Adelphi, Leeds

Massive, street corner, ornate, multi-roomed Victorian Gin Palace on the edge of the city centre. Very impressive tiling and lots of interesting things on ledges and around the walls. Serves a selection of cask ales mainly from local micro's with the odd one from further afield. Very pricey though even for Leeds city centre, a pint is around £3.40. Well worth a visit for the decor and the decent range of beers, but you'd need an overdraft to stay here all night.

As previously described by the estimable Mr Ale & Hearty, a splendid “Gin Palace”, mixed décor within a multi roomed Victorian building at the end of Leeds bridge. Entering off Hunslet Road into a drinking corridor there is a central servery with bar counter, sitting/bar rooms lead off in various directions. Every age since the 1870s has left its mark here with touches of art nouveau, Deco and the 1960s in odd places. A plethora of handpumps on the two faces of the counter, the standards appear to be Tetley Cask, Landlord and Leeds Pale backed up with guests and a more interesting range of kegs than usual, plus a selection of European bottled beers. The staff were a bit inattentive and the prices above average but the choice and quality made it a worth while visit. I'm not sure painting the faces on the Britannia tables gold is entirely a good idea.

A fantastic example of an ornate, late Victorian, gin palace, one of three Leeds gems designed by local architect Thomas Winn. (The other two were The Rising Sun and The Cardigan Arms). Its curved frontage, on the corner of Dock Street and Hunslet Road is wonderfully imposing and hints at the delights within. The main entrance opens onto a central lobby bar and an impressive open staircase, (leading to the first floor function room). The original terrazzo floor is still intact, as is much of the original tiling and joinery. To the right are a large lounge and a rear saloon, both retaining the original fireplaces. To the left is the large public bar, which was partitioned in the 1980’s to create a fourth room. Both the front rooms feature lovely etched windows. With so much of architectural interest it’s no surprise that The Adelphi is on CAMRA’s National Inventory Part I of historic pub interiors and that Tetley awarded it Heritage Inn status as far back as 1987. There are eight lagers on tap and six stronger continental beers. With only four hand pumps, real ale drinkers, by comparison, might feel a little hard done by. Regular beers are ‘Landlord’ and Tetley bitter- hardly surprising with The Adelphi historically being the brewery tap. Guests, on my visit, were Titanic ‘Iceberg’ and Adnam’s ‘American IPA’. Quality was fine and more importantly the temperature was right. After a freezing cold pint, at the nearby PIN bar, I could have kissed the barmaid! Incidentally, she was friendly and welcoming and the staff as a whole seemed to be young and briskly efficient. Both the guest ales were over three pounds, a little dear by local standards. However, I suspect the core clientele can afford, and doesn’t mind paying, a premium price. Calling at six o’ clock on a Thursday evening, there was already a fantastic atmosphere as the post work crowd were in full swing, along with a sizeable number of students. Some excellent music too, refreshingly left-field. Anywhere that plays Femi Kuti, early in the evening, is OK in my book! Food is widely available and certainly looks more interesting than your average pub menu. Unfortunately, as I didn’t eat here I can’t comment on quality. Like many pubs there are mid-week themed nights to keep the place ticking over. On Tuesdays there is a quiz, Wednesdays a wine club. The upstairs room has accoustic showcase nights and a comedy club. The Adelphi has received a fair bit of flak, in some quarters, for being both expensive and a bit pretentious. However, on the basis of this visit, I loved the place and will definitely return.