please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A pub that you could easily miss. I hadon't actuslly tried coming here before with a group but couldn't find it (believing it was next to the Ship). Quite a thin building with a larger area outside for summer day drinking. The staff seemed friendly enough when I was in, all sam smiths beers and great prices for Leeds city centre, certainly one to start your night at.
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Again, I came here with my brother last Summer. As he says, we found it by pure chance, as we navigated throughout hundreds of Saturday shoppers.
A Sam Smith's pub which offers some respite to the high prices. Like our kid said, the locals' arguing made this visit very "interesting."
I won't be in any particular hurry to go back to Leeds.
Unless I missed some proper real ale pubs?
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Visited this pub yesterday with my brother, like some of the other reviewers found it by accident (we wernt really looking for it either!) Bit scruffier than other Smiths houses Ive been in, but just as cheap, especially for Leeds. Upstairs lounge bar was a bit quiet and boring, but that could have been because we had listed to the locals shouting and balling for a couple of hours! 7 out of 10 for me
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Not sure about the pourings below about the 'lively characters' the pub attracts. The main thing that was overwhelming about the clientele was the smell of B.O. (this pub would benefit from no smoking ban:-)
A good pub overall, one pint of Sovereign and one of Old Brewery in pleasant surroundings. Would recommend Vicks Vapourub under the nostrils for anyone planning a visit.
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bags of character and chock full of characters, the beer is always in decent enough nick. with the added bonus that they sell, wheat beer on draught quite a rarity in sam smith's pubs these days. hope you don't need to go to the toilet here though, as quite frankly most of the time they are a disgrace.
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Right, do you like Sam Smith's? Yes? Then you will love this place. It's a little ragged around the edges for sure but dont let that put you off. Friendly bar staff and a few local "characters" will make you fit right in. Brilliant during summer with a large oft packed beer garden/patio this is the perfect cheap pub to while away a few hours.
You dont like Sam Smith's pubs?................. erm........ uh......... Its right next door to The Ship Inn so you dont have to walk far.
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One of Sam Smith's 3 pubs in Leeds City centre and probably the best of the lot though if you know of the other 2 the phrase "damning with faint praise" may come to mind. Cheap beer with a nice landlady and nice female member of staff but unfortunately also a very surly barman best avoided. The clientele are eclectic to say the least but a cheap no frills beer can be had and if your lucky and there is both sunshine and space you may be able to sit outside. Food is served but doesn't look inkeeping with the punters at �6 & �7 a head.
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This place is cool. Good beer. Always a lively atmosphere. Can't complaint.
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This angelic inn is populated by the kind of people Charles Dickens would use as material for novels if he were still around today: - hopeless alcoholic pensioners, the almost destitute (who apparently never shop anywhere except Primark and down the market), posh students with few brains and even less money, families of which each member appears to come from an entirely different species, drinkers whose faces are so red they could scare away a proboscis monkey just by staring at them, and one bloke who somehow left his teeth embedded in the tarmac of Tesco's car park - REAL PEOPLE, in other words !!! And every-bloody-body smokes rollups !!! What a refreshing change from normality !!! In short, what an absolutely cracking little boozer ! Nice staff n'all.
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Situated down an alleyway off Briggate, is The Angel, a fairly typical Sam Smith's pub and reputedly one of the City's oldest inns.
There's a smallish main bar, seemingly favoured by regulars, with a larger room on the left and an upstairs lounge bar which I didn't visit.
In contrast to many other Sam's pubs, I found this to be a rather featureless pub, lacking in character and atmosphere. Despite wearing T shirts promoting the pub as "The City's Best Kept Secret", staff appeared somewhat bored and disinterested on my late June evening visit.
The Sam Smiths OBB was cheap at � 1.50p
I'm not putting this one down for a revisit.
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I love the Angel Inn. Since moving to Leeds in December 2009 we have returned to the several times at various times of the day and days of the week. The atmosphere is always good, there is a great mix of people (tattooed kids and old boy regulars side by side) and the prices....what more can you say? �1.47 for a pint of Alpine Ale, �2.20 for Wheat beer....You can't argue with that. We found the Angel quite by accident and had never heard of Sam Smith's pubs/breweries before. When I saw the price list behind the bar I thought they were prices for half pints and, even when I had been served and was sipping it, couldn't quite believe that my pint had cost �1.47! The cheapest pint I have ever bought and tasty too!
