early twentieth century. I was going to take another photo but a staff member looked at me as if I was an idiot, so I thought that this one would suffice. I liked the atmosphere in the pub through, very traditional and the staff all seemed friendly and engaging.

    I’m a fan of John Betjeman, so I consider this great praise.

    Initially, I thought that this beer menu was just a little generic, but then I saw the Mile Zero from Turning Point, who are one of my favourite breweries (I haven’t forgotten their Yellow Matter custard beer which was pure gold, or pure yellow really). Given the quality of this beer, I thought that £2.35 for a third was a bit of a bargain.

    I accidentally ordered a packet of crisps with the beer as food pairing is absolutely important. And, as for the beer, it was beautiful. There was a richness of toffee and it was packed with liquorice flavour as well, with an aftertaste of Werther’s Originals. This was a decadent treat and I was delighted to be able to try it. Really nice.

    The reviews of this pub are very high and even the negative ones are a bit ridiculous, like the person a few weeks ago who was furious that “I waited ten minutes to be served at my table”. It’s not ideal, but perhaps not the end of the world, nor justification for a 1/5 review given the current situation (or indeed perhaps at any time). Another customer gave it 1/5 although he had been going since 1969. Yeah, great, have a bad experience after 50 years of going for a pub and rush to rate them 1/5. Nice.

    So, this is another pub from the Good Beer Guide that I really like. Friendly service, clearly popular with customers and some interesting beers. The prices were lower than I would expect and I felt comfortable throughout, so absolutely recommended.

  • Leeds – North Bar

    Leeds – North Bar

    I started my little tour of Good Beer Guide pubs in Leeds at the Templar Hotel and that was fine, but not quite to my tastes. My next choice was the North Bar and this is much more my sort of thing, one of the earliest craft beer bars (I think that this one opened in 1997) and part of a small local chain. For those people who don’t drink beer, there are also lots of whiskies and rums to choose from, which all adds to the excitement (although not to me, I’m not a whisky or rum drinker).

    The bar wasn’t very busy, but there were plenty of staff and they were helpful in showing me what dark beers they had available. They mentioned that they had Northern Bones from Bone Machine, a brewery from one of my favourite cities which is Hull. There was though plenty of other choice of beers and I liked the engagement from the staff members. I’m quite amused by the Tequila Tuesdays, but I wasn’t tempted to get three of them for £6…..

    The interior is quite long, with the bar itself to one side. I’m not sure why somewhere this exciting isn’t busier, but there we go…. Actually, one thing I’m missing already from some bars is the beer list that was put on tables during the time that Covid required table service. However, all credit to this bar as they’ve put their list of beers on Untappd, although I didn’t notice that until I had already ordered.

    My beer choice of half a pint of the Northern Bones, which I liked, but it didn’t quite have the rich flavours that I hoped for. A perfectly good beer though and I was pleased to have the chance to try it.

    I really liked this bar as it was laid-back and comfortable, being on-trend but without trying to be so. The reviews of the bar are positive and they apparently serve Bao Buns from a nearby takeaway as their food option, although there was no internal signage about this. The staff were friendly, I liked the high tables and decor, with this being a very well deserved entry into the Good Beer Guide as far as I’m concerned.

  • Leeds – Templar Hotel

    Leeds – Templar Hotel

    After a busy day of visiting museums and the like, I thought that I’d work through a few Good Beer Guide pubs in Leeds tonight. I can’t say that I was thrilled to see that my first choice was owned by Greene King, but I thought that I’d still give it a try. It’s a traditional pub and it’s well looked after, so it felt a clean and comfortable place to be. It was also full, so the first time in quite a while I had to prop myself up at the end of the bar (that’s quite easy to do in the first pub of the evening).

    There were six beers to choose from (although there might be eight judging by that back board, but I could only see six), which is usually an exciting number to see at any pub. None of them really excited me though, and I’m disappointed to see such a load of generic beers on there with a limited range of beer styles. However, I have to accept that the pub was full and so they clearly know what they’re doing, it’s just I’m hopeful of something a little more decadent. Whilst I was at the bar though, every single order was for lager, so perhaps I should be grateful that there were so many real ales to choose from.

    The Tetleys beer was well kept and tasted as it should, which isn’t really overly exciting. I rated it as 3.25 on Untappd, which was perhaps generous, especially given its average rating is 2.96 (from 15,000 reviews) which is a very low score. The price was though low for my half pint, so no complaints about the cost of the beer.

    I can’t say that there was anything wrong with the pub, but nearly everyone seemed to be watching the televisions and the beer selection wasn’t for me. I prefer pubs that are powered by conversation and atmosphere and this one didn’t do it for me with that reliance on the televisions. However, the staff were welcoming and I’m sure it’s a safe environment which serves its customers very well. I can see why this has gone into the Good Beer Guide, as the welcome is genuine, the interior is traditional and there’s a choice of reasonably priced real ales.

  • Leeds – Kirkgate Market (The Fisherman’s Wife)

    Leeds – Kirkgate Market (The Fisherman’s Wife)

    Meandering around Kirkgate Market in Leeds, I accidentally stopped at this fish and chip shop. It seems that it’s now positioned within the market buildings due to a modernisation by the nearby John Lewis requiring them to move location, something which seems to have annoyed at least a few locals. Such is the power of these corporate giants…..

    That font on the menu isn’t the easiest to read, but there’s a meal deal of two sausages, chips, gravy and a Dr. Pepper for £4.99 (there were other options) which seemed entirely reasonable. The staff were friendly and helpful, with the ordering process being efficient and they not only accept cards but they actually promote them.

