Latest reviews from Bradford

“Large Brewdog bar immediately behind the Alhambra Theatre. The usual post industrial layout with the addition of a couple of shuffleboard tables. 25-30 keg lines, mostly Brewdog's own with a smattering of guest beers.“

Cheeseboard 72 days ago

“Shabby chic micro-pub a few yards away from Record Cafe. A choice of around 10 beers on cask and keg. I was served an 'off' cask beer, never a good sign. I wouldn't rush back.“

Cheeseboard 72 days ago

“Part record shop (upstairs) and part bar/cafe on the ground floor. A friendly ambience. Around 10-12 beers available on cask & keg, an interesting & varied selection of breweries and styles. Nice place.“

Cheeseboard 72 days ago

“Located in the former Brew Haus premises, very little about the layout and look has changed, with the bar and kitchen still operating from the same places. There's more BrewDog branding around the place of course, but the main difference is the long Shuffleboards now dominating the main space in this upper floor bar. BrewDog keg ales and guests available.“

ManVsBeer 384 days ago

“Visited on Saturday before the Bradford v Grimsby game; 1st April 2023. Basic front room micro joint, more seating by the toilets down stairs. TV screen with beer selection in one corner. Nice vibe and interesting cask and keg choices. Semi-grubby, semi-lived in sort of feel. Given free Pork Pie and Mushy Peas even though we were obviously not local or regulars. Liked it!“

BlackHaddock 415 days ago

“Next to the Sparrow on North Parade with a similar set-up given it's the same size unit, with seating available from its large glass front up to the bar against the back wall, which sports a mix of cask and craft keg with enough options to keep you interested for a quite a while.“

ManVsBeer 436 days ago

“Old-fashioned cask beer house on the outskirts of the city. It's very quiet on a Thursday evening which is a shame. Despite the lack of more modern craft beer offerings, this is a brilliant little pub.they carry the likes of Little Critters and Phoenix as well as a few Theakston beers and a smattering of Belgians on keg. Probably was much more relevant to the beer scene 20 years ago but still has a lot to offer. Recommended even if awkward to get to from the city centre.“

jjsint 783 days ago

“Ooh, yes. My sort of place: muaic and craft beer. The vinyl is upstairs but on the ground floor you'll have free rein of the beer. A couple of decent cask plus six keg (some easily obtainable stuff but also gems from Little Earth Project, Prizm and Yonder). If I lived here I can totally see this being my regular. And that is high praise indeed.“

jjsint 783 days ago

“Wow, they're popping up everywhere, these BrewDogs. This one, up a steep hill from town and across from the excellent Aleppo restaurant. It's one of comlier BrewDogs I've visited. Maybe that's the newness (just opened on Friday) or the relative space I'm given on a quiet Tuesday night. Or maybe it's the shuffleboard tables. Neither can I complain about the beer list - 27 taps given over mostly to BrewDog (as seems to be the fashion post-pandemic) but with a few good guests. A minor complaint would be that the beer list doesn't list the brewer alongside the beer name, so check their tap list before you come. And it's a bit dear even by BD standards. But I'm happy to try Brewdog anywhere, I know they divide opinion but they tend to be solid venues. As is this one.“

jjsint 911 days ago

“Decent little bar specialising in craft beer. It's right next to the Sparrow, it's a bit smaller and more 'rustic'. The beer list is fairly good, with some ubiquitous UK and European stuff alongside top local breweries such as Turning Point and Vocation. A decent bottle and can selection from the UK, the EU and USA. And the prices aren't bad either. They were completely empty on the Tuesday evening I stopped by, so give them some love if you're in town.“

jjsint 911 days ago

“Lovely little place, which definitely has the feel of 'bier cafe' rather than pub. Walk in to muted lights, wooden flooring and furniture and red and teal walls. It seems to be run by Kirkstall, as there's quite a lot of their beer in cask, keg and can/bottle. Otherwise the choice isn't great, with a lot of good if ubiquitous stuff from Germany and Belgium and a few cans of Polly's. Not cheap, but not eye-watering either. Come here for the atmosphere or to bulk up your Kirkstall ticks.“

jjsint 911 days ago

“Brilliant craft beer bar in the city centre. It's welcoming, warm and toasty on a cold November evening. There's a live act warming up but not on yet so we're treated to moody indie pop music. The beer? Offerings from Northern greats such as Wilde Child, Cloudwater, Neptune as well as outfits farther afield such as Burning Sky make up the five cask and eight keg taps. Nice little bottle fridge too. Not cheap, but this sort of quality rarely is.“

