Key:
To make identifying
areas easier I have added the following very rough approximations:
K = Kelham Island,
Shalesmoor etc;
W = West (Broomhill,
Crookes etc);
C = Central and North;
DQ = Devonshire Quarter;
M = Between the Moor
and Midland Station;
S = South of the ring
road.
Click here
for a map showing the locations of our nine favourite pubs in Sheffield.
Click here
for reviews of breweries whose beers appear regularly in Sheffield.
Reviews on the left
are by Steve Jesper. Reviews on the right are by Lee Pilich.
Links to web-sites
are given where known.
All reviews are accurate
as of February 2002 unless stated otherwise.
Visitors' comments
are welcomed. E-mail beer@avwoman.freeserve.co.uk
Last update: 24th June
2007.
| The Ball, Crookes, W: | |
| It's
a long and arduous climb up to Crookes, and there at the summit is this
sizable pub. It has two pool tables and a dart board. Architecturally it
seems like a bit of a Barras-ish chain-style place, but without the food.
A fair selection of drinks including Black Sheep and Wentworth.
Score: 6. |
Too
bare and wooden to have any character, but if you've made it up the hill
to Crookes, that's probably not going to bother you too much. The drinks
are quite good, fair selection, but it feels a bit like drinking in a warehouse.
Score: 5. |
| Banker's Draft, Market Place, C: | |
| Used to be
Laser Quest. Oh, and a bank. If you ever saw the interior of it as Laser
Quest then be warned that it is much changed. It used to be a Wetherspoons
pub, but now it's a Lloyds No.1, and we've not been in since the change
of chain (though we doubt it's changed very much). It serves food most
of the day (but my experience of it wasn't absolutely wonderful). Best
feature was a fairly decent range of guest beers, as you'd expect from
a Wetherspoons. Rather big: two floors. And pretty soul-less in the grand
scheme of things. But my grandad loves it, partly because it's rather cheap.
Score: 5. |
Large
Wetherspoon's number on two floors. Good beers (there's been a CAMRA near-scandal
about their use of gas, but who cares, they taste fine). Not much character,
but probably the best place to go in town if you're with people who are
more used to bars.
Score: 6. |
| Bath
Hotel, Victoria Street, DQ:
Last visit: February 2007. |
|
| Done up a couple of years ago: the
ancient, part-living carpet has now gone, though the roaring fire is still
there in the cosy half. Central bar and bipartite layout, with toilets
along a corridor (always a nice touch). Decent beer range, with the likes
of Derby and Phoenix probably representing two or three pumps of rotating
guests. Needs more old men and dogs though.
Score: 8. |
Fairly small two-roomer
with a central bar refitted not long ago (fans of the old carpet, which
was possibly fitted to celebrate the end of the war, will be sorry to see
a new clean wooden floor). Good range of beer and a good mix of customers,
probably helped by its handy location tucked away off West Street. Very
nice.
Score: 8. |
| Bell
Hagg, Manchester Road, W:
[Since changed hands] |
|
| A way out
along the Manchester Road, and to be honest, not really worth the walk,
unless you really want to enjoy the spectacular views (and they are quite
spectacular). The bottom of this pub is at the bottom of the valley, while
the actual pub floor is a considerable number of floors higher. Not a great
selection of drinks, and they were playing Dire Straits at us. The pub
has changed hands a few times, and might be shut now.
Score: 5. |
If
you've walked this far out of town, you expect something a bit better than
this. The drinks here were pretty poor, both in selection and quality,
and you may as well go to the Old Queen's Head for all the character it
has. Admittedly, a nice view (not for vertigo sufferers), but when you've
seen one valley, you've seen em all.
Score: 3. |
| Brown
Bear, Norfolk Street, C:
[Currently closed for refurbishment] |
|
| In the theatrical
district. Opened in 1825. The walls of this pub are covered with posters
for plays, stand up shows and other treats that have found their way to
the Lyceum or Crucible over the last decade. The range of drinks is adequate
though not great, and the clientele ranges from drunken student to scary
old man with all in between.
Score: 4. |
Close
to the theatres, so probably gets busy, and it's rather small. The theatre
posters all over the walls don't do a lot for its character, but the drinks
are passable, and it has a local sort of atmosphere. Seems to be a magnet
for drunks, the entertainment they provide is often better than what you're
waiting to see at the Crucible.
Score: 5. |
| Cask
& Cutler / Wellington, Henry Street, Shalesmoor, K:
Best Pub in Sheffield: 2001 Last visit: last week. |
|
| One of the best three
pubs in Sheffield, and a giant of the real ale scene. Just next to the
tram stop at Shalesmoor is this fairly grotty-looking building with a rotting
sign. But don't be put off by appearances. Instead, enter through the porch,
where we find ourselves in the bar area, faced with a row of about eight
pumps. There's also a modest range of decent whiskies and a broad selection
of Beligian bottles (somewhat cheaper than those offered by the two Cat
pubs). Over our right shoulder is a room furnished like a tiny WMC. To
the right is a dingy passageway to the beer yard and the toilets. And to
the left, through a stained-glass door, is the lounge: a cross between
an old woman's living room and a gentlemen's club.
