Town Hall Tavern, Leeds

The Town Hall tavern is a Timothy Taylors tied pub in the centre of Leeds opposite the council building. Refurbished to a high modernish standard the pub one medium sized one room affair with hard wooden floors. The bar in on the left as you enter with a few seating areas branched off from the main room in what would have been their own rooms years ago but now have been pulled through. I quite liked the décor, it was minimalist and modern but had a traditional edge to it so it wasn’t like drinking in a crappy modern bar. Food is a big player here and it is somewhat of a gastro pub with expensive high end lunches and dinners being served here. Because of this it does lose a bit of pub character and won’t be on the diehard CAMRA members favourite list. Aside from this though I found it a rather pleasant place to be as it was fairly quiet as the kitchen was closed on my visit for repairs. The big draw here is obviously the fact that it is the only Timothy Taylors pub in Leeds and sells their entire range which included Dark Mild. Golden Best, Ram tam, Landlord and Boltmaker. There was also another spare pump that has Le Champion on when brewed occasionally that will in the future house the new golden ale they are launching in the spring. I had the usually hard to find dark mild and it was very nicely kept and delicious at only 3.5% I could have sat and drank it all day, it now up their as one of my favourite mild’s. I also tried the golden best that was the same price as the mild at £3.40 which I find expensive but you have to remember that this is in an ever increasing city (price wise) and a Timothy Taylors pub that always gives me two notions, A, Its Going to be fantastic beer and B, I’m going to have to pay out a good bit for it. Overall this is a great pub to come and enjoy a pint of well Kept Timothy Taylors. The beer is the real big attraction and without it this probably would not be anything special. Some will dislike the lack of guest ales available but when your getting the full range of Taylors that are very hard to find in most parts of the country I think this makes up for it. Ill be calling back when next in Leeds and would recommend it.

Called on Monday evening to find the pub quite busy but sadly with diners not drinkers having said that the beer was very nice if quite expensive £4.95 for a pint and a half of golden best the staff seemed more concerned with serving food than beer

This Timothy Taylor pub, situated opposite the city's law courts, was built back in 1926, as evidenced by the etched front windows which bear this date, and was given an extensive refurbishment in 2011, taking it more into 'gastro-pub' territory. I visited fairly late on a Saturday night, so the food orders had pretty much dried up and I was able to enjoy the place as a pub rather than as a restaurant. It's a single room set up, with the bar over on the left hand side underneath an old beam covered in black and white photos of Leeds. Some very comfortable padded banquettes run around the front section of the pub underneath some Hogarth style paintings and Taylors posters. To the rear is a coffee bar style space with tiled walls and an ancient looking 'Smeg' fridge. A large Christmas tree dominated the centre of the room on my visit, with plenty of seating available through the rest of the room. The place was fairly busy when I visited, although I suspect it would have been even more so if I'd arrived an hour or so earlier and caught the majority of diners. Music played quietly in the background throughout my stay but I didn't spot any TV screens. Apparently there used to be a fire station situated opposite, and the pub had a bell inside to alert any fireman present that he was needed. Five Taylors beers were available on my visit - Best Bitter, Landlord, Boltmaker, Dark Mild and an excellent drop of Ram Tam. Prices don't seem to have changed much since ROB's review two and a half years ago, with the Ram Tam setting me back £3.40. The barman who served me was very friendly and I got the impression that this is a pretty welcoming, customer-focused place. Whilst I might have felt very differently had I arrived in the middle of their dinner service, I thought this was a very pleasant pub in which I was able to settle down and enjoy an excellent pint at my leisure. The slightly non-descript décor means that it doesn't quite cut it as one of the city's best, but it's certainly worth a look if you find yourself in this part of town.