The Half Moon, Knaresborough

This smart gastro-style pub on the fringe of town has a great location next to the River Nidd and just over the road from Mother Shipton's cave. You enter directly into the bar area with a simple servery on the rear wall facing the front door. Over on the right hand side there is a nice, slightly raised seating area with comfortable chairs arranged around a grand fireplace. The room has a lot of exposed brickwork which combines well with the slightly more contemporary décor to produce a very smart and classy look. Standard and low stool seating opposite the bar affords the chance to admire the views out to the river and bridge. To the left there is a wedge shaped carpeted area with standard and bench seating options under a huge black and white image of a local street scene. Décor elsewhere includes a few random bits of breweriana plus a huge mirror. To the rear there is a small paved courtyard with limited seating, which might be a nice sun trap, but is hemmed in somewhat and doesn't seem to benefit from any kind of view. Music played very quietly throughout my stay and a lot of customers were eating during my Saturday lunchtime visit, with the portions looking generous and very tempting. Four handpulls were dispensing Saltaire South Island Pale, Theakston Best, Roosters Yankee and My Generation Session Pale, whilst the keg taps offered a few well known brands and a number of slightly more obscure brews which might loosely be described as 'craft'. My South Island Pale was marvellous and there seemed to be a real appreciation of the beers from the various punters I noticed ordering at the bar. There were lots of things I enjoyed about this pub, from the picturesque location to the classy presentation of the interior through to the top notch beer quality. The pub's compact interior and food focus on my lunchtime visit meant that it lost a bit of its 'pubiness', but that wouldn't put me off from making a return visit some time.

Nicely restored and cleaned from its previous incarnation, structurally unchanged but everything else has been improved to a high standard. Plain walls decorated with pictures, the wooden floors and some gentle music in the background give it a modern feel. The open fires and the old pews and settles are more old pub but the furnishings are a mix as some of the candle powered tables could be from Ikea. One part has a dark and intimate atmosphere while the bar area and beyond is well lit. Four pulls grace the counter, serving excellently kept local beers from Roosters and Rudgate as well as the ubiquitous Taylors Landlord and Black Sheep Bitter although these change from time to time. My beer was served in the correct branded glassware and the glass was dry on the outside reflecting the good level of service to be found. There's a sheltered smoking area in the side yard. On the down side it's at the bottom of a very steep hill so I had a couple of pints to fortify myself for the climb back to the town centre.

A small traditional pub at the bottom of a very steep hill standing next to the river by Low Bridge. A single room but the main bar is in tongue and groove while through an arch to the right is a plush upholstered more lounge like area. This has the dart board, bagatelle board and a big screen with a Wii plugged in to it! The bar is decorated with a horse racing theme and has an interesting kilt on legs table – the pub is run by a cheery Scotsman (in spite of a couple of hectoring signs in the window). Three handpumps with average Theakston's Best and London Pride on two of them, usual kegs but not cider. The atmosphere is that of someone's very lived in front room and there is a smell of dead curry about the place.