Jolly Tap, Barnsley

Small micro cafe on a Victorian arcade, only 2 tables inside on street level but leaning perches too. Hard bench seating. Very much a beery house and good Jolly Boys beers

Located in a shopping arcade, it's a single room micro with toilets and function space upstairs. The counter is in the corner by the stairs, and there's a few seats by a pew in the window. Usual chatty atmosphere, good beers on the five pulls plus a couple of Central European kegs and boxed ciders. Four kegs on the back wall to complement.

The former Arcade Alehouse has changed hands and is now the brewery tap for Jolly Boys brewery, called The Jolly Tap (with Real Ale Cafe in smaller letters) on the apparently temporary banner above the door, or Jolly Boys' Real Ale Cafe on their Facebook page. But what's in a name, as some obscure playwright once had it. Apart from the name change and consequent change in the products on the bar, I didn't spot anything remarkably different about the place, but having only been here once before, and on both occasions finding it very busy with supporters of Barnsley FC and Luton Town, perhaps I missed something. There were four beers from Jolly Boys (Jolly Rancher American Pale, Jolly Collier Porter, Jolly Yorkshire Bitter and Jolly Blonde) and a guest from Hilltop brewery of Conisbrough. I wasn't super-impressed with the beer, which was a tad murky, but I'd be happy to call back again and give it another chance. Date of visit: 24th August 2019