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Beer of the Week (w/e 5th May 2024) with Tris39
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Detail Pages
Yellow Monkey, Wigan
Wigan
WN1 1QJ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Rob Hunter left this review about Yellow Monkey
Dogs are welcome at the Yellow Monkey, and unfortunately a particularly yappy noisy example was making the most of its welcome at the time of my visit, though credit to the owner he did take it outside after a while to calm down a bit. There was music playing, but a touch too loud for my liking. That, combined with the yapping, meant I didn't take to this place as much as I could have done.
At the bar, three of six hand pulls were in service. There are some outdoor tables and chairs.
Pleasant enough but I preferred Sherringtons.
On 25th November 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 761 recommendations about 606 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Brainy Pool left this review about Doc's Symposium
short walk out of town takes you to this cafe bar with a deli filled with cakes, crisps and sandwiches sharing prominence with the bar as you walk in. Five hand pumps and just two keg taps. The cask range this time was pale ales and bitters entirely, a dark choice would have been nice, but my Flat Cap was well kept. No TV anymore and though there is dreary music, it’s just a pleasant place to while away an afternoon.
On 18th January 2020
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1058 recommendations about 1023 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Doc's Symposium
A bit of a walk out of town,but proving very popular in the good weather ,there were lots of tables and chairs outside on the pavement.Inside it felt a bit like a sandwich shop and it could easily double up as a cafe.The portrait wallpaper gave some character,while the glass cabinet was serving cheese and other snack foods.The flatscreen was off during our trip.
The 4 handpumps were serving Bank Top Flat Cap,Prospect Silver Tally,Kirkstall Pale (decent) and Deeply Vale Citra Storm (very good,great session ale).Shame there was nothing in the higher ABV category but having been disappointed by the ale selection in some other GBG listed pubs,this place got a good deal of our customer.Along with Wigan Central ,I would say this is a Wigan pub not to miss.
On 10th July 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2737 recommendations about 2737 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about Doc's Symposium
A fairly decent micropub. Its not, however, a place for those of you that abide by the strict micropub rules that you've made up as there is background music AND a tv. For the less petty then this is quite good. The bar is next to a deli counter and there are 5 handpumps plus 2 keg fonts. Beers from Abbeydale, Prospect, Doghouse and Bank Top available today. Dodgy wallpaper as noted. I liked it.
On 19th May 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about Doc's Symposium
This is pretty much a micropub with a deli. One small room that looks very like a cafe. "Interesting" wallpaper with one side covered in fake bricks and another with jokey animal themes, almost like a kids bedroom. Several chunky wooden tables and smart chairs to sit on gives it a higher class than usual look. Some cafe style metal tables and chairs on the pavement outside for those occasional sunny days. 5 handpumps with beers from 5 different breweries on the bar and my two halves were both in excellent condition. I really liked this one.
On 13th October 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3224 recommendations about 3135 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Doc's Symposium
Attractive modern café / bar, with the light furniture and decor very much giving the appearance of the former. However, once past the salads, cakes and nuts in the display cabinet, you find a bank of five handpumps offering the 'house' DHB, York Guzzler, Prospect Silver Talley, Martland Hill D-Day Dodger and Irlam Works Breadcrumbs (£2.80). There is also a fount on the counter with two craft keg taps and another five on the side wall dispensing Avalon 'cydra' and a few standard keg beers. Not one for the traditionalists, perhaps, but worth seeking out.
On 17th April 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Doc's Symposium
A well run Micro this one, with a choice of five ales. There was also a varied choice of snacks kept in a refrigerated counter under the bar. Offerings ranged from small pork pies to small bowls of olives, which were all a premium price. There was a long shelf and bar stools along the front window, so we took up residence there for a while quaffing their ales. I found the majority of ales on this visit to be too sweet and The Martland Mill Brewery Lancashire Loom was about the best choice.
On 12th January 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Doc's Symposium
Opened in August 2014 in an old florists shop by the former proprietors of the nearby Royal Oak, this place has kick-started a bit of a micro-pub revolution in and around Wigan, with several others following swiftly in its wake. This pub has a pretty good location opposite Mesnes Park, not too far from the town centre but far enough to prevent constant over-crowding. As with most micro pubs, it's a single room affair, set in an angular bare boarded room with the servery and a small deli counter on the left hand side, next to the entrance. The room has been filled with several chunky square tables surrounded by padded high backed chairs which were pretty comfortable. A couple of drinking ledges next to the bar and on the rear wall, coupled with an upturned barrel or two, offer a few more surfaces on which to rest your pint, but space is obviously at a bit of a premium, which is of course, part of the appeal. The décor is pretty unusual, with brick effect wallpaper to the side of the bar and a strange animal themed wallpaper covering the rear wall, depicting images of kangaroos in boxing gloves, dogs with birthday cakes and frogs supping ale among other things. It's all rather unconventional and whilst it doesn't really work to enhance a traditional drinking environment, it's not entirely out of place in what is essentially a quirky, modern pub concept. The light fixtures include light shades made from antlers and there is a window on the rear wall that lets a bit more daylight in and had a pile of CAMRA literature on the sill. There are also some café style tables and chairs on the pavement outside and anyone hoping to attend with kids or dogs in tow will need to be aware that they would have to remain outside.
The bar supports five handpulls - probably the most I've seen in a micro pub to date - and there was a good selection available on this visit comprising Bank Top Bad to the Bone and Flat Cap, Blackedge Black and HoP and Weetwood Cheshire Cat which was later replaced by Prospect Silver Tally. There are no keg fonts, but there was a small range of bottled beer options in the fridges. I tried the Blackedge Black, a favourite of mine, and found it in superb condition, prompting me to abandon plans to visit another pub and instead stay for a very good pint of the HoP. Staff and clientele all seemed very friendly and there was a good deal of trade passing through during my stay, without it ever getting too busy.
I really liked this place from the minute I walked through the door. The pub is welcoming, comfortable, personable and serves excellent beer and whilst some traditionalists may find it too much like a café bar, the traditional values of a good pub remain apparent. I was very disappointed to learn that the Royal Oak was now closed, but its spiritual successor is a worthy replacement.
On 6th March 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]