Arcade Street Tavern, Ipswich

Ipswich's take on the craft beer bar, this is a two-room pub reminiscent of a larger micropub with some first-floor overspill seating. The pub is located next to the large archway into the eponymous arcade, and you enter into a parquet floored front bar with two-thirds height wall panels, plain uppers, large shop style windows to the front and right and a compact servery to the left. The bar has a tongue and groove panelled counter with extensive shelving across the bar back and a TV screen in the centre listing all the draught beer options. Pew and chair seating stands under the windows to the right, with a few mirrors and other such decorative bits around the walls. A door to the rear leads you on into a back room with high stool seating in a slightly darker space thanks to the limited natural light on this side of the building. The arcade is to the right of the pub and offers some sheltered al fresco drinking space if you're happy to stand under the impressive arch. The first-floor overspill room is a compact space with good seating options and muted lighting, but it’s rather removed from the lively atmosphere downstairs and was relatively empty as a result. They had two cask ales alongside the far more extensive craft keg range - Kelham Island Easy Rider and Lacons Encore (£5.30 a pint). The Encore was in fine shape and the cask seemed to be selling at a roughly proportionate rate to the keg range, which included brews from the likes of Deya, Brew York and Thornbridge as well as a couple of house brews. The staff seemed friendly and industrious, keeping things ticking over nicely in the face of extremely high pre-match demand ahead of Ipswich Town’s home fixture that afternoon. I really liked this place, from the striking appearance of the arch on approach, to the comfortable interior, solid beer range and friendly service – it ticked a lot of important boxes. In a town blessed with a number of fine, traditional ale houses, it’s good to have a different option to add some variety to the local scene, and I felt this place filled such a gap nicely and is a must-do for fans of craft keg beer. Date of visit - 8th December 2024

The Arcade Street Tavern feels like a fairly small place on initial inspection. Arriving immediately after a football match early on a Saturday evening, it seemed like an achievement just getting up the step and into the door, such were the crowds who had descended on the pub. The whole front room was packed to capacity, with the vast majority waiting to be served. In fairness, there were enough bar staff on duty and they had the entire queue cleared very quickly. Just a couple of real ales are served. On this visit, these were Bishop Nick Heresy & Shortt's The Cure. Keg beers included Adnams Blackshore Stout & Ease Up IPA, Pipeline Forgotten Dreams & Burnt Mill Pintle. We retreated outside and ended up standing outside the front door. So, I didn't get to see the rear rooms in the pub. The arcade itself stretches for some way back alongside the pub and that's where most of the crowd of customers had dispersed to. There were a few tables and also some kind of food stall to feed the masses. This pub is probably best visited at quieter times, but I saw enough to see why it is listed in the Good Beer Guide.

Turns out to be quite an interesting place with the main bar and subsidiary Tasting Room separated by a small central seating area. There is also some additional bench seating outside, partially under cover of the archway at the end of the street. Although more of a craft keg / gin type of place, they had two Bishop Nick ales on handpump - Respect (£3.80) and Divine - and a beer festival was advertised.

Small micro pub style with curved bar. Gets busy & beer choice is a bit limited