Once upon a time, this was quite a rough place called the Wellington. Enter the Clarkes: Neil brought in an impressive selection of beer while the formidable Sheila cast out the debauched and the peculators. Together, they established a collosus of cask. But by the turn of the millennium, the pub was beginning to look a little worn out. The Clarkes left for France at the turn of 2006, taking most of the interior decor with them, and the Cask entered into new hands. The clientelle looked at each other, wondering what the future would bring. A few months down the line it seems certain that the change of hands has been for the better. One of the grotty signs has been removed, with a new "Wellington" sign due to replace it. The Cask's gymnastic dog, Holly, has undergone a vowel shift, replaced as she is by the Wellington's pleasingly batty Harley. The beer seems better kept (or just plain better), and the blackboard is helpfully annotated with tasting notes. Alas the Seabrook guest crisps are replaced by (more expensive) Tyrrells, but on the uphand it adds a certain degree of potato-snack variety to the area. Once this was my favourite pub in Sheffield... then the Kelham opened and coming here seemed a bit of a chore. But now I'm finding myself looking forward, once again, to the trip across Shalesmoor. Score: 12. Regular Breweries:
|
For those who are
new to this place: Two rooms around an L-shaped bar which stocks a
large number of real ales and a good range of decent lagers, as is the
Kelham Island way. No jukebox, pool table, darts or sundry distractions.
There is a small and not terribly pleasant beer garden round the back and
a friendly dog and personable staff inside. Unquestionably one of the best
pubs in Sheffield.
Score: 9. For those who knew this place before the Clarkes left: Neil and Sheila recently quitted the Cask and Cutler for a new life in France. When they first took over the pub it was, by all accounts, not a pleasant place, and though I wasn't around at the time, my impression is that they deserve great credit for transforming it into a very pleasant pub and, indeed, for helping to turn the surrounding area into one of the best areas for pubs in... well, certainly Sheffield, probably the country. What of the pub now? Externally, the rotting sign remains, but will apparently be replaced; this is a Very Good Thing; I surely wasn't the only person who was a bit intimidated by the look of the place before I'd set foot inside it. Internally, too, nothing much is different, though most of the knick knacks and wall decorations have disappeared, so it's a bit bare just now. There is still a lot of beer, and it is still well kept. The "guest crisps" from Seabrook have been replaced by "guest crisps" from Tyrells. I don't think this is a change for the better, but it's a minor point. The big difference, clearly, is the new ownership. A pub changing hands often has a seriously destabalising effect, and the result is rarely positive if the previous landlord has been in residence for any length of time. But here, I have no doubt that the change is a positive one. Neil was always a thoroughly nice bloke, but I know I wasn't the only person who enjoyed a mutual dislike of Sheila. The pub, frankly, is nicer without her. It's early days, but their replacements have made an excellent start. There's a pleasant atmosphere and one good dog (Holly, not Sheila) has been replaced by another. If you'd stopped coming here for whatever reason, do give it another shot. Score: 9 |
| Devonshire
Cat, Wellington Street, DQ:
Last visit: May 2007. |
|
| The Dev Cat opened in early 2001,
and has spent its early years finding its feet, swapping its staff about
and generally settling in. To be brutally honest, the place isn't as good
as when it first opened: everything's very expensive for a start. That
said, there's still a good range of beer: on a recent visit there were
a few Abbeydale brews on the pumps, along with usual suspects like Theakstons,
and Caledonian Deuchers IPA. There's always been a book's worth of foreign
bottled lagers: an impressive range, but again over-priced; especially
when compared with the Cask & Cutler's array.
Food is served all day, which is good. It's good stuff too, but it's too expensive. The range of music coming through the speakers is limited and at times quite irritating, and fruit machines entered c.2003. The pub itself, physically speaking, has gone with a metropolitan chain-pub look, like a Hogshead or the like: big glass windows and pale wood. In that respect the place is a little soul-less really. And it gets very busy. But at least it's an independent affair (well it was set up by the Fat Cat management, but that hardly constitutes corporate nastiness). This is a solid, dependable, pleasant enough city-centre pub, for if you're ever at the west end of town, but it lacks the sensible prices that the big chains can offer. Score: 7. |
The only place in the
city centre(ish) with a really wide range of beer, including several bottled
lagers with grinning monks on the label (careful children). The prices,
both for beer and (decent enough) food, are higher than ideal, but perhaps
this is inevitable given its location. At night it gets pretty busy and
loud, and the open-plan layout reminds me of a chain-store cafe, but there
are many worse places to get a drink.
Score: 6. |
| Dog
& Partridge, Trippet Lane, C:
Last visit: January 2007. |
|
| Genuine Irish pub, offering
the best Guinness in Sheffield (though it's not exactly cheap). A maze
of rooms including a tiled bar area, a cosy snug, a front room with a telly,
and a lounge dedicated to John F. Kennedy (which, what with all the clippings
on the wall, feels a bit like Lee Harvey Oswald's bedroom if we were in
a psychological thriller). At least two of these rooms have open fires.
As far as room layout is concerned, this is perhaps the best pub
in Sheffield. Beer range is limited, but now includes a rotating Abbeydale.
There's also a fairly good range of whiskies. Opened 1797.
Score: 9. |
Friendly pub, apparently Irish owned
rather than just Irish themed. Nice and cosy, not the greatest range of
bitters, but quite a few decent whiskies should it be a cold night, and
possibly the most extensive range of bar snacks in Sheffield (they have
fearsome looking sandwiches sometimes too). There are four rooms: the tap
room is slightly guest housey and not too great; the front room (with a
little telly in the corner, usually badly tuned in) is nice enough, and
used to have a freakish chair until it was taken away, apparently for repairs;
the small back room with a hatch to the bar is cosy; and the other one
is... well, completely freakish, a shrine to John F. Kennedy, the walls
plastered with pictures and documents relating to him. If you don't mind
that bit of eccentricity and the 50/50 liklihood of hearing "The Irish
Rover" piped at you (please buy a new CD) this is a really nice place.
