BITE user comments - foffo_spearjig
Comments by foffo_spearjig
One of the best pubs I've ever been to. Low key, good music, a fine selection of beers on tap, both of the real and lagered kind, and with a selection of lagers well beyond Stella and Heineken and not in anyone's face. A little gem surrounded by another nightclub mile. My only complaint is that the trams are that reliable!
11 Jul 2007 19:58
Now called The Exchange Bar and Grill. It's definitely a lunchtime and post-work bar as there's little sign of life after about 8pm. Minimal choice of beer on tap - Boddingtons, Stella, Heineken, Carling, Guinness, all at city centre prices. Closes early if the staff get bored. Not bad for a post-work drink though and handy for the tram.
11 Jul 2007 19:49
The Cask and Barrel, Edinburgh
I've been in this pub tonight and while it was empty (when the Barony and Phoenix were bustling) it was a pleasant experience, the bar staff (Northern Irish and Canadian) were helpful, the range of ales was good, if not always familar to the staff, and while it's a bit more corporate than the other good bars on Broughton Street, it did it for me.
26 Nov 2006 23:53
Went in at about seven o'clock last Thursday evening. The Caledonian 80 was cheap (I think �2.20 or thereabouts) and well kept, but the lovely Victorian decor was all but obliterated by big screen TVs on every wall showing Celtic's Champions League game at considerable volume. The weather also meant that the digital signal was choppy, so it was definitely no place for a quiet pint and the paper. Maybe it was the time, and I will try it again, but the TVs seem to be a permanent fixture.
26 Nov 2006 20:45
Lovingly restored Victorian hotel that has recently found itself on a new drinking circuit and hopefully gained a few new fans. The back rooms are better than the main bar, which is just slightly over the cosiness event horizon, but the beer is varied and good, with three or four regular guests, mostly from Yorkshire. As has been mentioned, acts as the musicians' bar for the Town Hall, so can be a struggle to get served before and after show, in the intermission and occasionally between acts and solos. Can be understaffed at times.
27 Oct 2006 22:09
A bit out on a limb for any pub circuit but has a good lunchtime and early evening crowd and should benefit from the new housing developments opening across the road. Not memorable for ales but has Hoegaaden and Fruli Belgian beers on tap for an eye-watering price. Got rather moribund for a while recently but a change of management seems to have put it back on track.
27 Oct 2006 21:56
Beautiful example of pubs that have otherwise long gone elsewhere. Hidden in an alley off Briggate and long and thin in shape and faded copper brown in colour, it's an excellent location for a traditional lunch or for a couple of pints in the evening. The real ales are usually John Smiths, Theakstons bitter and OP and Deuchars IPA plus four guests, although on at least two occasions I've been and there has been no ale or even draught beer! May it survive for many more years though.
27 Oct 2006 21:45
A well attended pub with a wide choice of ales but strangely lacking in atmosphere even when busy on a Saturday night. Also closes at 11 on the dot even at the weekend. Probably best treated as a starting point for a crawl.
27 Oct 2006 21:35
Charmingly old fashioned pub now out of place amidst the new developments on the canalside but hopefully staying put. The multiple rooms inside vary from cavelike to concert sized but the building work around has made sitting outside less pleasurable this summer. A wide selection of ales most of the time, with some less well known regulars and surprising visitors. Regular music and singers nights. The Grove is a hidden gem.
27 Oct 2006 21:30
A Smith & Jones chain pub, formerly a bingo hall and predictably a cinema before that, now a spacious pub with a standard corporate pine and leather chairs decor. A reasonable selection of ales in rotation at competitive prices, and a bit of variety for the Stella crowd. Quiet but reasonably patronised during the week, presumably part of the Yeadon circuit on Friday and Saturday nights. Big on sport, which alternates with constant dance music on big screens. Not a bad place for a pint and a read during the week although almost certainly not at the weekend.
27 Oct 2006 20:47
Formerly the Robin Hood, now Yeadon's premier rock pub. Live bands Friday and Saturday night, Old Bear on handpull, usual taps. Well recommended Sunday lunch.
28 Dec 2005 23:54
Friendly local (well, it's right across the road). Unpretentious, decent choice of mostly John Smith beers, including the only handpull Magnet I've seen in the last twenty years. Has a good reputation as a family pub.
28 Dec 2005 23:45
Amiable local, strong sporting theme, busy at weekends. Cask Tetley, usual suspects on tap with additional Red Stripe.
28 Dec 2005 23:36
Very average choice of beers - Tennants, Budweiser, Stella lagers plus Belhaven (I think) and maybe Guinness. Ground floor is a sports bar. Basement is a venue and is dressed for it. Maybe I should go and check a gig there sometime.
17 Dec 2004 00:29
I'm getting the hang of this place as it's across the road from my apartment. Belhaven bitters plus a slowly rotating selection on handpull plus Guinnesses, Tennants and Stella. It seems to have a late license so it's quite reliable for a late beer if the Haymarket bars or Thompson's close early. Aimiable mixed crowd, good reading pub.
17 Dec 2004 00:25
Modern brewpub with All Bar One decor in leisure complex. Emphasis is on food rather than beer (it's a pre or post cinema destination really) but a good selection of site ales (four) plus guests and Cally 80-/-. Miller, 1664, Guinness and Strongbow on risers. Usual suspects in the bottle fridges and the usual spirits on optics, but, as would be hoped from any bar in its location, an interesting selection of whiskies. The house heavy Domnhul (4.6%) resembles Youngers No 3 as a dark, fruity ale. Boo Beer is a 6.5% winter ale with vanilla and malt but hard to finish a pint. The 80-/- is reasonably drinkable. In all a friendly. modern bar with the added value of microbrewery but I would suspect it does more business on the risers and the 80-/- than its own beers and guests.
17 Dec 2004 00:18
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Atlas Bar, Deansgate
Just had an appalling half hour in the Atlas. The Knott seems to have had a plumbing disaster so after checking Liverpool Road, I ended up back at Atlas and had a pint of Hoegaaden and read of the paper, which was totally spoiled by a bunch of pissed up ManU fans who had gone into full 'leave 'i'm it in't worf it' mode over some imagined slight. Worse still, the barstaff did little to get rid of them and there were no security staff to be seen. They should have been thrown out but they were left to grapple with each other. On top of that the music is pointlessly loud and the beer is expensive. I won't be going in again.
19 Aug 2007 23:37