please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Grove has a snazzy new sign. But little has changed inside. We sat in a different bar to my last visit. If you turn left as you enter, you will find a full list of the pub's beer selection. Yesterday, it was Oakham Citra, JHB & Green Devil, Thornbridge Brother Rabbit & Sequoia, Marble American Amber, Hawkshead Five Hop, Mallinson's Oblivious, Northern Monk Strannik Eton Mess, Kirkstall Pale & Solitude, Okell's MPA, Moor Amoor, Campervan Leith Juice, Cloudwater AW18 Red Ale, Bristol Beer Factory Kazbek City Shuffle, Fallen Big Raspberry Dog Chew Chew & Pomona Island Simcoe & Mosaic. There only appeared to be the solitary real cider this time. It was La Cantina Strawberry Fields. I really do like this pub. There is a lot of competition for real ale pubs in this fabulous town. But, I think this trumps the others.
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Second pub of the day, after earlier opening Sportsman. Found our own route of taking a right up the hill and then up some steps, along a footpath above station and through a few car parks. Well worth the journey, too many beers to mention, so all strengths covered, prices starting at £3.10 a pint. Quirky in parts and being five minute walk from centre either a good or bad thing depending on your preferences, did have quite a local feel to it.
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How on earth is the Grove averaging 7.6/10? There's all the beer choice you could wish for and more, always in tip-tip condition and in a friendly atmosphere. Only downside - no comfortable seating.
Regarding "sour" barman - well, that can only mean the miserable young Ulster tw@ because the rest are fine, so I can't argue on that point.
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The Grove is situated just behind the town's new leisure centre. It was my final pub of the day in Huddersfield and I'd saved the best until last. I'd read that there were 19 real ales and didn't think for one minute they'd all be on. But sure enough, they were - Oakham Citra, Thronbridge Jaipur & Handsome, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Vocation Bread and Butter, Atom Schrodinger's Cat, Durham White Velvet, Hawkshead Cumbrian Shop, Mallinsons Azacca, Adnams Samba City, Shiny Wrench, Brass Castle Dream Time, Sadlers Hop Bomb, Beer Ink Flagship, Fallen Chew Chew, London Beer Lab Bramling End, Green Jack Summer Dream, Brodies Shoreditch Sunshine & Northern Monk Grove Birthday Beer. There were also 3 ciders - Cornish Orchards Gold, La Cantina Yesterday's Dream & Westons Old Rosie. All of these, along with craft beers were listed on blackboards. A most impressive selection and the 2 I had were good quality. I believe there were 2 rooms, served by the central bar. But I'd had a few by this time. Whilst I have scored this a 9/10, the same as the Rat & Ratchet, this pub was a toss up between a 9 or a 10, whereas the Rat & Ratchet was more at the 8 end of the 9's! They're both excellent pubs that aren't too far away from them. The Grove was slightly nearer the bus station, enabling me to catch the last bus of the night back to my hotel. Certainly the best pub in Huddersfield I tried and probably in my top 10 for the country.
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I read somewhere (not sure if it was on here or not), that this place had “gone downhill a lot”. Well all I can say is that person must have a steel bolt through their head ! It is still as wonderful as ever.
I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves. The board listed no few that 19 “cask ales” on tap, together with 15 “craft keg” beers. And if that wasn’t enough to satisfy you, there is a list of bottled beers as long as your arm (kept in a strange wooden box locked on a chain !). The range was varied as well, I had no trouble finding something I liked (a stout and a porter) nor did my friend (a bitter and golden ale). The ones we tried were in tip-top condition.
There was a lively atmosphere, and live entertainment as well.
9/10 – still one of my all time favourite pubs !
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This is good pub but the mean man made my beer sour with his mean (stern) look and poor attitude. Atmosphere is very important in pubs and bad staff can ruine a great spot
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It's behind the new leisure centre. New signage also.
Strange - comment below says too many pale beers but often has too many dark and strong ones; personal taste I suppose. The range is much better than it used o be anyway, and bear in mind the local taste is traditionally for weaker pale beers.
Beer as good as ever, artworks as eclectic as ever. Don't
go if you're a hunt saboteur or other sadd-o. Go if you love quality real ale For a reasonable price.
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This was pub#2 on our #beertrip from Manchester. The pub is smaller inside that appears from the frontage, but is a nice basic and freindly pub. The range od cask ales is extensive BUT regretably was dominated by Pale Ale, and IPA's. The were no 'sensible' strength dark beers i.e. you were straight onto 5.0+% stouts.
