please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Couldn't fault the ale - (it was just called Best Bitter) and it was so much pleasanter on a quiet evening. It's good but there are better pubs in the city.
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If you wish to sit and contemplate the meaning of life over a pint with no hustle or bustle to distract your meditations, give this place a miss. Lively and busy at almost any time it is the opposite of a quiet country pub. There are compensations though, a dozen or so handpumps serving mostly small breweries' products including some brewed on the premises, being one. It is a draught beer heaven. Beautifully refurbished and in a perfect position to suit travelling pilgrims. I can't fault it.
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Wasn't expecting to get here but had time to kill so went on a train ride, handily place on the station but can also access from the street. Good range of ales, had Brew York Maris the Otter which was good.
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I agree that it is a fantastic place, but I wouldn't go as far as best pub in Yorkshire.
Surely The Grove in Huddersfield, Lamb and Lion in York or Fanny's in Saltaire are serious contenders?
Just my opinion.
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This is just a fantastic place, server great ales and "Neo Kegs" plus superb Czech Pilsner. This has to be the best pub in Yorkshire.
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Went in, as waiting for train back to Manchester. Impressive selection of beers, had a stout and a couple of pale ales, priced between 2.80 to 3.50 and all in very good condition. The interior with its high ceiling and Edwardian tiling is very appealing, if only more station bars were like this.
The place can be quite boisterous at times with limited seating options, however this kind of popularity proves they are ticking the right boxes.
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Over a dozen handpumps! A fantastic Edwardian palace with traditional tiles and a skylight, just in case you needed to check the clarity of your pint. I bet this has been responsible for a few missed trains!
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Great place, if they did food I'd have stopped all night
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Incredible selection of beer, good staff. Great selection of bottled beer also - defo worth a visit if you're passing through Sheffield station.
No sign of food but not a disaster as the place is top notch.
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It's certainly got a fulsome range of beer & an extremely historic interior. However, the main two seating areas (we just stayed in the main bar) are VERY bright
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Last stop after the game following the mighty U's 2-2 with the Millers. Excellent boozer, I had the laconically named "Ale" which went down a treat, and quickly as we didn't have long before the train went. Pretty crowded with bouncers on the door and no football colours but they were friendly and didn't stop any of our fellow fans with U's shirts on though they were asked to zip their coats up. Fantastic station pub with a superb range of ales. 7.5/10
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It just gets better and better! Not only does it have a great range of beers (Thornbridge/Red Willow etc) it now brews its own ales (The Tapped Beer Co) and you can see the brewery in the old dining room which also has seating; a bottled beer display cabinet and a small bar counter. This place is worth missing a few trains for and the "platform door" was open on my visit so you can walk straight in off the train. Very highly recommended.
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Serves Jaipur and many, many other great beers - if you are in Sheffield via train this place an absolute must.
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Best pub in the country; quite possibly in the world. And that's not just the Jaipur talking.
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Well worth the walk down from hotel land, and more to the point, the one back up.
Beautiful period interior, tastefully fitted out, and excellent range of beers in perfect condition were what I found.
Well done all.
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Last port of call before returning home across the border and thank god I did.
Loads of handpumps available. I sampled a stout and a sheppy's cider which were both in fine form.
Bit pricey but in all fairness I did expect it to be.
Cheers
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superb addition to the Sheffield ale scene
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Had 22 different offerings on tap when we popped in for a swift one before our train, as well as a myriad of different bottles beers too.
Tried the bitter that has been specially brewed for the Tap - �2.80 a pint and very nice it was too.
Excellent pub and could see how it would easily trap you for several hours.
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This place should be closed down as once you get in you lose all sense and reason and can easily miss your train. The beers are, IMHO, marvellous but a warning, go steady on the Jaipur or you might lose the use of your arms, legs and voice as my dear friend Pearl did after having a few. Seriously though, this is exactly how a modern pub should be and when visiting Sheffield by train, as we were, it takes real will power to get away from here to other drinking establishments.