Score: 8. |
| Dove
& Rainbow, Hartshead
Square, C:
Last visit: February 2007 |
|
| Perhaps best known as "that pub
behind the Banker's Draft". A hangout for alternative types (goths, metalheads
et al), with purple walls (and cartoonish human figures trying to break
free from their confines). A snug made from a converted caravan once sat
in the corner but has now been moved on to make way for a stage. This stage
sees regular performances from a wide range of bands. This pub is of a
basic bar layout, with the stage area at the left hand side. On the bar,
in addition to the raw ingredients of snakebite, are a couple of guest
beers, which is a welcome touch. A mixed range of clientelle, to an extent
determined by the evening's music. A pleasant enough haunt cum light venue.
Score: 7. |
Mainly purple pub for
goths. Not much drinks wise, and the seats seem to be made from rare wooden-legged
African mammals. Alright if you like that sort of thing, but it at least
ought to be darker and smelling of blood or something.
Score: 4. |
| Fat
Cat, Alma Street, K:
Best Pub in Sheffield: 2004 Last visit: last week. |
|
| This was the first pub in Sheffield
dedicated to the pursuit of Real Ale™. Since then, more such pubs have
sprung up on its doorstep, making Kelham Island the real ale capital of
the universe. The distinctive exterior of the Cat has a curved wall, a
slated wall and a mural. The pub lies in the heart of an industrial area,
with the Kelham Island Museum just round the back. Right from the porch
is the characterful bar-room, with its unusual box bar, green-tiled fireplace,
and a fantastic uneven floor. Straight on is a corridor drinking area complete
with blackboard and serving hatch, while to the left is the boxy, soul-less
lounge. Round the back, down a corridor, are the (recently beautifully
refurbished) toilets and access to the ample, flower-filled beer yard,
while upstairs is some sort of function room, now showing football. The
bar offers about eight pints, from a slightly smaller range than its significant
neighbours but with only moderate cross-over. And at least two pumps are
dedicated to the in-house Kelham Island brews. There's also a range of
Belgian (and Russian) bottles, though they can be a bit pricey in comparison.
Food at the Fat Cat is definitely something of a draw: It is mainly vegetarian
orientated (with vegan and gluten-free options), and is usually pretty
good if you like that sort of thing. There's always some meaty option too,
generally a steak pie or similar (and when they're on form, they're the
best steak pies going). I hate food, but the food here is rather good (and
still under £5 a throw). Sandwiches are also available, though they
could feed a family of four for a week. A good place.
Score: 12 |
Ah, the Fat Cat. Two
rooms, both quite cosy, a corridor with a table and a mysterious upstairs
room where I've never been. The larger room (to the left as you go in)
is non-smoking but relatively characterless. The smaller one has a wonky
floor and more stools than you could ever possibly need and also the bar,
which gives it much more character. There's plenty of beer, a reasonable
number of lagers, decent cider and occasionally perry. The food is very
good and still reasonably priced (even if not as insanely cheap as it used
to be), and there's copious choice for vegetarians (mainly involving parsnips
or mushrooms or nuts or beans, none of that stupid quorn stuff). No jukebox
or sundry flashing lights, but plenty of awards displayed in the larger
room.
Score: 9.
Regular Breweries:
Formerly the Alma Tavern.
|
| Fagans,
Broad Lane, DQ:
Last visit: April 2007. |
|
| From the outside, this main-road
pub looks a little daunting. Inside it's a different matter: with a small
hive of wood-pannelled rooms bedecked with photos of spitfires and that
sort of thing. If it were smaller you might expect to find this pub in
some little-touched Derbyshire vale. A couple of decent beers add to the
pleasantness. Kind of like the Dog & Partridge but without the piped
Irish music and the JFK cuttings.
Score: 7. |
Nice multi-roomed pub
with good beer and a friendly barman, certainly far nicer than you'd expect
from its location on the main road. It may very well get busy at night,
when I expect the feeling of the place changes somewhat, though I suspect
not necessarily for the worse (our visit there was in the middle of the
afternoon). Definitely worth checking out.
Score: 7. |
| Fox
& Duck, Fulwood Road, W:
Last visit: June 2007. |
|
| Bought by the Sheffield
University students' union, and aimed squarely at studenty types. But great
clumps of old men in flat caps clutch doggedly on and manage to give character
to what would otherwise be a pretty soul-less place. Televisions showing
Sky can be avoided by sitting in a cosier area to the left of the bar.
Here, on the walls, there are photographs of women with big hair, and teenagers
playing ten pin bowling. Not sure what that's all about, or for that matter
the random words frosted into the windows. It's a wonder they've not got
out the fake nicotine paint and the Wilde quotes, though that's all terribly
'90s, I suppose. It's not all naffness though. There's Abbeydale and Archers
on the pumps, and you can even bring in your own food, which is a nice
touch.