We will continue to go back to The Angel for as long as we live in Leeds. Nice crowd, great prices and good atmosphere.
(Could do with some music upstairs though!)
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What can one say fellow ale hounds. First visit for nearly six years and how utterly depressing! A lot scruffier than i seem to remember with the usual array of punters one finds in a sam smiths house. The obb was poorly kept and not helped by an atmosphere that gives a new meaning to the word redundant.
I will not be returning in another six years or ever again.......
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I like visiting Samuel Smiths pubs in central London because they're in interesting locations and bursting with character and tradition. By contrast, The Angel is a rather uninspiring, spartan place which was nonetheless quite busy upon our arrival, and we were pleased to grab an outside seat, albeit in the rather grim confines of the alley it resides in. The round was cheap but unlike with the London SS pubs, there was little reason to stay beyond that.
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It's worth seeking this out. It is a quirky wee place. A little odd, but very pleasant when we were in. The Old Brewery Bitter was �1.43 a pint. I can see why it might not suit everyone but I like it!!
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Really good little pub, takes some finding but it's worth it. Good quality Smiths beer and at the usual cheap Sam Smiths prices. Great place to go for a couple after a busy day. Definately worth going.
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Terrible. I had a foreign guest and we did the four alley pubs. This was by far the worst.
It wasn't the spartan design and furnishing, or the strange customers, though they set the atmosphere. I didn't like the layout. The bar is in the smallest room which has a big pillar in the centre. There wasn't a seat to be had and you could either stand in front of a roasting fire (nice touch, but too much for a small room) or clink to the pillar while folk bashed baby buggies into you.
The other room was larger, with seating around the edge, like a waiting room, so if you are standing, then it's uncomfortable, nothing to lean my bulk against. But it was the staff I didn't like. A more miserable pair of black-clad young bar staff I have never met. It seems that they had no interest in pub or it's customers. We escaped to the alley, with it's "No smoking in this alley" sign. Sad. I'm not going through all that just to enjoy a pint of Sam's.
In the end we left our drinks and went back to Whitelocks.
10 points for the fire and the beer, minus 8 for the atmosphere and staff,
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Had a drink in here again (It's lots better without the BNP taking up root in the front bar-and I'm far too old to front 15 of them...).. back to studentville.
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A weird place. Very cheap ale but the regulars give it such a quirky feel. Don't take a date there, do go there do take yourself to oblivion.
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A fantastic pub tucked down a back alley in the centre of leeds. Incredibly cheap, good, local Yorkshire beer, and an interesting mix of regulars.
Well worth a visit.
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The Landlord & Landlady have lost control and many regulars now go elsewhere. The bar staff are generally too busy talking to each other about weird music, etc.
Pity it's going downhill again.
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Great pint,Decent student lively atmosphere...... Ruined tonight by the 'This is England' skinhead appreciation society -taking up the front bar space for a couple of hours.....LEEDS- get your city sorted!
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Tucked away down an alley, between two shopping precincts, The Angel is a large city centre pub comprised of four rooms over two floors.
Decor is unashamedly traditional and with the leather chairs and high ceilings feels almost like a 'gentlemens club' from a bygone age.
As it's a Sam Smith's pub there was just Old Brewery Bitter, as a real ale, on my visit. Unfortunately, it was the familiar tale of decent beer served far too cold. Couldn't argue with the price though, at �1.33 a pint.
Food looked pretty standard, but with a few Mediterranean twists and spicy touches.
The barman was pleasant enough, if oozing world weariness.
I was struck by the real mixture of punters: Shoppers, professionals, builders etc but primarily those there for the cheap beer. As was mentioned below, some of those drinking at the tables in the alley would be off-putting for a casual visitor.
In short, I liked the pub, but the temperature of the beer would stop me returning. Price isn't everything.
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Reopened after many years in 2001. Typical Sam Smith's pub, geriatric crowd in the daytime, much younger emo crowd at night.