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In here last Saturday evening.
11 hand pulls 7 on the left hand side of the bar are guests. 4 on left are Thornbridge ales and very nice they were too.
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In here last Saturday evening.
11 hand pulls 7 on the left hand side of the bar are guests. 4 on left are Thornbridge ales and very nice they were too.
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Great pub on the platform of Sheffield Station and ideal for those waiting for the next train to wherever !
Though I'm not a great fan of Thornbridge beers, this being one of their pubs, their beers are well stocked on the bar, whilst there are always another 4/5 on offer as well. Add lots of choice in bottles behind the bar and you have a good addition to the Sheffield real ale scene should you be passing through the train station. It's also a good looking place as it used to an Edwardian era Refreshment and Dining Room, now fully refurbished, its not just another bland bar. Give it a go !
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I always call in here when Im, in Sheffield.
Its handy for the railway and great beer.
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This place is fast becoming an institution (the type that I wouldn't mind being sent to !!) Always a terrific selection of Thornbridge beers plus a bank of handpumps offering other brewers products. Packed solid when we went (Saturday lunchtime) but don't give up - we eventually found a table and enjoyed a couple of beers before heading to The Rutland. You could easily end up spending the afternoon in the Tap as it is a very pleasant,bustling place for a pint before, after or instead of your train!!
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Does that mean it`s got a open fire ?
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It a grate pub.
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Superb range of ales and a fantastic atmosphere well worth a visit
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Visited week before last and the pub lived up to the expectations provided by other reviewers - jaipur especially good. will be back when next in town
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Nice Find - huge selection of beers - worth getting to the station early for a linger. Would rate higher but for the prices.
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Excellent in almost every way. Beer quality superb every single time. However, please be careful of the prices - the two I had yesterday were �4 and �4.50 a pint, and one I nearly had - Thornbridge Bravius - was �10 a pint!!!! Fortunately they tell you the prices before they pull it...
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Visited on a Saturday morning on my way to football in the city and having read others reviews i can see why this place is rated so highly. A fantastic selection of ales on during my visit including a fantastic IPA from O'Dell's.
The Sheffield Tap is a top top place, good ales, a great atmosphere and really nothing like normal station pubs, this place is an absoulete joy.
If you're in Sheffield for any reason and want a good pint of ale from a cracking selection do not miss a chance to visit.
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Something they've started doing recently I've noticed is placing a small sample of each ale by the hand pump so you can see what it looks like and help you make your mind up - a fantastic idea in my opinion.
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Excellent beer and a nice atmosphere. I have to agree with the comments on the rather haphazard service - when I arrived, a woman was having a real go at the barman for serving other people first. They also kept doing the "who's next?" thing. It wasn't that busy, and a good barman ought to know who's next. But not enough to spoil my enjoyment.
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Terrific pub that has kept plenty of original features and a fantastic range of ales and world lagers several of which have never seen in the country. Bottled range too is extraordinary and the whole pub's atmosphere is top notch perhaps helped that its right in the station. My only gripe after 2 visits is the slow service despite not being too busy both times.
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Our second visit a couple of weeks ago. Great selection of beers, including 3 Dark Star however Thornbridge Galaxia and Jaipur were excellent.
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Decent pub on the station with a wide range of cask ales available. Very spacious with (I think) 3 large rooms. Worth a visit.
alexw - 27 Aug 2011 13:41 |
You won't get much better than this; brilliant beer selection; if you're changing trains at Sheffield, be sure to drop in here!
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Very pleasant lounge atmosphere, with nice leather upholstery. Decent selection on the bar, priced fairly high (3 quid for Jaipur) for Sheffield, but still not close to Reading.
Should even get me to the station ahead of my train a few times, whether it'll help with actually catching them remains to be seen.