Score: 5. |
Reasonable but utterly
characterless pub aimed, presumably, at the sort of people you'd expect
to find in the studenty area that is Broomhill (students). It's all a bit
shiny and light and modern and there's random words written on the windows
like "Comfort" and "Tangy" and "Effervescent" and "Moomin" which some marketing
idiot probably considered "inspirational". If I were "hip" I would call
this "funky!". I'm not and it's not, but it's friendly enough in its way,
the area isn't exactly awash with good pubs, and the presence of a couple
of old men when I went in does suggest I might be missing something.
Score: 5 |
| Frog
& Parrot, Division Street, DQ:
Last visit: March 2005. |
|
| Famed for it's record-breaking strong
beer "Roger & Out". This city-centre pub (in the usual glass and pale
wood style) is largely populated by students, though during the day at
least this is not a serious issue. In addition to the Roger, there's guest
beers too, mainly from the Greene King oeuvre (it's a tied pub). Boddingtons
may still be a regular fixture too, for those with simpler tastes. It should
be said that the beer we had in March '05 didn't really taste right.
The pub suffers a little from juke-box repetition syndrome, but the big screen cricket can help as a distraction. Food is served through much of day, and has occasionally included pizzas. Alas, like the beer, food quality has never been entirely reliable. It's not as good as the food in the Devonshire Cat or the Rutland Arms (not to mention the Fat Cat). Nor is the pub as a whole, although there's nothing massively wrong with it. That said, the Frog's natural rivals are the Devonshire Cat and the (related) Museum, and both score better. Increasingly, the Frog has been developing its live music credentials, with regular evenings of local bands and an annual mini-festival. Score: 5 |
Single room split level
studenty pub with large glass windows giving it quite a bar-ry feel. Quite
a nice place to sit and watch people pass by, but without much else going
for it. The food is a bit pricey and nothing special, and the beer, having
spent a period flitting from "reasonable" to "not so good", seems to have
sunk to new depths: the last time I drank there it was like bog-snorkelling
without the snorkel.
Score: 4.
Formerly the Prince of Wales. |
| Gardener's
Rest, Neepsend Lane, K:
Last visit: May 2007. |
|
| A bit further out of town than the
Kelham Island pubs, but only by another five minutes. This pub is jammed
within a terrace of factories, with the ski centre up the hill to the north,
and the Don to the immediate south. To the left of the porch is a pleasant
enough little olde-worlde room, while to the right is the main heart of
the pub. The walls in here are full of art, rotating regularly - a proper
little gallery. There's also a selection of the more ancient pub games,
with bar billiards taking centre stage. Through the back is a smoke-free
conservatory room, containing local history displays and a morose-looking
mannequin, then beyond that is the beer yard: trapped between a couple
of factories and the River Don, and decked out with beer barrels. All that
stands between you and the Don is a picnic table and some docile bees on
the flowers, making this a great place to spend Summer afternoons. To drink,
there's now a wide selection from the in-house Sheffield Brewery, plus
a couple of Wentworths, and some other guests, plus a wide range of Belgian
lagers. The pub also offers regular Irish entertainment, and there's a
sort of folky new-age atmosphere to the place. It's the type of pub you'd
expect to see Robert Wyatt in. A good pub, especially as light relief from
the three giants that are the Cask, the Cat, and the Kelham Island Tavern.
Score: 10. |
A surprisingly pastoral
pub in the middle of a firmly industrial area. Two relatively normal rooms,
a light-filled wooden conservatory, a beer-barrel-and-rusting-metal themed
garden, and an eerily realistic mannequin. The garden sits on the Don,
which is surprisingly pleasant at this point (compare with the Riverside),
and is consequently a good choice in summer (though perhaps it would be
nicer if it were tidied up a bit). There are regular folk nights, and the
walls are used as gallery space for local artists flogging their wares.
Good range of beers and a friendly atmosphere. Probably the only place
you can play bar billiards in Sheffield. The only thing against it, really,
is its location. Very much worth a look.
Score: 8. |
| Grapes, Trippet Lane, C: | |
| Opened in
1825. Tiled bar area with separate room areas surrounding it, including
a pool room. By no means a great selection of drinks, and perhaps the noisiest
juke-box mechanism in the world. Has occasional music nights - some gigs
sound quite exciting.
Score: 5 |
About
four rooms surrounding a central bar. Not much drinks-wise, but it's an
OK pub. Very occasional gigs here.
Score: 5. |
| Harlequin,
Nursery Street, K:
Last visit: September 2006. |
|
| Formerly the Manchester, and rebranded
in 2006, this is a large, open-plan pub, decorated with scary clown ornaments
and second hand books. There's darts, which is not often seen round these
parts, and three or four pumps of rotating guest ales. But there's also,
at the moment, a sense of sterility, and parts of the pub feel too much
like someone's living room (albeit a very large living room). A sunken
section, towards the back, breaks up the room slightly, but not really
enough. The staff seem keen and friendly, and once the new decor has had
time to bed in, the Harlequin might turn out to be rather a nice pub. It
feels like some turnpike-sited local though, and having the Kelham giants
a little way up the river doesn't really help it any. Ideal for people
who like their pubs to be clean and nice, although the ornamental skulls
might bother then.
Score: 8 |
A newcomer, located just
over the road from the Riverside. I've only been once, it hadn't been opened
long, and both it and I may change in the future, but my impression for
the moment is that it's rather characterless, like an out-of-town Wetherspoons.
