Friends of Ham, Leeds

Official site of Friends of Ham - www.friendsofham.com

Had I not known that this place was a bar, I might very well have turned straight around and left, as initial impressions are of a small delicatessen with a counter to the left offering all sorts of cold meats and other such goodies. Legs of ham hang from above and there is a cheese and charcuterie menu written on brown paper pinned to one wall. Only the sight of a few blokes sat with their pints along a drinking ledge on the right hand wall would have given the game away, but once I’d squeezed past a few punters (it’s a small room and it doesn’t take much for things to get pretty cramped) the counter turned into a more conventional bar with keg fonts and handpulls and I found myself in an intriguing pub concept. At the rear of the room, stairs lead down to a much more spacious lounge with a lot of standard seating including around one particularly long table stood under low hanging lamp shades in the middle of the room. Some thickly padded banquettes run down the left hand wall whilst some sparsely filled shelves displaying a few beer related books, board games and other trinkets, act as partitioning on the other side of the room. Here the wall has been papered with a repeating image of books on shelves which looks quite realistic at first glance. At the back of the room there are a couple of drinking ledges with stools either side of a shuffleboard – a most unexpected surprise. Although this is a basement room, the place has a nice atmosphere thanks to the exposed wood flooring, muted lighting and use of candles on the tables. The handpulls were dispensing three Summer Wine ales – Oregon, Williamsbury and Barrista – the latter being a coffee flavoured stout which I sampled. Reading my notes back, I summed this pint up in one word – ‘Perfect’, which I think is a fair summary of how well kept this beer was. Unfortunately, I was running out of time to get down to Elland Road for an evening kick-off, so I didn’t have a chance to try the others. On keg, I noticed brews from the likes of Summer Wine again, Moor and Redchurch, whilst there were at least two real ciders available from boxes and some fridges packed full of interesting bottled beer. I really loved this place and thought it offered something unique with its triple whammy of beer, meat and shuffleboard. Although I deliberately avoided several of central Leeds’ finest pubs on this particular visit, I would be surprised if there are many pubs on the PuG meet-up next month that I enjoy as much as this delightful place.

Official site of Friends of Ham - www.friendsofham.com

now this is very different from most drinking experiences I've had and believe me I've had a few, entering the shop it's very much like a deli' but then you notice the three handpulls and 6 shiny keg taps, in the corner is a big fridge full of interesting bottled beers, in fact very interesting bottled beers and hang on that's beers from Magic Rock, Roosters and Quantum on those pumps and there's a few stools to one side opposite the counter, I don't think this is actually a deli at all. Buying a pint, oh dear it's in a dimple jug so a quick but understated “Get Carter” moment later and going down the stairs it's not a pub or a bar or a restaurant either. It's a big room with a refectory bench down the middle, sofas and low tables at each end and some bench seats with tables to the side, oh and a shuffle board table taking up one corner. There's a metal bookcase sticking out into the room carrying books and games. The wallpaper is a trompe d'oeil of bookshelves, on the other pastel shaded wall it's all pig related pictures and, god help us, so are the cushions on the bench. The floor covering is partly sheet music. On each table there's a flowerpot, with a number chalked on the side, tea lights in Kilner jars, some cutlery and some menus, let's take a look – mmm cold meats and cheeses with bread and chutney, that'll do me and it's excellent quality to go with the excellent beer. So now to the Gents, hidden away down a little corridor at the back left, but which is the Gents? Looking at the little button people on the doors it soon becomes clear, one Gents, one Ladies and one unisex, the flush button is a little hard to find and the room a little small for a portly gentleman like myself. Finishing my beer, my bread, cheese and cold meats I leave the rarefied, intellectual, atmosphere and its mix of under forties patrons for the more prosaic world of New Station Street.