The Fat Badger @ White Hart Hotel, Harrogate

Fat Badger is a long bar that is part of the White Hart Hotel, but I had no idea until someone told me, so I would considered it a pub in its own right. There’s some seating in the front window to the right of the corner entrance and then a step down to the bar counter that runs down the left facing mainly booth seating down the right to more seating across the rear wall. The bar counter supports two banks of four hand pumps that were drawing TT Landlord, Ossett’s White Rat, Kirkstall’s Three Swords, Rooster’s Yankee, Saltaire’s DDH Citra, Copper Dragon’s Golden Pippin, Tetleys and Black Sheep Best. The Copper Dragon was a decent pint. Premium and craft keg was also available, as was food with the burger coming in at £15. I think our crew of ten probably doubled the occupancy during our Friday afternoon visit, although all of the seating outside was taken. I liked it in here and would gladly return.

Not what I was expecting from a hotel bar at all, as this is very much a real ale pub (albeit an upmarket one). Quite a grand bar, and a pleasant patio beer garden around the entrance area. With all eight handpumps in use, we found a reasonable choice of beers from mostly mid-sized breweries, although I went for the Tetley's Cask (£2.25, half) for old times sake.