jjsint 911 days ago

“A place that seems to also be known as Jacobs Ale Jouse and Jacobs Beers House, but a rose by any other name... They call it a traditional pub and they're not kidding. Wooden floors, wooden tables and six handpulls from Yorkshire breweries: Three from Half Moon, two from Sunbeam and one Abbeydale. So five new beers for me here, which is pretty good going. Traditional English styles represented but there is a 6.3% IPA on as well. And enjoyable hour or more can be spent here“

jjsint 912 days ago

“Previously the 'Bradford Brewery' brewhouse and tap, now taken over by Eyes. They had a few teething problems with the brewing part of this stand alone building at the north end of the city centre when they began, but the bar side is unchanged, with a similar selection of drinks and guests to compliment their own brews.“

ManVsBeer 1357 days ago

“Current incarnation of the former Exchange Ale House under the beautiful Wool Exchange building in the city centre (whoever added the current photo for this place has it completely wrong so has clearly never been there). Nightjar brewery features heavily in here on its cask but others guests are available, its keg is a bit more mainstream and there's bag in box real ciders here too.“

ManVsBeer 1510 days ago

“Lovely pub in the centre of Bradford. I was looking for something dark on cask but couldn't see one. Instead had a pint of Saltaire Blonde, which was well kept. The two barmaids were very warm and jolly and that sort of thing makes a big difference. Lots of different nooks and crannies to sit in, including tables half into the street.“

spiffero 2159 days ago

“Traditional pub in the truest sense of the word, the main reason to visit is for the beer. As Rune says, there are twelve hand pumps, on this occasion most were of the pale ale variety. I had a decent chocolate porter from a brewery called Stancill, quite tasty it was too. The letdown here is the location, still worth the walk from the city centre though.“

Beermenace 2547 days ago

“A classic English pub divided into different sections offering eight cask ales on handpumps and quite a few keg lines, supported by a decent bottled range. Wide variety of strength, breweries, and styles. Their beers can be bought in thirds. It’s located close to a crossroad traffic square and not far from the railway station (Interchange). A friendly, a little bit worn-out, freehouse, well worth a visit. Thanks to ManVsBeer for taking us here (visited with Steinar 08.07.2015).“

Rune 3223 days ago

“Twelve operating hand pumps, most of the cask ales came from breweries in Yorkshire. Good variety in ale styles. In addition there was a decent range of imported bottled craft beers. A traditional, classic Brit pub, quite large, informal, and taking good care of the local community. No music at our stay. Welcome atmosphere and friendly service. A hidden gem in an industrial area far outside of the city centre. Big thanks to ManVsBeer for showing the shortcut and the pub. Without him we would not have had the great pleasure of visiting Fighting Cock (08.07.2015).“

Rune 3223 days ago

“A café-like bar with high ceiling and a little retro outlook. A four-sided ground floor with toilets and more seating downstairs. The bar at the rear of the ground floor servers four regional cask ales and imported beers on tap from Czech and US, among others, as well as a huge selection of bottled craft beers. Friendly barman who had good knowledge about his beers and the brewery scene in Yorkshire. Cool rock music during our stay. We were happy to meet ManVsBeer here. Sparrow Bier Café is located a few minutes’ walk from the railway station (Forster) in North Parade, a central street for beer drinking in Bradford (visited with Steinar 08.07.2015).“

Rune 3224 days ago

“Directly east on the road of the retail park next to Bradford Forster Square station, this pub is a few metres up the hill after the road starts to climb. It’s in its own white-washed brick building with a central entrance, the bar is against the back wall with two defined drinking areas on either side of the doorway. Traditional in its style, there’s warming carpets, wooden beams, low ceilings and a very convivial atmosphere. This place gets packed at lunchtime as the meals are very popular, although I did not indulge. Drinkers are also well serviced with over half a dozen options and a constant rotation as you’ll notice from the huge array of used pump clips on the ceiling and walls.“