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Great choice of handpumps, friendly staff, plenty of world lagers and popular with locals as well as people changing trains as its situated on platform 1b! Can seem a bit pricey to some though.
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I can only fully endorse all the positive comments that have been made before. The Sheffield Tap is an abslotue gem in every respect. As a Thornbridge fan it was almost as if I had died and gone to heaven to find that four of the ten hand pumps were dispensing Thornbridge brews including my favourite, Jaipur which was in tip-top condition. The Wild Swan, which I sampled later in the day, was faultless too. NO hesitation. 10/10.
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Possibly the best station bar in the country? Excellent line up of brews on the bar with a small glass by each as a colour swatch. This is very handy if like me you like your beer copper coloured. A very sympathetic renovation has been done keeping many of the original victorian features including woodwork, tiles and floors. Nice staff and well kept beer right on the platform. what more could you want?
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Brilliant, simply brilliant.
Good staff, lovely beer and a selection of 200 bottles from around the world to have a crack at. If I didn't have an engagement back in London, it could have got very messy!
Every railway station should have to pass a test to get to somewhere neaqr these standards before being granted a license.
My next problem is how to get to watch Scarborough play,travelling via Sheffield!
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Excellent pub. Obviously a wide range of the brilliant Thornbridge beers on plus guests. Staff are very knowledgeable about the product they are selling which is always a plus point. Good venue to start a crawl round Sheffield.
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Two very enjoyable visits yesterday, 30/06/11, the occasion being the Sleeping Scooper's 60th birthday. Beers consumed were all excellent.
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It looks absolutely superb, and as long as you can get a seat it's hard to beat. The Brew Dog on draught was sublime.
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A very decent pub, situated on Platform 1 at Sheffield station. So well worth a visit if you're travelling to/from Sheffield by train. Beers were all from Thornbridge (Alchemy XII, Alchemy XIII, Jaipur, Ashford, Wild Swan & Kipling) & Roosters (YPA, Spearmint Mild & Yankee). For cider fans, Hogans on keg is the best on offer. The interior has one main bar, which has a tall ceiling and is fairly impressive, and a number of smaller drinking areas to the side and rear. There is also an outdoor drinking area on the street side of the station. Similar to the Euston Tap in London, they have an impressive bottled beer selection. Takeouts are possible. A handy place to know about. But I'm not sure about it being 3rd best in the country and there's better options in Sheffield itself.
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16 beers on tap including the lagers. Always good to have an opportunity to try something different.
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totally superb station bar,something every station should have in my books,fine selection of no less than TEN handpump ales,great service,comfortable interior,and extensive selection of foreign bottle beers and keg beers,9/10
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Good range of well kept Thornbridge ales, as well as a wide range of foreign beers in bottles.
I could think of a lot worse places to wait for a train.
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My Thornbridge was the end of the barrel, but eh, these things happen. Good atmosphere despite the largely transient nature of railway station pubs. Efficient service. Good range foremost.
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If ever there was a station bar that works well as a pub in it's own right the Sheffield Tap is probably it. I'm not sure I'd make it a regular haunt as of course the clientele is too transient, but what better way for the discerning drinker to kill time awaiting trains then by tallying awhile over some very interesting ales. So interesting in fact I nearly missed my train. I had to splutter at the dispensary of trendy beers in hour glasses encased in wooden holders, WTF?
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My first introduction to Real Ale in Sheffield was via this pub located just off platform 1 of Sheffiled Rail Station. A modern but traditional feel to the place, lots of handpumps with Thornbridge heavily featured and also quite a few keg fonts serving more interesting fizz such as Czech Bernard beers, a must visit pub when accessing or egressing Sheffield by train.
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Clean station pub with lots of seating - a plush bit when I came in & the modern bit in front of the bar. I think there were about 12 ales on & lot of them were from Thornbridge - I tried the Ashford Brown ale. The selection of Belgian/foreign beers either bottled or tap was pretty good too. A good experience coming too or leaving Sheffield.