From the light selection I had Buxton Moor Top - very good.
Note for future visitors there is currently a massive building site opposite, which may make locating this gem difficult to first time visitors.
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After a tortuous walk round the new leisure centre site and across the busy ring road it was a sheer delight to walk into the Grove - another of Huddersfield's cracking good pubs Two bars but both similar with an endless bank of handpumps in each (plus some interesting "craft" beers and foreign lagers We opted for the locally-brewed Magic Rock "Ringmaster" - or as they still quite rightly call it "Curious" excellent beer and friendlt staff who knew their stuff They do unusual snacks (olive/garlic bread sticks things!) but it is the beer that you go for and it is well worth the walk from the town centre and station Great boozer and must-visit pub
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Came here with high expectations and was not let down. Came in after trying to enter the Rat and Ratchet which was holding a private function.
Sampled Thornbridge's Jaipur which was delicious! Then sampled a porter, sadly I can't remember its name, but it was top notch.
Minor gripe being that they didn't use sprinklers although both ales had a decent head on regardless. In fact the young barman pointed out that they can use them on request which was fair enough.
I understand that not all pubs do serve food this, but I was starving and could have murdered a meal!
Enjoyed friendly banter and chat with the locals along with a mate who I went there with.
Will I return? Certainly.
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Having just left the nearby Rat and Ratchet, it would have been hard to get anything better - but it did.
This is a plain looking pub from outside but once in, the range of available real ales is nothing short of superb. there is every style imaginable and proved very difficult, both to choose a pint, and even harder to leave to experience the other great pub in this town.
It's another must visit if you find yourself in huddersfield.
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Excellent - very good range of beers, warm atmosphere, good conversation and friendly, knowledgeable staff. We were sorry to have to leave, but had other pubs, all of them good, to visit. Huddersfield is certainly a good town for a drink or three.
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I love this pub! Great selection of craft beer and real ale served by fun, Knowledgeable staff. 18 handpumps and lots of taps. Try it and you may never want to leave.
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What more can you say, the beer quality is second to none, served in oversize glasses, and reasonable too. They also commit to stronger Ales such as IPAs and Old ales not served elsewhere. As mentioned it can be quite easy to sink a few "dangerously drinkable" ales in here, so beware..we cannot remember getting the train back...
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Great pub, well worth a visit. Has a huge choice of ales and bottled beers. The only negative if you are calling in for one beer is deciding which ale to select!
Very friendly bar staff, when I called in it was relaxed atmosphere with people of all ages enjoying a drink. I will be back soon and will be sampling a few more ales. The Grove is one of the best pubs ive been to.
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Superb pub. A large range of ales and bottles, very friendly staff and I chanced upon a very knowledgeable local who gave me some recommendations for other local pubs. Open all day on the Thursday I popped in, which was a relief because the previous two pubs I'd been looking for weren't. Definitely worth a visit.
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Huddersfield is a Mecca for Real Ale drinkers, and after a few visits to the town I have come to the conclusion that this is the best pub in the area. I can't add much to previous posts as it has already been said. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly, the beers are always well kept and even Mrs Clods likes it! Fortunately Mrs Clods now has a job in Huddersfield so I may have to visit more often now.
One small gripe. I prefer dark ales, but most of the dark ones here are really strong, I mean 6% plus strong. It means I can't have a proper session without getting hammered, which means I have to move on somewhere else. If anyone from the Grove reads this, please put on some dark beer of a sensible strength. Thanks!
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Took shelter from the rain in this pub. All I can say is thank God for rain!! A most excellent establishment where I sampled Thonbridge Jaipur and a 9.3% Imperial Russian Stout. The Jaipur was good but the IRS was sensational. A must for a revisit and SOON.
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Spent a lovely weekend here the other saturday afternoon. It's a bit of a trek out of the city centre but worth the hike. The bar staff were lovely, really friendly and we met a great crowd of regulars.
Nice beers, I enjoyed the Magic Rock Rapture.
Proper proper good pub this. Can't go wrong.
bobbi - 15 Jan 2012 19:10 |
My favourite pub - only the Fat Cat in Norwich and the Sheffield Tap come close, and neither surpass The Grove. If you like real ale and craft beers (as I do) you can't really ask for more than 18 ale pumps including Gadds, Thornbridge, Brew Dog, Dark Star, Buxton and Magic Rock...to name but a few. The selection of beers on offer is incredibly well chosen and prices are very reasonable with real ale pints around �2.40 to �2.90 (prices work on an increasing scale of ABV). All beers are served in pints, halves and third of a pint measures - making sampling much more manageable.
