Victoria Family & Commercial Hotel, Leeds

Tucked away behind the Town Hall buildings, this is a fine multi-room pub and former hotel, once part of Tetley's empire, but now under the careful stewardship of Nicholsons. You enter into a carpeted lobby area with rooms off to either side and a third visible to the rear. The main bar is to the right in a bare boarded room with an attractive dark wood servery running along the left hand wall with a stained glass bar back and some intricate woodwork features. Smart padded benches fill booths opposite with carved end piece and some incredible, large snob-screen partitions as well as large mirrors and coloured wall tiles, making these the best spots to grab a seat. There is a small raised seating area under the front windows and an open area to the rear with more benches, ample standing room and access to the outdoor smoking area. The room has a decorative ceiling bearing a repeating flower motif and perhaps the only incongruous item was a TV screen showing Sky Sports News. On the other side of the servery, there is a smaller second bar, although this was reserved for a private party on our visit, so I was only able to manage a quick glimpse which revealed plenty of comfortable looking furnishings. Similarly, the front lounge (Bridget's Bar) was also being used for a private function, but they had the good grace to leave the door open, so I was able to note a smart, compact room with a nice etched glass door, wallpapered walls and a good number of comfy looking button backed banquettes. The hotel was said to be a popular place of residence for judges sitting in the nearby law courts and there was supposedly an underground passage from the pub to the courts which the judges were able to use to avoid having to appear in public. I myself was called to the bar, where I found nine hand pumps offering Wharfebank Fair Dinkum, Nicholson's Porter, Great Yorkshire Yasigi, Cottage Norman's Conquest and Kelburn Dark Moor. My pint of the Yasigi slipped down nicely and I had time for a quick half of the Porter before leaving which was also a good drop. This is another fine historic Leeds pub and I agree with previous reviewers that Nicholson's are doing a good job preserving this place for future generations. I'd definitely give this place another look the next time I'm in town and will hopefully be able to get a good look around the other rooms.

The Victoria is a Nicholson’s pub so one gets a taste of the original Victorian splendour. During my recent Friday evening visit the left hand side of the pub was being used by a wedding party so I didn’t get to have a nose around. The right hand side consists of some seating up a couple of steps at the front and a long bar that runs along the left hand wall. This faces some booths that stretch along the right hand wall and are separated by snob screens. At the rear is more seating and a plasma screen that was showing muted BBC News. The bar is stocked with standard draught products and I counted nine hand pumps. Three of these were off leaving six ales of quite a high ABV for me on an all-day session. This didn’t bother a fellow PuG crawler who effortlessly knocked back a pint of 7% Christmas Ale. I’m a big fan of Nicholson’s pubs and I would have no problem returning here.

This is a beauty. Lovely interior in this Nicholson's pub with lots of etched glass on large snob screens between the booths of comfy seats. Good choice of real ales available, and we had Great Yorkshire Yasigi and Wharfebank Fair Dinkum. Well worth a visit.