The Grapes, Sheffield

My first visit for three years or more, though I used to like this pub and called in once every to or three months. On my visit today I was reminded why I had stopped: the beer quality is just not up to scratch. There are three hand pumps squeezed onto the stretch of bar in the drinking corridor, with a couple more for display purposes only on the bar in the snug. Tetleys Bitter was off, which left Abbeydale Moonshine and Stancill Barnsley Bitter. On reflection, my habitual avoidance of Moonshine left me with a very poor half of Barnsley. It was very frothy coming out of the pump, but when it came to drinking it was flat and on the turn; not undrinkable but not at all pleasant either. I didn't complain because I'm not a fan of Moonshine, so I just bore with it. The Kennedy memorial room was seemingly unchanged and it was nice to be back here - just a shame about the beer.

This is a lovely old multiple-room pub in the city centre with a vague Irish theme to it. I’ve walked past this place many times, admiring the fine ‘Grapes’ etched glass windows, but only now got around to actually calling in. You enter through a mosaic tile floor porch with doors on either side. Through the left door, you find a compact room with a nice fireplace and some limited seating options. A board above the fire details the pub’s former licensees and has walls painted in a satisfying pastel blue shade. The bar is centrally located and boasts a great traditional counter and some nice stained glass screens including some in the wall above the bar, which had rather off-puttingly been decorated with tinsel shamrocks and imitation Irish road signs. The door to the right takes you into a drinking corridor, from which a couple more rooms radiate. The corridor is lined with some really impressive glazed tiles in a variety of colours and offers a few stools to perch on, but is mainly used for vertical drinking, as evidenced by a group of old boys congregated here on my late afternoon visit. Of the two side rooms, the front room has some mixed seating options, another fireplace and lots of framed bits on display around the walls which I didn’t really take a good look through. The rear room has a mix of banquettes around three of its walls supported by chairs and low stools. A large fireplace with a modern tile surround, wood frame and integral mirror dominates the remaining wall and would presumably be used in the winter, making this an appealing place to settle down. One half of the room seems to have been devoted to documenting the life of JFK, including countless newspaper clippings, election campaign posters, photos and the like, whilst the remaining walls space has been given over to Sheffield’s contributions to the world of music, or more specifically, to the Arctic Monkeys, whose photos, record sleeves, articles etc... take up a large percentage of this half of the room. There is even a gold disc for their debut album on display. The room has, rather appropriately, a juke box which wasn’t in use on this visit, and there is a small rear garden out the back. Three handpulls faced me on the bar, one of which was out of action. The two options were Tetley’s Cask and Stancill Barnsley Bitter, so I opted for a pint of the latter and thought it was a good pint, served up by a friendly old-school barmaid and enjoyed at leisure whilst exploring the pub in more detail. I really liked this place which I felt was the sort of pub that rewards repeat visits by virtue of the various rooms which all deserve exploration and all seem appealing spots to enjoy a few pints in. The small ale range may put some off, but my pint was tasty and well kept and the service was swift and friendly, so I’ve made a note to not keep passing this pub by, but to instead call in every no and then and see what else I can uncover in here.

A cracking little, multi roomed Irish pub. A real one, not a fake O'Neills style one. In fact almost everyone in here was Irish except us. There's a small snug through a door to the left as you enter, but we didn't venture into that room. Through the main door there's a drinking corridor and two more rooms. The front one was packed and when a guy with a guitar arrived we realised why. The other room has a big screen in it. A friendly welcome and loads of craic going on. Two cask ales available, Tetley Bitter and Abbeydale Deception. The Abbeydale was in good nick. We both really liked this pub and will definitely call back.

A very charming Irish pub with a warm welcome from the quick witted landlady.There are many original features inside with the main serving area in a corridor with three rooms off this.The JFK memorial room was full of interest and also had a flatscreen and juke box,while the outside verandah had some very attractive and well kept pot plants. Just two real ales available on our visit Tetley's Cask and a decent Stancill's Barnsley Bitter,it's a shame that there is a limited ale range here because that might be an impediment to an extended visit which the pub deserves given it's genuine atmosphere and interesting interior.

Another of these multi room pubs that Sheffield seems to specialise in.Dont like this style of pub but it was busy so others do.About 6 handpumps with a good range of beers.Warm friendly locals pub. Would re-visit.