    The food, which is a larger portion than my photo suggests. Always a delight to see Dr. Pepper and the sausages were of a decent quality (not world class at they didn’t have quite as much richness as I’d have liked), the chips were suitably fluffy in the interior and the gravy added some decadence to the arrangement.

    There’s a small seating area inside, but there are also a fair few seats outside as well, with everything being clean and organised. It was quite busy at just after 11am (I had an early lunch….) so I suspect that this is a popular place to go for a quick lunch. The meal deals seemed good value for money and there was a fair selection of them, with the reviews for the chip shop generally being mostly positive. All rather lovely.

  • Leeds – Head of Steam (Park Row)

    Leeds – Head of Steam (Park Row)

    I’m slowly (but very surely) working around all of the bars in the Head of Steam chain, a process taking me a while as they’re mostly up north and I’m mostly down south. This is their outlet in the centre of Leeds on Park Row, opened in 2019, and they have another one in the city.

    The bar has plenty of seating as there’s external seating, a large room near to the entrance and seating all around the bar area itself.

    The gaming area of the bar and there are screens at the rear which rotate through the beer selection that’s available. I looked at the beer list before I went in and then ordered accordingly. The member of bar staff was friendly and knowledgeable, so it felt an inviting place to be. My first impressions were very positive and, as it transpired, all my impressions were very positive of this Head of Steam. I also liked that there power points generously located around the bar so that customers could charge their devices up.

    I wasn’t sure what I’d think of this fruited Gose from Tooth & Claw Brewing, called Squeeze Please. I thought that it was delightful as it’s hard to imagine a beer that was much more lemony than this one and I’m very much a fan of that flavour in nearly any drink, from tea to coke and from beer to cake. A very drinkable beer with a lot of lemon zest to it, all really quite decent.

    I thought that I’d order two half pints, so this is the other choice, the Black Coral from Camerons Brewery. It was OK, not as much body as I had anticipated, but the flavours were there. Another very drinkable beer, although I’m not sure that I really felt it was 4.1%. Camerons have owned the Head of Steam chain since 2013, hence their beers appear regularly, but I hadn’t tried this one before and it was the only stout that they had on draught.

    Clicking on the image above of the bar’s screen shows my Untappd ratings at the bottom of the screen….. I’m easily pleased if I’m being honest.

    The reviews of the bar are generally positive, just a few negatives about the food and some ridiculous comments because customers didn’t agree that Head of Steam were enforcing Covid-19 rules at the time. And a few people complaining that the beer was expensive, but my two half pints came to £5.10 which I thought was reasonable given the quality of them.

    Inevitably quiet on a Monday afternoon, I was pleased that the bar was open. Beautifully run, spotlessly clean and a really nice venue, one of my favourites in the chain. I can imagine that this location gets busy on weekend evenings and I also suspect that the noise might all get a bit much. However, during quieter times at least, definitely recommended.

  • Leeds – Beckett’s Bank

    Leeds – Beckett’s Bank

    I’ve arrived into Leeds and will be having a little tour of Good Beer Guide pubs over the next couple of days. This is Beckett’s Bank, operated by JD Wetherspoons and it’s not in the Good Beer Guide, but I just liked the look of the building. This is a former banking hall, but it was owned by Martins Bank until they were taken over by Barclays in 1969 who then took over the building. Interestingly, Wikipedia notes (and I have no reason to disbelieve it) about Martins:

    “Women were contractually obliged to leave the bank upon marriage, and as late as 1965, men were not allowed to get married until their salary reached a prescribed level.”

    However, to add confusion to the mix, this building was never run by Beckett’s Bank, they had a location down the road which was later demolished. However, I assume that Wetherspoons didn’t really want to call their pub Barclays, so they had to use their initiative here.

    It’s a grand banking hall which I really quite liked, hence why it’s making an appearance on this blog. When I went in there was a sign saying that there were no draught products available, although that matter was fixed during my relatively short visit. It was busy and there weren’t many seats about, but there were plenty of staff available to ensure that everything felt well-run.

    I went for half a pint of the Malty Python from Little Critters Brewery of Sheffield. Not a bad beer at all with something of a caramel flavour, especially for £1.25 for half a pint, with it tasting well-kept. There were four options of real ales, two of which were Ruddles and Abbot from Greene King, so they don’t really count in my mind. Along with the Malty Python, the other option was the Blonde from Bridgehouse Brewery.

    I didn’t visit the pub for long, but I liked the atmosphere and environment. There’s the usual mixed reviews on-line, although they’ve not too bad overall. They managed to get:

    “My little boy smashed his head on the marble tables and is now missing a tooth” which doesn’t sound ideal, although tables will cause damage if children hit their head on them. And the dangers of ordering alone, “I ordered a pizza. Got it. Wanted a beer. Had to go down to order and when I got back, the pizza was gone”. I’m not sure that I’d leave my food alone in a Wetherspoons….

    And the quality of reviews sites is questionable given reviews like this:

    “All though Becketts Bank is a lovely pub who serves very nice food, i wish i could say the same about its Sister pub “The Picture House” in Morley.”

    So, they rated Becketts Bank (which they liked) with 1/5 as another pub wasn’t very good…..

    Or this helpful contribution:

    “My friend ordered a pint for me I already [h]ad one they wouldn’t swoop [sic] it it for anything else or a refund. Shocking”

    Hmmmm. Anyway, for a quick visit, I thought that this was all rather lovely. The pub was serving a lot of food and was busy, with everything looking to be well managed.