Of course, no new pub comes with character from the very start, and this
will take some on, certainly, but whether it will be good or bad is anybody's
guess. The only thing I can say with confidence is that for me it's too
big: a pub where you can open your veins and expire without being noticed
is in need of partition walls. The beer is reasonable.
Score: 5. |
| Hillsborough
Hotel, Langsett Road, K:
Last visit: October 2005. |
|
| A proper hotel. The bar opens up
to the rest of the world Thu-Sun, and offers one of the largest arrays
of beer in town. Guests line up against the resident Edale/Wellington offerings.
The interior is modern and moderately Ikea-ish, but it's a hotel bar/dining-room,
and it is at least peppered with one or two bits of local history on the
walls. The conservatory out at the back is perhaps in eye-shot of the Don
(certainly points in the right direction). Not the greatest looking place
then, and with an air of drinking in a school hall perhaps. You come here
for one reason only (unless you are lodging there), and that is the drink.
Score: 7 Formerly the Wellington. |
Most pubs with the name
"hotel" attached to them are, in my experience, more like stand-alone pubs
than the sort of hotels I've been in. This one isn't. It is a dining room
with a bar, albeit a multi-roomed one with a conservatory stuck on the
back. The bar itself is quite tiny, but serves an improbably vast range
of well-kept beers which explains why it's a Camra favourite. It may be
my imagination, but I think things are helped by the barperson and the
drinker being united in hatred of the paying guests. It's worth a look
if beer is the most important thing to you in a pub, but there are better
pubs with equally good beer ranges more centrally located in town.
Score: 7. |
| Hornblower,
Fitzwilliam Street, DQ:
This pub has now been knocked down. |
|
| Before this
recent turn of events, it was recovering from a previous incarnation as
an Irish theme pub, but managing alright. There was a small selection of
guests. Layout took the form of a long row of cubicles (with bar facing)
finally giving way to a pool table area.
Score: 7 |
Decent
corridor and cubicles pub, with good range of drinks. Got quite noisy at
night, but everywhere in the town centre does. Somehow reminded me of a
Wimpy, but that's probably unfair. You could do worse.
Score: 6. Originally called the Raven. |
| Kelham
Island Tavern, Russell Street, K:
Best Pub in Sheffield: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006. Last visit: last week. |
|
| This pub reopened in
2002, and immediately made its presence felt as one of the Big Three of
the Sheffield "Beer Quarter" (along with the Cask and the Fat Cat). You
might think that the Kelham Island area is a bit far out of town, but it's
probably closer than you think, and well worth the five minute or so walk.
And the Kelham Island Tavern is the nearest of the three Real Ale giants.
It's a rather small L-shaped pub, with hops draped across the ceiling.
There's also a no-smoking extension, built the other year - a little soul-less
at the moment but it's bedding in. The beer yard got an award, and is rather
charming. As far as beer goes, there's a regularly changing series of guests,
with a similar (though by no means identical) selection of brewers to the
Cask. Acorn and Pictish also run as standard, and the beer is well kept
and tasty. There's some Belgian bottles, and one of the better whisky ranges
in town. Food wise, there's the usual snack range (including Seabrook and
Yorkshire crisps), plus sandwiches and pork pies. The staff are friendly,
giving a great atmosphere to the place, but the small size of the place
coupled with its success means that it can get uncomfortably busy at times.
Originally the White Hart. Now open all day on Sunday (12-12). Score: 12 |
My favourite Sheffield
pub. Just up the road from the Fat Cat and just down the road from the
Cask and Cutler, it was completely refitted in a quite appealing fake-Edwardian
look a few years ago having stood empty for quite some time. Its deservedly
award-winning beer garden has been eaten into by a non-smoking extension
(opened 2004), which has gradually assumed a little character but which
still needs some breaking in. The main body of the pub is a fairly small
L-shaped room which goes from completely empty to completely full almost
at random (the only thing guaranteed is that it'll be full come closing
time). It's quite bright, with occasional piped music (but this isn't a
bad thing: recent visits have turned up 60s fare from the likes of the
Kinks, Dusty Springfield, and, slightly less predictably, John Coltrane),
the bar staff are very friendly, the atmosphere is pleasant, there are
decent sandwiches (and food at lunchtime, though I've never been around
to try it), and it has about as many beers as its distinguished neighbours,
but with very little duplication; Acorn Barnsley Bitter (very good) and
Pictish Brewer's Gold ("gold" in the euphemistic, urinary sense) are regular
beers, and there are generally eight or so others. What more do you want?
Score: 10. |
| Lord Nelson, Arundel Street, M: | |
| A
Kimberleys pub on a corner in the more industrialised area beyond Arundel
Gate. Pleasant enough. Full of workers, while the walls have Dali prints
on them which gives a surreal edge.
Score: 5 |
A surprisingly
innocent looking pub in what is quite a scary area at night. Good range
of drinks, it feels a bit like a non-threatening sort of local. Furnished
like a 70s WMC and has a nice frontage, if your bag is looking at pubs
rather than going in them. Worth seeking out if you can find it.
Score: 6. |
| Museum,
Orchard Street, C:
Last visit: April 2005. |
|
| A former Hogshead pub, now Greene
King, it still retains a degree of Hogsheadiness, which is almost inevitable
in a modern city-centre pub. But this one is mazier than most, and at its
heart a bit dingier. There's a decent range of beer including a good house
brew, and the whole thing works out rather well. The Museum deserves direct
comparison with the Frog & Parrot (run by a sibling, with both tied
to Greene King), and probably comes out on top.
