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The Royal Oak, Halifax
Halifax
HX1 2HX
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Dirty Dick's Ale House
A very impressive range of 13 hand pumps is what catches the eye on entering this fascinating building. The exterior is quite an eyeful as well, in its local variant of Brewers Tudor. The original interior layout of rooms can be speculated upon with a degree of accuracy, though the long bar with 10 of those hand pumps now faces one large room. Two of those pumps serve cider, and there's a further beer available from a barrel chocked on the end of the bar. Visual interest is provided by model ships standing on the window sills and by the landlord's impressively sculpted beard. Aurally I found it more challenging, with loud music playing at the time of my Saturday lunchtime visit.
Date of visit: 29th March 2014
On 14th April 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 4273 recommendations about 3935 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about Dirty Dick's Ale House
Called in for a couple on Saturday after the beer festival. The beer here was much better kept than at the festival. All 8 handpumps on the go and my pints of Saltaire Blonde & Mallinsons Bramling Cross were in excellent condition. A very good ale house.
21/11/2011
Good ale house with 3 distinct areas downstairs plus an upstairs area that I didn't visit. There's a small room to the left as you enter which is fairly bare and has some barrels etc to lean on. There's a main bar area which was well frequented by bar leaners when I visited late on a Friday afternoon. There are also two seating areas which were both fairly full. Good selection of beer on the bar with 8 handpumps on the go. Two changing beers from Green Mill are always on plus several other guests. My pint was in very good condition and this is a pub I will certainly visit again next time I'm in Halifax.
On 12th May 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3286 recommendations about 3196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Dirty Dick's Ale House
Previously the Royal Oak and subsequently the Tap & Spile, Dirty Dicks is one of 3 pubs (the Pump Room and Three Pigeons being the others) that make up the original Halifax Beer Triangle. The original pub on the site was demolished in 1929 and subsequently rebuilt 2 years later. Much of the timber used in the rebuilding was salvaged from HMS Newcastle, a decommissioned naval frigate built in 1860 and broken up in 1929, the captain of which was one Richard Lynn whose nickname has now been adopted for the pub since mid 2011.
The mock Tudor exterior is certainly impressive with its coloured stonework, latticed windows bearing heraldic shields, lanterns and blooms. Internally there are 3 discernible areas, the main bar which is semi-divided into 2 and a separate side room The furnishings include a few barrels that double up as tables for the vertical drinkers, padded banquette seating and a long table that divides up the larger section of the main bar. The overall decor is quite plain with bare floors and half paneled walls displaying a selection of old pictures, mirrors and brasses. Collections of bottles and pump clips are also on show with the side room containing lots of old Tetley's memorabilia.
The pub did once have a live music club housed upstairs but this is now no longer the case and as far as entertainment goes there was little evidence, no TV’s and just some background unintrusive piped music.
The pub has won various CAMRA awards and generally has 8 ales available including their own branded Dirty Dick Ale which is knocked ouit for £2. The rest are largely rotating local beers from various micro breweries so you’re unlikely to get much repetition even if you use the place a lot.
The customer base were friendly although I did manage to attract a couple of harmless but boorish types on my last visit that was a struggle to shake off without causing offence! That aside, this is one of the destination pubs for beer lovers in Halifax so don’t be put off by the cheesy name.
On 28th February 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Robert Higham left this review about Dirty Dick's Ale House
Great ale, reasonable food, friedly staff, just getting going, in the Halifax Beermudia triangle with 3 Pigeons and Pump Room. Dirty Dicks forms the top apex nearer town centre and has a greater selection of 8 top notch ales. Had a pint of Wychwood Cherry Picker, obviously full of fruit flavours.In agreement with comments from Old Boots and peter ashworth. I beieve the olde worlde woodwork was salvaged from a shipwreck called Royal Oak about the late 1800s early 1900s. Pub was previously called Royal Oak.
On 12th July 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
peter ashworth left this review about Dirty Dick's Ale House
Called in for a pint before my train was due and cannot add anything more to the fine descriptive review by Old Boots.The staff were certainly friendly,and out of the 8 casks on offer had an excellent pint of Wychwood Brewery's Gingerbeard.Definitely worth a visit.
On 29th June 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2387 recommendations about 2341 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Royal Oak
Previously the Royal Oak but since late May in the hands of obvious beer lovers as part of a small chain of pubs, Garvey Taverns (the others are the Albion in Greengates and the New Inn, Denholme) as shown on their glassware. The faux medieval theme of the exterior is continued inside with panelling, stained glass, upholstered benches and a couple of barrels used as tables. Bare boards and a fair amount of vertical drinking space give a good ale house type atmosphere. The ceiling beams probably came from elsewhere but have some interesting carvings of coats of arms on some of them. The counter is home to 8 pulls serving a range of microbreweries beers including a house beer made by Empire. Wentworth, Acorn, Pheonix and Sheffield Brewing were all represented and in excellent condition, I was more than happy to stay put and have another pint. The range is well thought out in terms of strength and type with traditional English bitter, golden ale and porter available. The keg choice is more civilised than normal with Leffe, Staropramen, and Hoegaarden next to Becks, US Bud and Guinness, the cider is from Stowford Press. Enthusiastic and friendly staff, there was also a good mix of customers, this corner of Halifax provides a good pub crawl with four decent pubs close together near the station.
On 5th June 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3599 recommendations about 3279 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
peter ashworth left this review about The Royal Oak
The Royal Oak is now closed (Sep 2010)
On 2nd September 2010
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2387 recommendations about 2341 pubs]