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Excellent choice of beers and helpful bar staff, not cheapest in Sheffield but a far better pub than anything else near the station.
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Wow, what a great pub! A huge range of beer both on draft and in bottles including some rarities. A tad expensive but with this range of beer it's worth it :)
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A great addition to Sheffield's already excellent real ale scene and just the place for a pint before or after (or instead of) your train! One long bar, but with seating rooms off. Thornbridge beers are always available and the Kipling was superb on this visit. The other pumps appear to be reserved for their "brewer of the month" - in this instance it was Saltaire Brewery but Hardknott and Marble were next up. We were told that the room used to be the First Class Refreshment Rooms and we thought they were still "first class". Only addition I would make (and I'm not going to make an fuss if they don't take it on board) is a descrete TV monitor showing train times - it is just too easy to miss a train with such a beer range available.
p.s. If you are in London try The Euston Tap which is run along the same lines (excuse the pun).
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Hectic long bar with fridges containing a vast amount various of bottled beers running the length of it ( at vast prices too - someone payed �6.35 for one while I was at the bar ). It's okay for a station bar but was too manic for my liking - it's never any fun when you have to fight to get served at the bar and the Thornbridge ale though drinkable but was the worse pint of the day.
anonymous - 30 Jan 2011 13:18 |
To update my previous review, let me just say that there are a lot more seats than may first appear! It looks like just one large room at first, but it must have been my fifth or sixth visit when i finally realised there are more rooms and more seats round the back. Situated in an old waiting room on platform 1 of sheffield station, this superbly restored building has become a haven for ale drinkers. I can't really add anything to previous reviews about good looking bar staff (must have come at the wrong time), but what you can always be sure of is that there is every type of beer imaginable. Everything from pale and hoppy, through golden, bitter, best, mild, to stout and porter. There are always up to 6 from thornbridge, and another 4 guests. Often brewdog from my experiences but other microbreweries too. If that wasn't enough, there are 8 lager taps, but wait! You won't find any commercialised tasteless fizzy light brown water here, it's all decent stuff from top notch international breweries. I warn you however - prices can be as high as �8 a pint depending on how far it has travelled round the world. They are not tight when it comes to offering free samples though i am pleased to say. Also make sure that you don't enjoy it too much that you miss your train! That's what i did!
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Lovely place with a great range of Thornbridge ales and plenty of guests (including bottles). Furnishings are very pleasant - give the appearance that they might have been there for decades, even though it's been open less than a year.
Only problem is a shortage of seating - not that you could fit many more tables in. That, and you're not supposed to exit directly onto the platform, so you have to remember to leave enough time to go out and back through the main station entrance before your train leaves!
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Great range of Thornbridge beers in here, including the amazingly hoppy Kipling. Lots of different styles and plenty of bottles. Had a good atmosphere on Friday evening and Saturday lunchtime. Yorkshire can certainly do station bars very well!
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A gem...great selection of beers, friendly and knowledgeable staff, pleasant atmosphere, being on the station platform there's a bit of Brief Encounter in the air !
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About six Thornbridge beers plus four from Hesket Newmarket. Plenty of foreign beer including Left Hand Imperial Stout on draught. Out of the main station exit and around to the right. A must visit.
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Well..... i dont know (or like) much about beers, but the very useful staff helped me find a beer that i really enjoyeda and thought was tasty... but girls (and boys/butch men) if you want a very nice perve at some hot bar staff aka the manager!!! he's rather tasty too!!!
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I got off the train in Sheffield and was delighted to see so many Thornbridge beers - the Glastonbury 'Mystery Tor' that was on was very pleasant too. Polite staff and quick service, I could have stayed there for far longer than I did!
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Called several times in the last week - excellent range of Thornbridge cask as well as continental draught and bottled beers. Knowledgeable staff (except the good-looking girlies on duty on Sunday). The place gets very busy after working hours finish, not surprisingly. Well worth a visit, and a welcome addition to the Sheffield circuit - and always time for either a swift half or preferably pint before catching the train.