In addition to the real ale there's also 20 keg beers and I'm told that the beer menu I was browsing contains over 230 bottled beers...but in honesty, with the range of draughts on offer I'm not sure why you'd drink bottle.
In short, a truly excellent pub.
Point to note: The Grove is one of the few pubs I've come across in the north that doesn't use swan neck pumps, sparklers or gas assist on its real ale. As a born and bred Yorkshireman I was very skeptical about this on my first visit, but the beer turnover is quick and the ale is kept so fresh the beer still always seems to have a good tight head (which I initially found quite remarkable!).
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This has to be one of the best pubs I have ever been in. The beer is well kept, the staff are friendly and knowledgeable, the place is clean and tidy. Some of the art work isn't quite to my taste, but I can hardly hold that against it!
Regular rotation on the many pumps they have (I think there are maybe 15 or so). There's nearly always something on that I haven't tried before. Excellent.
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Probably one of the best pubs you will ever come across. A remarkable selection of real ales (18 when I went), plus loads or ciders and lagers on draught and an extensive selection of bottled beers and spirits.
The decoration is an eye opener! Wonder if the life-size paintings are of regulars? You will see what I mean when you go.
Brother-in-Law and I went by chance for a quick pint while the lady's were shopping. 2 � hours and 6 pints later � say no more. The lady's joined us eventually and they loved the place also.
All the beers were in top form. Glasses are oversized with a pint level so it is a true pint. No need to ask for �topping-up�.
The locals were friendly as were the bar staff. Got the impression it was managed with an iron fist and no harm in that.
This pub is 5 minutes from bus station and about 8 minutes from trains.
Get there for a truly remarkable experience.
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My second visit and as enjoyable as my first. Two Belgian bottles were quaffed, together with ales from breweries like Thornbridge, Gadds and Dark Star, all in perfect condition.
Without a doubt my favourite boozer in Huddersfield, basic but charming. All boozers should strive for this understated charm!
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Awesome selection of ales and other beers, in fact the best I have ever encountered. Interesting range of bar snacks too. Also an extensive selection of whiskeys, including English whiskey. Friendly staff, no music, beer garden out back. Blissful!
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well worth the short walk from Huddersfield station, good choice of well-kept cask beers from mainly local breweries.
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This pub is in my top 10 ever. Great atmosphere, friendly and knowledgeable staff, diverse selection of beer and some interesting snack products too. Everything I need from a pub. I've no idea why its average score on this website is relatively low...
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Whoopee i say!
Basic two room pub with an outstanding beer selection. Sampled two Belgian beers and various halves of ale from breweries like Banks and Taylor, Fullers etc, all at a fair price i might add. Excellent service from a young lady called Chloe and a friendly clientele made for a memorable afternoon.
A return will take place sometime in the future!!
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Visited this pub for the first time the other week. "Why have I not been before," I ask myself. Wonderful beer choice, good conversation with the locals and knowledgeable staff. Excellent!
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Great pub with Great beer and friendly staff. It has a very big blackboard containing all of the beers/ciders that are on that day , And the last time I visited there was about 23 real alesand 2 or 3 ciders one of which was 7.4% Top pub !!.
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Fine pub. Huge beer selection, reasonably priced. A bit scruffy- while not in the sticky carpet and crappy old horse brass type of way, shabby chic would be stretching it a bit.
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Fantastic range of well kept ales. Friendly staff and customers. Beer garden out the back. Well worth a visit.
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Great pub, quality selection of real ale, decor of pub good - nice and airy feel - good beer garden that get's the sun - well managed - well worth a visit.
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Real ale fan heaven. Thornbridge Jaipur permanently on pump!! Lovely staff and a superb range of real ale and snacks to boot.
You MUST visit The Grove if in Huddersfield!.
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Now 18 handpumps for beer and a couple for cider, plus several lagers/continental beers from barrels and literally hundreds of bottles. There are even plans to start brewing on the premises (the plant is already installed!)
This is the pub that all others have to look to. It would undoubtedly be in BITE's top 10 were it not for the popular bias towards the London area and against the provinces.
