Harrogate Tap, Harrogate

Excellent venue with great quality ales. I always visit here when in Harrogate and allow adequate time before catching the train home.

A similar looking bar to the Sheffield Tap and that's a real positive. Once again they've done a great job on an unused building. We were only in Harrogate for 2 nights, but called in here 3 times. A great selection of beer on the bar and all the ones we tried were in top notch condition. 3 different barstaff were on during our times here and all were friendly and knowledgeable. A great addition to the Harrogate ale scene. I can't imagine being in Harrogate and not visiting this place again.

Railway station waiting room fitout. Its ok, not as special as say York or Sheffield and the beer was poor quality on my visit.

Following a similar formula that helped make other station-side 'Tap' venues in the likes of York, Euston and Sheffield so successful, the Harrogate Tap opened in late 2013. As with the aforementioned pubs, this place makes good use of an otherwise disused station building - in this case, a long, slim room adjacent to platform 1. The main bar area has patterned tile flooring around the bar which backs onto the platform side wall, with a series of wide U-shaped button backed banquettes on the opposite wall, forming pleasant carpeted booths, each with an integral lamp in-between. The dark wood servery actually has windows in the bar back which allow glimpses out to the bustle of the platform beyond, which must be a unique feature. The walls have dark wood panels which compliment the servery and there are classy fixtures and fittings throughout including some shiny chandeliers and a lovely pub clock. All of this can be found in the right hand portion of the room, but the room splits into a separate space towards the left, where you can find more dark wood panelling, bare floorboards and some standard tables and chairs, plus a drinking ledge down the right hand side with some high stools. Large arched windows here bear the pub's name and round out the décor nicely. There was a good crowd in here on a Saturday evening generating a good atmosphere of the sort you rarely associate with a station bar. The excellent beer range probably plays a part in that, with the hand pumps offering a wide variety of options. On this occasion, those available were Titanic Cappuccino, Bank Top Bad to the Bone, Kirkstall Herzblut, Mouth Ripper and 666 Porter, Harrogate Cold Bath Gold, Black Sheep Masham Yorkshire IPA, Orkney IPA, Dark Star Festival, Bad Seed IPA and Box Steam Piston Broke. Nothing wrong with that line-up and nothing wrong with my excellent drop of the Cappuccino either. This is an excellent addition to a very good chain of station pubs and I imagine it has been a bit of a 'game changer' for the local pub and beer scene. I could very easily have spent the rest of my evening here and cannot imagine a visit to Harrogate would be complete without a visit to this excellent venue.

We arrived here on a Saturday lunch time and the pub was moderately busy. This gave a good opportunity to look at the high standard of workmanship, that has gone into a very tasteful refurbishment. The staff here were friendly and helpful, also the pub had a good atmosphere. We went for the Collinghams Artisans Choice, Mallinsons Ella and Tapped Brewery Rodeo, which was a well hopped American Pale Ale. The pub was very busy on our return later on that evening, so gave it a miss on our 2nd visit.

Recently converted station waiting room, run by the same group behind the Taps in Sheffield, York et al. Similar concept here - the interior is traditional with a number of original/restored fittings done to a high standard. Dark wood heavy throughout with a lovely tiled floor, the main bar is light and airy due to the large windows and has a notably long servery. To the left is a small lounge-style room. 12 pumps with a variety of micro and regional ales alongside some ciders. I tried a few, from St Peters, Kirstall and Hawkshead breweries. Bar the St Peters being towards the end of the barrel, quality was very good. As to be expected, there are also a large variety of exotic keg and bottled beers from around the world. Prices can be on the steep side - it’s worth checking before you purchase. On my return visit a few hours later, a meet the brewer session was in full swing and the place was impressively busy. Pub-wise, the default first port of call in this fine spa town.

Impressive conversion of an old station building, with a mix of furniture in the main bar and separate lounge. Excellent choice of real ales and ciders from 12 handpumps, including Harrogate Gold from the local micro-brewery. Didn't have much time to look around, but the place was packed on a Saturday evening (and you could see why).