Ok your wish is my command Will... Now done..
Never underestimate the pull of Betty's Tea Room on "Her who needs to be influenced"
Ok your wish is my command Will... Now done..
Never underestimate the pull of Betty's Tea Room on "Her who needs to be influenced"
Work is the curse of the drinking Class - Oscar Wilde
Luckily the Blues Bar is just around the corner, so you can swerve Betty's, just as I have on all my numerous visits to Harrogate.
A pub is for life not just for Christmas
Yes ,by a short head Harrogate topped the poll.Could some kind person with admin.authorisation please ammend the title of this thread to include Harrogate on Friday July 7th and then we can start planning the crawl.
Which are the must visit pubs ? (I've never been )
"Good people drink good beer" Hunter S Thompson
To get things started, here's my top selection in the centre:
Alexandra
Blues Bar
Cold Bath Brewing
Disappearing Chin
Fat Badger
Hales Bar
Harrogate Tap
Husk
Inn at Cheltenham Parade
Little Ale House
Major Tom's Social
North Bar
Old Bell
Starling
Tap on Tower Street
Winter Gardens (JDW, but worth going for the architecture)
Probably enough there to be going on with, but further out you also have the Devonshire Tap and the Office Alehouse new micro at Starbeck, plus the two brewery taps (Harrogate & Roosters).
On leaving the bar, I felt a strong blow to the back of my head. Turning round, I discovered it was the pavement
Although I won’t be joining you on the day I can offer some up to date info/opinion on the pubs. In general Harrogate is not a town for lovers of traditional pubs and many places are card payments only.
You could go in a circular route from the station towards Husk, the Alexandra and Tap on Tower St, then down into the Montpellier area via Blues Bar to Fat Badger, Old Bell and Hales, then back to the station by a different route (Major Toms, Winter Gardens, Cold Bath, Inn on Cheltenham Parade, Little Ale House, Starling). The Disappearing Chin and Harrogate Tap are located by the bus and rail stations. If you're staying more than one day Knaresborough is also worth a visit, York bound trains or any number 1 bus will get you there. Both go through Starbeck where The Office is nearby. Devonshire Tap is very good but maybe too far out especially as the pub next door is shut. The brewery taps are excellent but limited hours and/or a bit of a trek.
Blues Bar – small music venue, beer usually good.
Disappearing Chin – very small, three cask beers that are usually interesting, Three Brothers is very frequent, the craft keg line up can be spectacular; note opening hours and it’s card only.
Harrogate Tap – excellent don’t miss.
Inn at Cheltenham Parade – Timothy Taylor’s tied house, quality is usually excellent but pricey.
Little Ale House – excellent don’t miss, note opening hours and it prefers card only.
Major Tom's Social – an odd place but the four beers are usually very good and interesting, excellent pizzas. Note opening time and it's card only.
Old Bell – slightly variable, but seems fine at present.
Starling – maybe gone off a little since expanding but still an excellent choice and good pizzas. Card only.
Winter Gardens (JDW, but worth going for the architecture) agreed but the beer is good at present.
Alexandra – Nicholsons not much to recommend it, but better than some. Close to being a traditional pub.
Cold Bath Brewing – not very inspiring place they have two or three cask beers on but fairly middling quality, their own stout isn’t bad. Range of craft kegs.
Fat Badger – the public bar of a posh hotel, beer choice is the usual suspects of Yorkshire cask, fair quality.
Hales Bar – only if you haven’t been before, the beer quality is variable and the choice is getting smaller. It’s not as interesting as it used to be but go for the décor.
Husk – very small bottle shop with bar, two casks in reasonable condition, wider craft keg and bottle/can choice. Card only.
North Bar – more cafe than bar, cask beer is a bit of an after thought here and usually the two casks are from North Brewing. Card only.
Tap on Tower Street – not bad, check which beers are on as they’re different in each bar.
There’s also the Last Post just up the road from the Fat Badger, a fairly ordinary bar, similarly Christie’s is near Cold Bath, pleasant enough but average beer.
Last edited by oldboots; 06-06-2023 at 08:03.