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cant be many stations where there is such a good incentive not to wander too far from between trains.... excellent selection of Thornbridge ales, dozens of interested bottled beers, good selection of "proper" draught international beers. Highly recommended.
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Never seen so many Thornbridge beers in one place before. A shame we only had 45 mins between trains, otherwise I'd have tried more. As it was We managed a couple, finishing with a half of the Murmansk Porter (7.4%).
A splendid station bar - highly recommended.
Cheers,
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Great pub, fantastic selection of interesting and wonderful beers. Thornbridge are fast becoming my favorite brewery, enjoyed in this great pub with its eclectic mix of punters: perfect!
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Wow what can you say?
Was it really eight Thornbridge beers , as well as Sierra Nevada and other continental beers.
The Jaipur was excellent but it was run very close by the Meantime.
Not enough time to saviour the delights of any others, must plan these trips better.
So another gem has been added to impressive list of real ale pubs in Sheffield ... is there a better city for the choice of real ales pubs?
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This is quite apart from the stereotypical 'station pub' and due to the deluge of praise it had been getting I felt in need of a visit. Inside it is a sympathetically restored boozer with classy tiling and a nice ornate bar as pictured above. Thornbridge dominates on the beer front and my pint of Lord Marples was okay (I'm not a huge fan of Thornbridge generally, it must be said) but what really struck me was the range of speciality beers in the fridges behind the bar - manna from heaven for Belgian enthusiasts I would wager. A useful and thoroughly decent addition to Sheffield's excellent and thriving pub scene.
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Anywhere that sells Thornbridge beers is a godesend!!
This is a great location and good pub. A superb choice of real ales from Thornbridge and others, as well as a great choice of foreign lagers on tap - most served in proper branded glasses.
Only minor criticism would be its a tad pricey and draughty!
Well worth an hour or six.
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Ermmmm, 'Thornbridge' of course. Yes, the Jaipur was a bit good...........
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Just missed the train yesterday and so had an hour to kill. Thought I'd spend it in The Tap. I lived in Sheffield for 12 years, and never realised this buffet existed on the station. One must congratulate folk on opening this up and getting it back to something approaching what it was like.
Original tiling appears to be all present and correct, though it's not as ornate as some tiling you'll find in pubs, but worth a look all the same. The floors pretty good too and the original woodwork. On the beer front I have to say it's pretty magnificent, and this is in a city which has a ridiculous number of drinking pubs serving up cracking real beer. Yesterday, there were four on from Thorncliffe and four from Marble brewed at the Marble Arch in Manchester - an organic, vegetarian brewery (look, it's in Chorlton, OK?). I think ever changing beers from Thorncliffe are always on, and then the rest get changed, but it appears they want to give you a taste of a brewery's range rather than one-offs from several breweries, given some comments below re Brewdog and the large number from Marble on my visit? This is an interesting not to say unusual way of doing things, and I'm quite supportive of it.
My Jaipur was as good as ever and the Marble beer, unless my eyes had gone after the Jaipur (it's strong stuff, that), was simply called 'Brew 4.5'. And this was mighty fine too, though I found it a little too sharp to the palate for it to be one I might have two or three of in a session.
It was 3.45 when I popped in, and busy. By half four it was rammed. I imagine, given it's on the station, you could turn up and simply not get in as there's nowhere to spill out onto. Still, never mind, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
I really liked this place and what's been achieved here.
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Fairly sterile attempt at a station pub - I love station pubs, but this is probably the least favourite. Why I hear you bellow? Well, the selection of beers is great, especially the bottled selections, but I just didn't really like it here for some reason. Usually being young (relatively) doesn't bother me, but I felt a very much "after work" sort of atmosphere here, which I didn't enjoy. It was very busy, and very small, but I managed to get a seat at the bar to enjoy my beer, which was great, no faults there whatsoever. But since, I have found no reasons to go back, and I cannot quite put my finger on it. I prefer something a bit more homely, I think. This place is never a 9/10.
