The Mucky Duck, Harrogate

Now well established under new owners Breary & Young, they own Okells and three Liverpool pubs as well as the former Market Towns Taverns group. Not hugely different there are six pulls which are relocated to the other counter face, eight unremarkable kegs occupy their former position. Similar food offering and unchanged layout to before, arty photos of Harrogate replace the MTT trademark European beer ads.

Opening in early 2010 in the former Black Swan pub, the Swan on the Stray became Market Town Tavern's second Harrogate pub after the Old Bell Tavern in the town centre. This place seems to be a little more food focussed than the Old Bell and perhaps loses a bit of character in comparison as a result. You enter into a bare boarded main bar area with an L-shaped servery to the rear, broken in two by a short section of wall. To the right is a seating area with tidy booths running along the wall and lots of nice enamel beer adverts on display. The left hand side is carpeted and offers pew, low stool and standard seating options under a series of excellent retro beer adverts, all nicely framed on the walls and augmented by a lovely circular pub sign. The day's papers were also available in a rack near the bar. I arrived just after opening on a Sunday lunchtime and the place steadily filled up with people wanting their Sunday roast. I naturally felt compelled to join in and enjoyed a very tasty roast beef with all the trimmings at a sensible price. In sharp contrast to the previous reviewer, I found the service to be very good, with attentive staff making sure everyone was happy, glasses were full and food arrived in a timely fashion. The beer options were extensive, with Rosters Yankee, Daleside Blonde, Okells Spring Ram, Green Duck Duck and Dive, Ilkley Mary Jane, Saltaire Bavarian Black, Taylor Landlord and Black Sheep Bitter all available on handpull alongside a decent keg selection. I gave the Bavarian Black a try and thought it was a fine pint in tip-top condition. This turned out to be the ideal place for Sunday lunch and struck me as a great place to visit with a larger group for a meal. It was difficult to gauge just how good this pub is purely from a drinker's point of view, but the extensive ale range is certain to appease most, making this worth the walk out of town to explore.