ManVsBeer 3287 days ago

“We visited the The Record Cafe on Friday 20th February 2015. The Record Cafe is on North Parade close to an Oriental Supermarket and just across the road from the Sparrow Café and the soon to open Beer House, if that isn’t enough a brand new Bradford brewery and tap has just opened somewhere behind here the day before we arrived, though as we were unaware we missed out on that venue and didn’t know about it until the following day when the owner of The Sparrow and Bundobust told us when we were visiting the latter in Leeds. As I have already mentioned in my review of The Sparrow, North Parade is well situated, it’s a very short walk up the hill from town approx 15 mins from Bradford Interchange station, Forster Sq station is just 3-4 mins away at most. The Record Café is as the name suggests both a café and a record shop, the latter being upstairs at the rear of the shop. However whilst I have always been a fan of this concept, I think that this particular outfit need to invest a little more in stock as the display racks were somewhat bereft of vinyl and spreading them out thinly across all the racks, only highlights the issue. However it is the beer that will be more of an interest to most folk and in this respect it was a pretty good selection. There was a slightly higher focus on cask here but off the top of my head the keg selection was still quite healthy. We both revisited beers we’d had before, I had a Rat IPA (forgot the name) Loz had Dark Star Revelation, both were very good and both keg offerings. It was quite busy in here (about 3pm) and much like The Sparrow the music selection was pretty good. The member off staff that we were served by didn’t seem so knowledgeable, but he was friendly enough and that is the key thing. I liked it here, though The Sparrow was much more to my liking, but this is a jolly decent bar. Layout is rectangular, with seating down one side and the bar on the RH side, it is furnished quite simply, well worth a visit.“

Fin 3376 days ago

“We visited the Sparrow Bier Cafe Friday 20th February 2015. Loz lived in Queensberry (an area of Bradford) for a few years and also in Bradford itself whilst at University, I spent a lot of time up there when the beer scene was much quieter. Back then the Fighting Cocks was probably about the only really very good pub, as I recall 18-20 years ago. It was lovely revisiting Bradford after all these years and particularly nice to see the beer scene in such rude health, especially along this North Parade area of town with The Sparrow and across the road The Record Cafe and due to open next month the Beer House a few doors along from here added to that a new Bradford brewery and tap has just opened behind the Record Cafe. The Sparrow is an absolute delight, very much a little cafe with a fab’ selection of beers both bottled and on tap. In terms of geography North Parade is a very short walk up the hill from town and only about 15 mins from Bradford Interchange station and even closer to Forster Sq station, 3-4 mins at most, so The Sparrow is really quite handily placed. It is a square room with retro red formica topped tables and old fashioned seats. On one wall on the LH side as you enter are posters advertising gigs, shows and events being held locally, the bar area is straight ahead of you and more seating plus the toilets are situated downstairs. There was a good choice of beer on tap, we had Devil’s Bilge Water and Fines Ales Hurricane both very good, food was also excellent we had a meat and cheese plate to share and also olives and hummus really enjoyed the food. The music was also great, John Martyn, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Jackson C Frank and Tom Rush, we really enjoyed this place. Staff were friendly and chatty, I would heartily recommended this cafe.“

Fin 3377 days ago

“A brand new addition to Bradford in 2014, this is a cafe-bar with an impressive row of coffees available all lined up behind the bar. It mainly aims to be a funky bar though, in what is a converted shop unit with a very steamed up glass window that covers the entire front of the place. The bar is set back on the right of the unit with the majority of the seating running on the left hand side. Behind the bar is where all the kegs are kept in a purpose built room which you’ll probably get to see if they have to change one of the four rotating real ale options here. This is backed up by keg options and an impressive enough bottle selection, but it’s not one of the cheaper places to drink in the city. The decor is somewhat bland but the beer options do the talking in here. It’s less than 30 seconds walk to the Sparrow Bier Cafe from here. There’s a record shop open until 6pm at the rear of the unit on the upper level.“

ManVsBeer 3400 days ago

“A shop unit that is almost square, the tables and chairs in front of the service area are deliberately kept small as there’s not a huge amount of space to work with in this cafe-bar. It has that feel although it’s very much bar rather than cafe with a row of rotating ales next to changing keg options, all of which are written up on the board behind the bar, and they’re all decent options for those seeking hard to find beers. Decent bottle options are also available here. There are seats in the basement room too, although unless it’s busy down here it will feel impersonal and away from the far more attractive main ground floor room. UPDATE In 2021 - much unchanged apart from beer selection, now 3 cask, 8 keg, all very much regulars and often seen beers, albeit still from microbreweries. Not the same selection it once was.“

ManVsBeer 3400 days ago

“A good ten minute plus walk from the city centre, this pub is down the hill from the University of Bradford in the middle of an industrial estate, but not too far away from civilisation to be isolated once the trucks and vans have disappeared in the evenings and weekends. It has its own band of regulars, two open plan rooms that adjoin through a large archway and the bar serves both. Traditional in style it has a very wooden oriented design with floor and furniture all creaky enough in this respect, but with a lot of charm for it. Live sport is shown in the rear rooms and this is where the lion share of the many ales pumps exist, although there area a couple in the front bar and all carry different options, most of which rotate, making it perhaps the best option in Bradford out of the central areas and possibly the best of all in terms of cask. Dogs allowed.“

