The Old Vic, Ossett

The Old Vic is a stand alone pub that is situated in a residential area to the south of the town centre. Once inside the main bar room is oblong shaped with the bar facing,there is comfy looking bench seating facing the bar with chairs, the floor is bare boarded,there is another room to the right which is square shaped,this room has a stone floor and very comfy bench seating,i had a drink in this room,there was a large TV screen in the rear right corner but not sure what was going to be showing,there is a separate pool room to the rear right. There is also a small oblong shaped dining room hidden away to the rear left. The pub is an Ossett brewery tied house so there was a good choice of real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Ossett Yorkshire Blonde which went down very well,the other Ossett beers were Pale Gold /Silver King /Excelsior,the guest beers i noted were Allgates Dry Bones,Ringwood BoonDoggle,Rudgate Ruby Mild and Jennings Cumberland. I thought this pub was very comfortable and warm on a cold day,food is available but i did not see any menus,but a group of blokes with children were tucking into large Yorkshire puddings that looked full of of some really nice things,i would have loved to have tried one,but i was on a pub crawl. This pub is well worth a visit. Pub visited 24/1/2015

Another Ossett outlet which acts as a ‘foodie’ counterpoint to the nearby Tap. The interior has been completely gutted and refurbished in a very contemporary ‘clean but rustic’ style with plenty of undressed sandblasted stone and brick walls, modern banquette seating (topped with a snaking collection of old bottled ales), slate flooring and some interesting animal heads crafted from old brass utensils housed in specially-made recesses. A double brick archway serves to separate the bar from the main drinking room and a three quarter length wall separates that from the rear pool room. Further back are dedicated dining areas. There were black and white prints of old Ossett adorning the walls as well as a restrained selection of brewerania, though the oh-so witty drinking quotes I could have done without. The ceiling of the right hand bar has a very impressive plaster moulding. Beer-wise, a large Ossett range was available alongside a couple of guests plus Fullers Pride; eight in all. The couple I sampled were in good shape. Food is pushed here, with a £5 ‘pint and pie’ deal catching my eye. Overall this is all very well done but lacks the intrinsic charm of a ‘lived-in’ pub though I imagine that will come, especially as I spied a wood-burning stove which should get a nice sooty vibe infused. If you’re out this way to sample the Brewer’s Pride, leave a bit of space for this one too.