West End House, Leeds

Agree with Pub SignMan this pub is worth a look in when passing. The pub had a good atmosphere and the interior was quite plush and had a lot of comfortable seating areas plus a small outside patio area. The pub was very busy on our lunch time visit, so service at the bar was a little slow. There were 5 ales to choose from on our visit. So we went for the Daleside Blonde and a Naylors special named Saddle Sore for the Tour de Yorkshire. The beers were well kept and prices were reasonable, would call again.

Located on the busy A65, just a five minute walk from Headingley train station, the West End House is a well kept two room pub dating back to the 1860’s. You enter into the front bar which has a decent tiled floor with limited seating options to the left and right of the servery which dominates the back wall. The prime seating area in this room is in a huge bay window directly opposite the bar which has enough room for a very long U shaped banquette servicing several tables with the help of a few low stools, plus an attractive tiled fireplace. I spent my visit here and thought it was a fine spot to relax over a pint whilst watching the world go by through the window. A TV at one end of the room was showing muted football highlights with some background music playing over the top. The back room is a narrow space behind the servery with some very plush seating and smart decor including memorabilia from the original Kirkstall brewery who, being located just a short walk away, used to supply the pub up until the outbreak of the Second World War. A small garden could be seen to the side of the pub on approach but I didn’t get round to taking a proper look at it. On the bar, six handpulls were dispensing Abbeydale Moonshine, Acorn Yorkshire Pride, Copper Dragon Golden Pippen and a pretty good drop of Ridgeside Rushmore as well as two real ciders. The welcome was a little muted but I felt comfortable enough sat here enjoying my pint and reading my paper. This is a pretty good pub and one that I’d be happy to have as my local if I lived nearby. It may pale a little in comparison to the excellent, newly opened Kirkstall Bridge Inn just up the road, but this place offers something a bit different and is certainly worth a look if passing.

Leeds CAMRA Pub of the Season Winter 2011. Four ever-changing handpumps, and also real ale and cider. Excellent food.