ManVsBeer 3400 days ago

“Sandwiched between Bradford Interchange and the National Media Museum, the latter of which it is in sight of across the main road, this old traditional pub building offers some respite from the many large ugly concrete buildings in this area (the Town Hall excepted). It sits on a now disused cobble road that is possibly the oldest left in the city centre and a few picnic tables allow some outdoor drinking but the modern road and junction are only a few metres away so there’s no chance of a quiet drink here. The inside is however an appealing place to be with a large single open plan room on the ground floor disturbed by plenty of stanchion walls that create different areas to sit in. The service area is on the left after you walk in through the central doorway and sports seven ale pump, all of which rotate, and serveral keg ales are here too. There’s also a large number of bottles available that holds more interest than the regular sets most pubs carry. There is Weissbier on tap here too.“

ManVsBeer 3634 days ago

“Best place to drink good beer in Bradford by a country mile. Best range in town seeing the likes of Magic Rock, Buxton, Thornbridge, Arbor, Wild Beer Co, Dark Star, Burning Sky to name a few along side local favourites Saltaire and Ilkley. Keg fonts also bring some great beers from overseas from De Molen, Mikkeller, Schneider Weisse, Flying Dog, Anchor aswell as keg offerings from the best of contemporary British brewing. Bottle selection is well picked, European, US, British. No rubbish. Great service, great music, simple but tasty bar snacks (locally sourced), art exhibitions and a fun atmosphere. One of my favourite places in the North“

HopZineRob 3733 days ago

“A large ground floor open plan chain-style pub that could easily be mistaken for a Wetherspoons. It is directly opposite the Town Hall on the main road so it’s hard to miss. There’s plenty of tables and chairs as well as screens to watch the live sport on, you can practically stand or sit anywhere and see a television making it arguably the best place to drink and view at the same time in the city. Lager is king here but there is a small selection of real ale and it does rotate craft brews so it can be appealing to the specialist beer seeker. Food is served here.“

ManVsBeer 3884 days ago

“the sparrow is a new bar in bradford with a superb choice of beers. on offer are 4 craft keg and four traditional hand pulled cask ales. the bar staff know their beers and will discuss the brews at length. its a great little bar where ale drinking bradfordians meet and they support local art, ffod and bradford city.reccommended“

adwalton53 4062 days ago

“City centre pub with an entrance off a pedestrian alleyway which has a good footfall being in the commercial heart at the bottom of the hill. It’s setting makes for a cosy place to drink and it is possible to sit outside although sunlight is practically non-existent given the location. Inside it is also a dark affair complimented by the traditional pub decor in dark wood style. The lay out is irregular but all areas are utilised so it is possible to find a corner of choice. It also shows all the live sport including football and rugby league given its prominence within the city. The bar is long and there is a preference for lager, but there is a small row of real ales including from local brewers. Food is available.“

ManVsBeer 4108 days ago

“A Sam Smiths pub located on the fringe of the commercial centre of the city. This is a popular pub serving its own range of drinks available throughout its chain from its Tadcaster Brewery. In terms of ales it has its own bitter as well as stout and its not too often seen Light Mild. The building has survived the commercial sprawl and drinking is done in several small rooms on the ground floor in traditional pub seats and tables. There’s also a large enclosed garden area to its rear and most men visiting this pub will see it as their toilet is situated in its own small building here. Given the prices expect standing room only at peak times.“

ManVsBeer 4108 days ago

“Part of the new complex of food and entertainment venues occupying a part of Centenary Square in the city centre, this is a Lloyds Bar in the Wetherspoon chain. At the weekends music and good times are the name of the game, although the upper level remains a little more traditional in style and clientele during these times. During the day this place is big enough for its means, except when the weather is good when its patio area which extends into the square gets packed and there’s standing room only, although often not much of that either. The bars ale selection is not too bad for the more lager oriented subdivision of this chain.“

ManVsBeer 4108 days ago

“great relaxed little bar, plenty of good beers on tap and in the fridge, nice real ale foreign beers and craft ales , best place in Bradford for this type of beer“

harrystrill 4273 days ago

“Great place to get a good selection of all styles of beer. Much recommended!“

Boodrums 4356 days ago

“like drinking in someone’s living room, except that the someone in question has only just moved in and hasn’t quite finished decorating yet.“

Famousdog 4717 days ago