The White Swan, Leeds

Tucked away down a rather uninviting looking lane between a couple of the main shopping streets, it looks a little more contemporary than might be expected perhaps, with it’s black painted façade and this continued inside too with little in the way of any traditional ambience. It’s clearly had a makeover at some point and presumably been opened out, and I found the styling rather bland and corporate. Flooring was mostly some sort of vinyl dark wood strip, with some inlaid fitted carpet in places, whilst the paintwork was the usual Farrow & Ball shades of fawn and khaki green as well as some stencil style black and white floral wallpaper in places, with dark grey wood panelling down below. Wall art consisted mostly of flyers from the nearby theatre, as well as a few pub advertisements such as their Sunday roast and drinks deals. Lighting was all tassled lamp shades and there was a bookcase in one corner whose contents I didn’t expect, but there was really verry little of any note. Beer choice was somewhat better than expected perhaps with Midnight Bell, Leeds Pale and Leeds Best from the Leeds Brewery, Kirkstall’s Dissolution IPA, Cameron Roadcrew and Northern Monk’s Fresh From, along with two more called Beer Coming Soon. Ciders meanwhile were both Mango and Rhubarb from Lilley’s as well as Aspall’s. Although I wasn’t that keen on the styling, both the beer choice and the peaceful ambience compared to many of the other nearby bars that had TV sports channels on mean that I’d be quite happy to pop in again if passing.

In spite of Leeds brewery having flogged off its pubs the Swan still has their core four beers on two of the three banks of four pulls, the others with Yorkshire beers (Brass Castle, Saltaire) plus one from present owners Camerons and a seasonal; again from Leeds (Pumpkin Ale so definitely avoided). Nowt else has changed, a few good European beers in the fridge and no hint of fishy smells even on a Friday. Beer cold but decent if not special.

This Leeds Brewery house is apparently built on the site of a former pub of the same name and is incorporated into the famous City Varieties theatre. The pub has a large, split level interior, with the servery running along the rear wall decorated with pump clips and origami swans. Most of the room has bare floorboards and walls painted in pastel shades with lots of standard tables and chairs filling out the main space opposite the bar. To the right of the entrance is a carpeted lounge area of sorts with sofas and comfy chairs in front of a baby grand piano. At one point, a member of staff approached the piano and my hopes of a performance were briefly raised, only to discover that she was just lighting some candles to place on top of it. There are plenty of old City Varieties posters papering the walls and the end wall allows you to see directly into the theatre’s entrance. To the left of the front door there is a raised seating area which seemed to have attracted diners on my early evening visit. The menu certainly sounded tasty, with most main meals around a tenner. A few hardy souls were determined to sit outside, where a few tables with umbrellas have been arranged along the narrow street under the front windows. Leeds Pale, Best, Midnight Bell, Yorkshire Gold and Hoptober were all available on handpull alongside guests Wharfebank VPA, Staffordshire Knot Crown Ale and West Berkshire Maggs Magnificent Mild. I’d had my fill of pale hoppy beers by this point, so I went for a pint of the Midnight Bell, which was probably quite nice, but unfortunately it was served far too cold to be able to properly appreciate it. An interesting keg range is provided with very few mainstream brands in evidence and I noticed a few tempting bottles in the fridges as well. I thought the ‘theatre bar’ theme was a nice idea, although I’m not sure they’ve entirely pulled it off and I thought the place fell just the wrong side of the characterful/contrived divide. I wouldn’t mind returning to this place but there are some much better options not too far away.

A Leeds brewery outlet situated down a narrow street and is part of the City Varieties theatre building. It hasn’t been open long and the fairly stark interior attested to that, wood block (or was it laminate?) flooring and a mix of pale teal and white painted walls. Some old theatre prints, polyester flowers on the tables and a couple of strings of half-hearted fairy lights hardly did enough to lift the atmosphere. Despite the promise of riches at the bar in the shape of 12 ales, it soon transpired that the quality and cellarmanship was poor; two of our party’s beers were so woeful they went back and a clipped pump of Belle was also revealed to be unavailable. Staff seemed generally uninterested but at least exchanged the duff beers without complaint (though I noticed failed to take them off). You really would expect better given who runs the pub. The only high point was the presence of grand piano in the pub; a shame I can’t play a note else I’d have bashed out a tune to liven the place up a bit. “Applause begets applause in the theatre, as laughter begets laughter and tears beget tears.” Not much applause from me for this one...

Located at the rear of the City Varieties theatre this Leeds Brewery pub plays on the theatrical link in its décor. The outer walls have pictures of film and theatre stars while the inside walls are liberally coated with theatrical posters, getting slightly more risque as you descent the stairs to the toilet area. Conventionally furnished with tables and chairs the only outstanding feature is a grand piano in one corner. A long counter runs across the back wall and is home to 12 handpumps, which may be 6 too many judging by the beer quality, although two different poor beers were exchanged without question.