The Royal Oak, Halifax

Previously the Royal Oak but since late May in the hands of obvious beer lovers as part of a small chain of pubs, Garvey Taverns (the others are the Albion in Greengates and the New Inn, Denholme) as shown on their glassware. The faux medieval theme of the exterior is continued inside with panelling, stained glass, upholstered benches and a couple of barrels used as tables. Bare boards and a fair amount of vertical drinking space give a good ale house type atmosphere. The ceiling beams probably came from elsewhere but have some interesting carvings of coats of arms on some of them. The counter is home to 8 pulls serving a range of microbreweries beers including a house beer made by Empire. Wentworth, Acorn, Pheonix and Sheffield Brewing were all represented and in excellent condition, I was more than happy to stay put and have another pint. The range is well thought out in terms of strength and type with traditional English bitter, golden ale and porter available. The keg choice is more civilised than normal with Leffe, Staropramen, and Hoegaarden next to Becks, US Bud and Guinness, the cider is from Stowford Press. Enthusiastic and friendly staff, there was also a good mix of customers, this corner of Halifax provides a good pub crawl with four decent pubs close together near the station.

The Royal Oak is now closed (Sep 2010)