Sharp - 11 Apr 2010 20:38 |
Absolutely amazing pub, can't praise it enough!
The Tap has been open for several months now, and in that short time they have had lord knows how many Thornbridge ales on (Thornbridge is their main supplier, the Kipling is pretty special), a global bottle selection to rival the Devonshire Cat, and they've excelled themselves by recently having had a range of Brewdog beers on draught. Sadly, the draught 'dog has now all gone. As has already been mentioned, they refuse to stock any of the commercial rubbish (eg Carling, Stella, Boddies, etc).
The pub is small, but very well formed. It is like stepping back in time to a good old blokes drinking den. The staff are all decent and polite, and they can all pour a decent pint.
Not much in the way of food (they have a panini grill, and that's about it) but then again, you don't come to a pub like this a three course feast.
There must be some fault to pick with the place, it can't be perfect surely? Erm... Well... Um.... Er.... The hand-dryer in the gents is crap.
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Not only is there an excellent real ale selection (not uncommon in Sheffield), there's a great draught lager selection. The unfiltered Bernard was a bit of a revelation for me. Other draught beers such as Sierra Nevada and L'Achouffe bring back memories of holidays abroad. This is a really good pub in itself; as a railway bar it is absolutely outstanding. One thing I would like to see introduced is pub food of the scotch egg/sausage roll variety. But nothing that you need a knife and fork to eat. The "high turnover of thirsty travellers" atmosphere is part of this place's appeal. 11/10 if I could.
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Called in here on Saturday evening. It's a sight to behold with all the original tile-work etc. A bit like stepping back in time. Unfortunately the bar staff were miserable and didn't seem to be able to pull a pint. No head and in the wrong glass. Still it was very busy at the time so I suppose they had a valid excuse. I will have to try again when it's a bit quieter (which shouldn't be too much of a chore!) The pub did have a good range of beers and is obviously now on the real ale radar of many Sheffield drinkers i.e. there were familiar faces from the Kelham Island, Fat Cat, Commercial and others.
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Great pub, serving tip-top cask ales and original Czech beers. Definitely a MUST VISIT when in Sheffield. Friendly service and a warm welcome.
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Yet another great pub for Sheffield. 8 handpumps of exceptionally well-kept Thornbridge ales. Large selection of imported keg beers and bottled beers. Fortunately doesn't sell any muck like Stella, Carling, Fosters, Strongbow etc so it tends to keep the riff raff out.
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I wish I'd had more time between trains - I could have stayed in there all day! A huge selection of Thornbridge ales on offer, and very well balanced too - everything from the pale Jaipur to the coal black Raven. An open fire would be a wonderful addition, but I'm wondering if regulations prevent this, with it being on a station. I shall be popping back in the near future to spend an evening working my way through the handpumps!
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What a great addition to the real beer scene in Sheffield. Very busy when I went in on a Saturday night. Large range of beers and very good service.Well worth a visit.
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Former Victorian station buffet that was neglected for decades until being resurrected just before Christmas, and what a fine job has been done.
Accessed from Platform 1, the main bar room retains most of its original features, including dark wooden bar back, splendid tiled walls and fireplaces, not in use at the moment. A fine sensitive resoration, rare these days.
A further room at the back, giving access to the street, is smaller and less remarkable.
Brewery mirrors on the walls are the extent of further opulence and at the moment are spartan, but I expect the place to develop gradually.
8 Thornbridge beers are available on handpump, catering for most tastes, although I believe some guests have started to creep in- a welcome sign. There is also an impressive array of European beers available.
Always packed and a cracking atmopshere throughout.
Sheffield continues to go from strength to strength in terms of its pubs, and compared to most dreary station outlets this is excellent. Another one to visit if in Sheffield.
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