Score: 7 |
Formerly a rather horrible
Hogshead pub stuffed with soft furnishings, this is now a perfectly decent
city centre pub, with a mazy interior and a good house beer. It's located
in the heart of shopperland, so the lack of character is probably a business
decision rather than a mistake, but either way, it does make it a bit less
attractive. Still, a decent pub.
Score: 6. |
| New
Barrack Tavern, Penistone Road, K:
Last visit: December 2006. |
|
| Another pub with a stock of Belgian
beers in its fridge, and a handful of guests you'd be proud of in most
cities (that is to say cities without the Cask & Cutler, Fat Cat, and
Kelham Island Tavern). The selection is a bit different to that down in
Kelham, which makes for a pleasant change. Light wooden interior decorated
with brewery mirrors, and a gently thrusting bar covered in the beer and
food blackboards. A nice place, but a way out of town. In 2003 it was bought
by the chain that runs Castle Rock brewery, and so now offers a permanent
Castle Rock among the still decent range.
Score: 9 |
A small room, a large
room and a bar, with a lot of old mirrors on the walls. Good range of beers
which tend to be quite different from those in the Kelham pubs. Friendly
atmosphere too. Its location is the problem for me, being quite a way out
of town, and in any event on a main road, which doesn't make for the most
appealing spot. If you live in the area, I'm sure it's wonderful, but,
given the plethora of superb pubs in town, it doesn't quite seem worth
the walk if you don't.
Score: 7. |
| Noah's Ark, Crookes, W: | |
| It has a pool
table that is cheaper than The Ball's (up the road). The Noah's Ark looks
a lot like what the Three Cranes could've done had it tried harder. There's
food, and a fair selection of drinks including guests.
Score: 6 |
Probably the
best pub in Crookes. Rather more old man than The Ball, and with a more
adventurous range of beers. Good should you find yourself in the area.
Score: 6. |
| Old
Queen's Head, Pond Hill, C:
Last visit: February 2007. |
|
| The oldest commercial
building in the city, dating from the 15th century, it was formerly known
as the Hawle in the Pondes. It was certainly a pub by 1851 but it was rebuilt
a bit in 1993. It's still old, but its age is not strictly obvious, save
one room with some crusty looking brickwork and a fireplace. It is now
pretty well integrated into the bus station, and its chief purpose is to
sell drinks to people waiting for a bus. It's not fantastic, but there's
some Thwaites on the bar, and plenty of corners to sit in. A pretty ordinary
pub that makes for an adequate waiting room if nothing else.
Score: 5 |
Distinctly unremarkable
large multi-roomed pub, though perhaps not quite as utterly awful as I
once thought. Not many drinks to speak of, no atmosphere, not much of anything;
but its size means you can probably find a corner of your own if you want
to, and its location right next to the bus station is potentially useful
for some, I'm sure. Often said to be the "oldest pub in Sheffiield" but
in fact it is only the "pub with bits of its architecture older than any
other pub in Sheffield," and certainly gives no clues to its age from inside
or out.
Score: 4. |
| O'Connells,
West Street, DQ:
Formerly Scruffy Murphy's; we've not been in since rebranding (2002 or there abouts). |
|
| An Irish theme
pub. When it was Scruffy Murphy's, they had Guinness and Calders (is that
Irish?) (not a great selection). The three main Irish Whiskys were hidden
around the corner under some christmas decorations and gave the impression
that they were rarely used. VH1 was on the telly, the sound occasionally
replaced by a CD when the programming failed to meet with the barman's
standards. The pub interior resembled a barn. The piped U2/Pogues/Corrs
tape came on at about half past five. The toilet contained the graffito
"Alf Ramsey is Alf Ramsey".
Score: 4. |
Open
plan wooden Irish theme pub, much like every other Scruffy Murphy's in
the land. No atmosphere, and no drinks to write home about. There's quite
a bit of empty floor space though, so probably this is the place to come
if you feel like a bit of a jig, or a fight.
Score: 3 The pub dates from 1800 and has been known as The Commercial and The Mail Coach. |
| O'
Neils, West Street, DQ:
Formerly the Beehive, and then the Foundry and Firkin. This review dates from the latter days of the Firkin era before the rebranding as part of the O'Neils chain. |
|
| An
interesting pub looking a lot like a warehouse for old video games and
chez lounges. No longer has the Firkin brews and so the selection leaves
a little to be desired: Tetley and another. Opened in 1825.
Score: 5. |
Rather odd
layout, but basically it's a big room divided into smaller bits by wooden
railings. Nothing special on the drinks front, but they're OK. Never been
in at night, but I expect it gets full of students playing on the various
arcade games, and being really loud.
Score: 4. |
| O'Neils,
Fulwood Road, W:
Since rebranded as an It's a Scream pub. |
|
| Up
in Broomhill. Chain Irish theme pub. Ok for what it is, and perhaps better
at it than Scruffy Murphy's. Certainly busier. The piped Irish music played
alongside other CDs.
Score: 5. |
Ostensibly
an Irish theme pub, but there's isn't a great deal of evidence of this
from the inside apart from the drinks - if you don't like stout, you might
find yourself a bit stuck. Nothing much in the way of drinks then, but
not too bad really.
