North Bar, Leeds

This bar has an interesting choice of beers and we chose Beavertown Smog Rocket and Kirkstall North Prototype, and I got a shock when the bar staff charged me £4.90 for my 2 halves! She then asked me how much change I wanted. She gave me some more change, but I think she was confusing cask ales with the variety of keg ales they had on offer. They do seem to go in for the more adventurous breweries and also have a variety of bottled beers, including continental in bottles and on draught.

A very long, narrow room with a fairly anonymous frontage, opposite the bus stops outside John Lewis. On the right: wooden bench seating, on the left some fairly small wooden tables with small wooden chairs, trying to maximise the seating opportunities in the available floor space. Some of the chairs have Vedett logos, which enhance the Belgian cafe feel of the place. On the bar are many imported beers on fonts plus four real ales on hand pumps. Toilets are downstairs. I only stopped for a quick half on a recent circuit of the city centre, but I wouldn't mind coming back for a longer stay to try some more of the beers.

Narrow, rectangular bar housed in a very unpromising-looking building that you could quite easily walk past several times before noticing it. Once inside, it has fairly plain furniture and decor so attention is immediately drawn to the brightly-lit bar to one side at the back part of the room. Many interesting craft and imported keg and bottled beers, plus four handpumps with offerings ranging from the 3.8% Kirkstall Prototype 4 to the 6.8% Buxton Axe Edge Double IPA. Well worth seeking out.

Housed behind a fairly non-descript converted shop front, this is basically a long narrow room attempting to recreate a German bierkeller feel. The initial impression was poor – the interior was cold (not helped by the aircon being on full blast Artic setting), smelt a bit of damp (the ceiling looked to be the culprit) and didn’t hold much atmosphere. The walls were painted a drab khaki colour with bits of art on the walls. Furnishings were very basic and uncomfortable. However things looked up a bit when I went to order something. There’s a massive selection of foreign beer on draught (eleven) and bottled (50+) along with a good range of Whiskies, Rums and Gins. Check out the menu first though as many will set you back by over a fiver. Four ales were on - an 8.5% Victory beer, Mordue Salamander, Acorn Sovereign and Outlaw Wild. Of the two I tried, one was past its best but the other was fine and both were served in dimple mugs. Tasting plates of all the available draught and handpulled ales was available which sounds great – except that it was listed as being £20 in one part of the bar and £25 in the menu book. Slack. Music choice was eclectic, to say the least, but I enjoyed it. Food is available, simple stuff like pies, cheese and cold meats. Check out the previous beers list on the wall. I think this is more of an evening bar, where I imagine the faults fade away somewhat - I visited on an afternoon. I left with mixed feelings but I think I’d give it another go and head towards the continental garb.