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Great pub with a wide range of beers. Snack options are excellent too. There was a great atmosphere when we visited, despite the over-loud and over-confident lass propping up the bar. A new entry in my personal top ten pubs.
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Excellent selection of real ales on offer. Like a mini beer festival every day. As previously mentioned ciders, perry, draught continental beers and unusual snacks also available. Check out their website for up to date info on what's on each handpump!
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Huge range of real ales in this freehouse but I was less than impressed by the pub itself. This fits into CAMRA theme pub territory for me. It does indeed have more handpumps than you could sample from in 1 day, but I found this pub was lacking in atmosphere and generally a bit rough around the edges, but not in a good way. Having huge lists of foreign beers doesn't impress me much either - anybody can do that - its more difficult to create an environment that is enjoyable for drinkers, which I didn't think was present here. A little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I will probably go back here again and its better than the vast majority of pubs, but it didn't live up to the hype for me, and I would rather go to the Kings Head or the Rat and Ratchet. Over-sized pint glasses a plus.
Sharp - 12 Nov 2009 23:31 |
Best pub ever - too many beers to count, will be back soon!
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Amazing pub, superb choice of real ale and foreign beer at very reasonable prices. Barmaid was very nice too.
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With a choice of 15 changing hand pull beers, at least 6 continental lagers, 2 ciders and over 480 bottles from all over the world this must be one of the best pubs in the UK, probably Europe and possibly the World!
Not to mention an extensive array of World wide bar snacks, pleasant atmosphere, great bar staff and totally new refurbished toilets it is worth a visit to Yorkshire just for this place.
Landlord Ian is a very knowledgible chap that cares deeply for his ale.
Try it or be disappointed!
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One I was told not to miss when coming to Huddersfield in March. It is certainly a Mecca for real ale drinkers and friendly staff happy to chat. Called in a couple of times during our stay locally for the Star beer festival. Well kept ales and lovely rooms to walk round and look at the interesting artwork on the walls. So many beers and that is just the handpumps. Anyone into foreign beers would have a job to leave from looking at the menu of beers available. Not to be missed from any crawl in the area.
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A real ale mecca if ever there was one, apparently no concessions to keg drinkers here just 17 pumps serving excellent ale from all over but mostly smaller and more local brewers. Two bars, a larger lounge and a small cosy tap room, check the blackboard in the taproom for the full range of draught beers available. There is also a beer menu on the tables showing the full range of draughts and bottles, you could spend weeks going through this menu. The tap room is a traditional stone tiled and lincrustra wallpapered room with lots of cartoons adorning the walls, even the beer glasses are decorated with a specially commissioned picture by famous cartoonist Honeysett.Probably a friendly enough sort of place but it was a quiet lunchtime when I staggered across from the town centre. Close enough to the Rat and Ratchet for an impressive real ale beer crawl.
anonymous - 18 May 2009 09:38 |
If you're a beer fan, this place is Heaven's Waiting Room.
8 regular beers and a rotating choice of 10 guest beers means that when you walk in you will need to pay careful attention to the blackboards detailing brewery, beer, strength, colour, and price.
My pints of Curlew's Return from the Allendale Brewery and Wonder Wully (sic) from the Burton Bridge Brewery were both spot on, and served - as usual - in the excellently engraved pint glasses used by the Grove. You can buy a glass for �2 a go, and so, of course, I now have one at home.
Can't recommend this place highly enough.
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One of the best pubs I've been in. Travelled from Manchester to visit it, after reading about it on the 'net. Fantiastic selection of beers, and brilliant atmosphere. Well done to the owner and staff!
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You could easily walk straight past this place - a quiet corner location, with a less-than-spectacular view of the ring road and some car parks. However, once inside, you will soon see how it achieves its sky-high BITE rating (9.1 at the time of writing). Lost count of how many beers and ciders were available on handpumps and in bottled form as listed in the 'menu'. Didn't have much time so went for the Timothy Taylor Golden Best, as we only get Landlord 'down south', and this is always a good reminder that low alcohol strength (3.5%) doesn't have to mean lack of flavour.
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Excellent boozer with a massive choice of drinks ... 10 handpulls and a worldwide drinks menu.. and de konick of tap which is a bonus as its a fine swill...
If you are feeling daring they have a good range of rather obscure snacks but i'd recommend the billtong chilli stukkies as they are a great food to soak up some of the ale.
Barstaff are really friendly and as this pub can get quite busy if you grab a spinny stool at the bar.. hang on it...:)
The artwork which hangs around the place could be seen as evocative but i personally think its good and adds to the character of an already excellent pub...