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The Angel is a charming establishment, with agreeable decor, friendly staff and a decent snacks menu. The traditionally-made Samuel Smith's bitter and cider are among the finest beverages on sale in Leeds. Despite the low prices (less than �3 for two pints) the pub attracts a good range of clientele and is to be particularly recommended to students who are tired of the usual student pub experience: no loud music, surfeit of gambling machines or pretentious poseurs here. The place is, in short, one of Leeds' best-kept secrets.
kid_b - 24 Sep 2006 18:44 |
sams are so good at making a new pub look like its been there for years!! why can't the big faceless chains do this, only downside for this pub is it's rather hard to find if your'e not local, other than that its the usual good priced sams ale house.
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Heaving with people attracted by the cheap beer (not all of whom you would take home to meet Mother !), and upstairs and downstairs are often full.
Hell of a trek to the cellar for the gents.
Takes a bit of finding.
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Looks ancient but in fact opened from new about 5(?) years ago on site of long gone pub of same name. Usual Sam Smith's arrangement, value for money guaranteed. The outside seating is good but shoppers using the alley as a shortcut from Briggate to Commercial St can run the gauntlet from er.. "livelier" customers!
anonymous - 19 Mar 2006 10:32 |
Great range of beer at excellently low prices. As a non-smoker, finding a place to sit and not be in a fugg can be a problem, especially when the aircon blows the smoke from one room into the non-smoking area!
AngeK - 31 Jan 2006 17:09 |
Great place to sample the wide range of offerings from Sam Smiths brewery.
The Sovereign and Old Brewery Bitter are both good.
Mixed clientele, no troubles ever seen.
The courtyard is popular on a good day.
The food looks OK, although I've only ever eaten the snacks.
If you stand with your back to Harvey Nichols and look across the paved road (Briggate) you'll see the entrance to the Angel Inn Yard.
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A top quality pub, definitely worth walking round in circles for a bit trying to find it...
I have only been in on a lunchtime, and though it is uaually quite busy we have always managed to get a seat. The food here is top notch, and the OB is great (though always served in the short, fatter cylinder glasses, which is unique).
I think describing the location is a spoiler - half the fun is finding the place - and it's worth it!
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This pub is my personal favourite in the entire city. The mix of drinkers is unrivalled- anyone will feel comfortable drinking here. The actual set out of the building is very good (already touched on i won't mention it in detail)- lots of space but not too open- cosy but not cramped or cavernous!
+the staff are very friendly and often good for discourse.
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Probably the best pub in leeds friendly people, staff and beer!
mike stevens - 12 Oct 2003 14:27 |
I work here so I am biased, but this is easily the best pub in Leeds City Centre (I say that as both employee and customer). Consistently low prices and consistently high quality can't be argued with! (btw, if you do argue I'm the big surly one and will hit you!!!) If you can find us I recommend you stop in, I think you will like it!
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Second all that Andy has said. Top rate food. Friendly and efficient staff. Excellent and cheap beer. All in all a throwback to a better time - by City centre pub standards. Long may it survive!
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Hidden from view, the Angel Inn is a superb pub lurking quietly in its own yard. Even when you're told that the entrance is just opposite HMV in the centre of town, you'll still miss it the first time. I'm almost loathed to write this review, as I don't want it to get too busy. :o)
It is a two story Sam Smith's pub, but unlike many Sam Smith's pubs, this one is beautifully kept, and offers cracking food. It also boasts Old Brewery Bitter on hand pull for only �1.23 a pint. On the ground floor, to your right, is the main bar - often with a door leading straight outside in summer months, where picnic tables bask in the sunshine. To your left is a darker, cooler room, with bench chairs and sash windows.
Upstairs, to your right, comfy sofas are to be found - but make sure the windows are open, as it can get a little smokey. Upstairs to the left is the secondary bar, usually closed when they stop serving food. The basement holds the toilets, so be careful on the stairs after a couple.
This is a great pub which is not to be missed. Not studenty, but students go there, not an 'old-man' pub, but the old men go there. A very harmonious mix.
Andy - 9 Jun 2003 15:07 |