Score: 4. |
| Porter
Brook, Eccleshall Road, S:
Last visit: June 2007. |
|
| A standard Hogshead (now Greene
King) pub, though a brook-side setting, upstairs toilets and a dumb waiter
add to the set-up. A handful of guests, and food available all day (though
it's not the cheapest). A fairly good range of beer: as Greene King now
own most of the breweries in England, there's usually something of interest
on. Gets pretty busy by the evening.
Score: 7. |
Fairly typical Hogshead
affair, though it being a fair way out of the main shopping areas, quieter
than most. Mainly wooden, with a good range of drinks, and OK, if anonymous,
food. The view out the back is quite picturesque in a city-centre-short-on-space
way, also.
Score: 7. |
| Red
Deer, Pitt Street, DQ:
Last visit: January 2006. |
|
| In the middle of Sheffield
University, with a moderate range of usual suspect real ales. There's about
three rooms, one of which is quite cosy, and another which strectches off
into infinity. A pleasant enough pub, really. Opened in 1825.
Score: 6. |
Central but tucked away pub with
a reasonable range of drinks which tend to taste a little odd but which
aren't bad. Gets busy even during the day, owing to its location in the
heart of the university. I have a strong suspicion that this location also
means it sees all sorts of weirdness at nights, but I've not witnessed
it myself (not first hand, anyway).
Score: 6. |
| Red
House, Solly Street, K:
Last visit: June 2007. |
|
| Opened
in 1796. Throughout the early 2000s it changed hands nearly every week.
It's now settled down as an alternative music venue. But while, say, the
Dove & Rainbow is a bar with regular gigs, this is now more regular
gigs with a bar. As such we're declaring the Red House to be "not a pub".
That said, it's pleasingly pubby, with a couple of pumps of decent beer.
The loungey lounge is now a wonderfully dark coven of a place, with the
bar side acting as the "stage". I say "stage" as there is no raised area
to speak of.
This is a great little venue with a sense of something special about it. |
After a period when the Red House seemed to change hands every other week, it now seems pretty well established as a live music venue. Internally, nothing much has changed, but it doesn't open until seven, and has live music virtually (or actually) every night. Said music is often quite outré--the sign outside proclaiming "ACOUSTIC MUSIC" is so misleading as to be actionable--so don't go in expecting pleasant Irish folk. Therefore, I don't think it can be accurately described as a pub any longer: it's a music venue with beer. And it does a truly excellent job at that, but because its function is entirely different to that of the other pubs on this list, it's impossible to compare it with them. |
| Red
Lion, Charles Street, M:
Last visit: October, 2006. |
|
| Basically L-shaped but with a snug,
conservatory and beer garden attached to give a maze-like quality. There's
food, but it's not as nice as that in the Rutland, and not as often served.
It used to have a variety theatre attached to it, and the decor celebrates
this fact. Beer selection is improved on previous years, with the likes
of Black Sheep and Abbeydale. The biggest selling point for this pub is
its handiness for the Showroom and other facets of the Cultural Quarter.
Opened 1825.
Score: 7. |
This has recently undergone
a refit and acquired a pool table. There's a large, sprawling room with
the bar in it, a conservatory, and a tiny snug tucked away where you probably
wouldn't look if you didn't already know it was there. The beer is reasonable
but not special. The food is very ordinary - I suggest you try the Rutland
Arms down the road for that. A good choice if you're on your way to or
from the theatre or cinema.
Score: 6. |
| Riverside, Mowbray Street, K: | |
| The
mock pine window frames, and modern chrome lettering on the wall don't
really bode well. Inside it looks like a Hogshead. There are a couple of
guests but the main speciality here is a large selection of Belgian bottles
(perhaps rivalling the Devonshire Cat). On the wall is some modern art,
while outside is a patio area overlooking the Don.
Score: 4. Visitors' Comments:
|
Surely
the most echoey pub in Sheffield, the Riverside doesn't have much in the
way of bitter, but makes up for it by being generally horrible. It's a
soulless modern wooden shell, with a narrow terrace that faces the Don,
which, being the Don, stinks. Actually, I haven't been here lately, and
it may well have changed since the last time, when it had a fairly wide
selection of Belgian (and other) lagers but little else of note. The opening
of the Harlequin just over the road gives you even less reason to go here
than before, but even without that, you're in spitting distance of the
Kelham Island Tavern and Fat Cat.
Score: 3. Originally called the Brown Cow. |
| Roebuck
Tavern, Charles Street, M:
Last visit: June 2007. |
|
| Bog-standard large partitioned
pub, with a couple of pool tables. A couple of beers come out of taps that
probably don't see as much use as they should. Benefits from its central
location, close to the Peace Gardens and the Moor. Food served pretty much
all day.
Score: 5. |
A fairly
standard but not unpleasant pub with many partitions, two pool tables and
a beer "garden" by a main road. Certainly not special, but not awful either.
Score: 5. |
| Rutland
Arms, Brown Street, M:
Last visit: May 2007. |
|
| Opened in 1833, the Rutland
is a fairly ordinary L-shaped bar, with an award winning beer garden, and
has been established as a reliable city centre(-ish) pub for many years
now. This year it changed hands, and has lost a lot of its objects d'art
in the process. But on the other hand the range and quality of the beer
on offer seems to have improved. The whisky array looks pretty impressive
too.
