The Commercial Hotel, Knaresborough

The Borough Bailiff is a stone built pub in the middle of Knaresborough and it is a Samuel Smiths tied house. I went in a room at the front of the pub and this was fairly smart and comfortable there was the one real ale on here which was Old brewery bitter and this was a very nice drink. The pub was fairly quiet on my visit but this was monday dinner and i thought this was quite a nice pub to have a few drinks in. Pub visited 16/7/2007

If in Yorkshire you find a pub that does not announce which brewery owns it, doesn't proclaim it's a freehouse or doesn't have Black Sheep signage then it is probably a Sam Smith's pub. The Borough Bailiff is such a place in spite of being a largish and slightly upmarket inn. There are two bars, a public entered at the side and a lounge accessed through the main door off the High Street, there is also a dining room at the back. It has an old and interesting interior of the sort pub designers have tried to recreate but this one is largely original, if a bit spoilt. It attracts an older more genteel, customer in the lounge than many Knaresborough pubs. Lacklustre Old Brewery Bitter served by professional staff although not too many of them, and it's served too cold.