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The Grove is a two roomed, street corner free house, a few minutes walk from the bus station and town centre. It is owned by a beer enthusiast and although a little quirky in its decor, it has been a very welcome addition to the Huddersfield beer scene. The pub offers a vast array of handpulled UK beers & ciders (17 at the last count!!!) plus an even bigger selection of draft & bottled foreign beers. As often happens with such a wide selection, you do occasionally get served a beer which is a little tired, and the pub does get busy at weekends particularly. But certainly worth a visit for anyone planning an afternoon's drinking in Huddersfield.
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A huge selction of real ales and bottled beers. Tap room was busy when I visited on a Tuesday afternoon! Well worth the short walk out of the town centre. Be prepared to stay for longer than expected, there is so much choice.
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What can be said about this bar. Beer quality was superb, range was more than interesting. Beers that went off during the night were replaced rapidly by quality alternatives. Walls adorned with paintings that give the bar a surreal quality for the more you drink (I tested this theory). Interesting range of bar snacks, beware the Chilli Beef Jerky........
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Externally, one's first impression is of an unremarkable typical street corner local.
Internally, it's a 2 bar pub, whose beer range is best summed up by the printed T shirts and beer glasses for sale, which depict a chap standing at the bar saying to the barman - "I was going to drink my way around the world - then I discovered I could do it here".
There's a large leather-bound drinks menu which looks like something you might get in an Indian restaurant and which lists the beers on offer from all over the world, together with bar snacks, which, with typical understatement, the GBG describes as "unusual".
From the beer menu, I particularly noted Black Death Chilli Beer from the Fallen Angel microbrewery in East Sussex ( � 3.20p per bottle ) and something called Medieval Dark Mead ( 14.5% !) at � 9.50p.
I wisely stuck to the draught beers from the pumps. Both the Empire Grove Grog and Thornbridge Jaipur IPA which I sampled were in good condition and very tasty.
Those of us used to London beer prices may be interested to know that Fullers ESB and Taylors Landlord were available at � 2.50p and � 2.20p per pint respectively.
There's an interesting cabinet in one of the rooms displaying old breweriana - this changes regularly apparently. Hammonds Brewery was featuring when I visited.
It seems churlish to end on a critical note for such an enterprising pub, but I have to say that some of the artwork on the wall in the main bar - particularly that large horrible nude picture - is absolutely hideous. Reminded me of that large dreadful woman in that Little Britain sketch at the sauna.
Nevertheless, do make the effort to visit this pub - it's well worth it and it's close to the Rat and Ratchet.
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Now have 15 ales on draught but quality is still good. Also have approx 40 Belgian beers in bottles, around 100 bottled German beers and many other countries including Albania and Mongolia!
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Superb real ale outlet, top quality beer and fantastic range. Can't think of many better.
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Absolutely brilliant pub with fantastic selection of draught and bottled beers. Empress of India porter was particularly excellent.
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Looks unpromising from the outside - a drab building on a busy junction on the edge of the town centre, but inside it's a real ale oasis. Ten or so to choose from, with superb variety and quality.
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Can only agree with the previous posts, this is real ale heaven. Always a good choice and variety of type of draught beers, the quality of which is excellent. Have even been tempted by some of the continental beers. The only "grumble" LOL, is that it has virtually stopped me drinking elsewhere.
oakey - 28 Jul 2007 18:27 |
for me a pub going from strength to strength, for me the best pub in huddersfield at the minute, and to be honest at this moment in time, in west yorkshire.
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Shows what can be done with an average pub and a little application. Excellent range of beers, 8 handpumps and a bottled menu that should satisfy even the most hardened duval drinker. Well worth the short walk from the town centre.
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Nice friendly atmosphere and service.Good quality beer served at a good temprature with or without a sparkler (see notice at side of bar).Will call again.
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Superb addition to the Huddersfield Real Ale Trail. Convenient for the bus and train stations. Excellent choice of beer and charming service to boot. Extensive range of foreign bottled beers too (not my cup of tea but will suit some). Interesting cartoon collection too - worth inspecting the walls. Useful information table offering various beer guides and magazines (including Private Eye). A must visit venue.
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Just over the ring road from the bus station, the refurbishment of this pub has improved it no end. Stone flag floor, 8 real ales, mostly from small brewers, with Landlord on permanently. Reasonably priced.
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