Score: 7. |
The Rutland recently changed hands
and is now owned by the same people as Plug just up the road. A visit shortly
after this happened seemed to suggest that it wasn't doing very well; not
that it was unpleasant by any means, but it was empty. More recently, however,
it's been doing a good trade, and that's good: it deserves to. It's been
cleaned up a bit, but the traditional feel of the place hasn't changed
(even if they have lost a lot of the knick-knacks that filled the place
up) and they still have a decent range of beer (it's in noticeably better
condition than it was immediately before the change of hands, too). There's
piped music, but it's not bad at all (the last visit turned up Curtis Mayfield
and the Slits). Yet another pub where we have to say it's early days, but
all signs point to yes.
Score: 7 |
| Sportsman, Cambridge Street, C: | |
| A
lack of beer here is what really lets it down, with Tetleys as the only
bitter. But if you want to eat lobster tails, here's the place to come.
It's a fairly normal pub other than that, nothing to really get excited
about. Has a "local" feel to it.
Score: 4. |
Reminds me
somehow of a more wooden Wimpy, but that's probably a bit unfair. The beer
here is very unspectacular - I could be misremembering, but I don't think
there's any real ale at all. Right in the middle of town, but seems to
have a lot of middle aged regulars. The food looked perfectly edible, however,
and I suspect it's a fair bit cheaper than the Devonshire Cat, so it may
be handy for that.
Score: 4. |
| Three Cranes, Queen Street, C: | |
| A round bar.
There was a party going on around the corner from us. The beer was supposed
to be Black Sheep but one of the pints (served in a Boddingtons glass)
looked and tasted more of slaked lime. Being on the same road as the Corporation
rock club (till it flitted) and the Boardwalk venue you'd expect it to
be full of rockers and goths. Instead it was full of smartly dressed youths
ready for a night on the tiles in their shirts and trousers, and often
humourous shoes, sipping from bottles of Budweiser (invariably). Aside
from these, and the party of middle aged women in party hats, were a few
old people eating a meal.
Score: 4. |
Large
room with a horseshoe bar which seems too big and characterless during
the day, and too full of clubbers at night. The drinks are what you'd expect
- a couple of bitters and a lot of American bottles. Not a lot of reason
to go.
Score: 3. |
| Three
Tuns, Silver Street Head, C:
Last visit: January 2006. |
|
| A little gem really,
hidden away. Interesting elephant design bar. Small selection on the drinks
front. Popular with accountants, should you be having difficulties with
your tax return. A few nooks and crannies to get in, and a fireplace. Also
boasts a ghost, and looks rather like a boat from certain angles. Opened
in 1825.
Score: 8. |
Small pub in the heart of the legal
district (if legal districts have hearts) shaped like the prow of a ship.
Cosy and friendly, despite being full of lawyers (there are also quite
a few students usually, to balance them). Has Tetley and Landlord, which
doesn't sound too exciting, but they're well kept and tasty. Also features
what are probably possibly the smallest pub doors in Sheffield.
Score: 7 |
| Washington,
Fitzwilliam Street, DQ:
Last visited: March 2005. |
|
| Once co-owned by Pulp's drummer,
the decor when we went in last was made up of concrete masks made by a
former Pulp member. Furthermore, Pulp's live guitarist, the now independently
renowned Richard Hawley, was spinning the discs at a regular disco night.
Dot Dimberline informs us that there's northern soul and '60s vinyl on
the first Saturday of the month, a quiz on Sundays, food at lunchtimes,
and a beer garden. So there you go.
Dot also tells us that there is now "a good range of cask ales including Tetleys, Moonshine, Abbot and Pedigree". This was pretty much what we found when we went in. Alas, the '70s Soviet club look that we loved so much on our previous visit has been toned down, but this is still a pleasant enough pub and it's probably worth checking that this is open before you go into the Devonshire Cat. Score: 6 |
Studenty pub with not
bad but unspectacular beer. A recent refit which transformed it from Soviet-era-socialist-realism
to supercoolandcrazy-painted-concrete-faces-on-the-wall hasn't done much
for me. I'm probably, like, totally oblong, however; if you are not, you
may enjoy it.
Score: 4.
Update, 2007: Recently underwent some refurbishment, and is now open all afternoon and deep into the night. |
| White Lion, London Road, S: | |
| A
pleasant and sizable pub to the south of the city, with a 50p pool table,
several rooms of assorted sizes, and an adequate range of drinks. Worth
the walk. Dates from 1780.
Score: 8. |
Corridor and
cubicle pub with good range of drinks. There are two separate sides to
the bar, a pool table at the far end, and several smaller rooms off to
the side, so most tastes should be catered for. Well worth finding, but
it is a bit of a walk.
Score: 7. |
| Yorkshireman's
Arms, Burgess Street, C:
This pub has since rebranded as some sort of poncy café-bar, and is now run by an ex soap star, so this review is almost certainly defunct: |
|
| Seemed to
be suffering some sort of cellar crisis when we visited but normally looks
to have two or three bitters of some description or other. Has a pool table
and dart board in the beer garden of all places. Very strange. While we
were here, a plane flew into the World Trade Centre, which didn't help
make things less strange, nor did the one-toed pigeon that shared the beer
garden with us. Inside, the tables have plastic table cloths on top and
the pub seems proud of its food.
Score: 4. |
City
centre pub which, during the day at least, seems to focus very much on
food for shoppers. Some sort of problem in the cellar prevented us from
trying the beer when we went, but the unusual beer garden furniture give
it some novelty value at least. Apart from that, seems to be nothing special.
Score: 4. Opened in 1796. |
