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Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 15th June 2025) with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
North Bar, Leeds
Leeds
LS1 6NU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Graham Coombs left this review about North Bar
Definitely the best place for a drink in a row of rather dubious-looking bars, with a sort of cafe-bar feel from the modern decor. Some 20 keg taps included a fair selection of craft and a few European brews, while three handpumps offered Best and Mary Jane from Ilkley, in very good condition. There are a few benches on the pavement outside.
On 12th June 2025
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3680 recommendations about 3615 pubs]
Ian Mapp left this review about North Bar
Modern Bar - which may or may not be your thing. Large amount of Keg on and three cask. Thankfully, the bar staff pointed out the the 6% Neipa I initially chose was - and brace yourselves - £9.40 a pint.
Put me off the place completely, before any of its hidden charms had been revealed.
On 8th December 2024
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1612 recommendations about 1589 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about North Bar
Covid Special
Table service only, track & trace via their wi-fi login, all carried out with aplomb - if you have a smartphone, also card only payments. Sanitizer on every table, although it’s the cheap soapy stuff that doesn’t evaporate and leaves your hands sticky for ages. Outside tables and slimline benches take up some of the road outside.
On 1st September 2020
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3648 recommendations about 3327 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about North Bar
Had a small make over, not too drastic just reupholstering of the benches, lots of slatty bits at front and on the ceiling, clean walls and dangly prints. 20 keg taps, 3 pulls and a load of bottles.
On 26th August 2019
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3648 recommendations about 3327 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
custodian 42 left this review about North Bar
Very full and very noisy on Saturday afternoon. Narrow long place with the bar on the left. Decent selection of real ale and craft beers. Amazingly easy to get served, I must say.
On 25th September 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about North Bar
The North Bar's website speculates as to whether this was Britain's first 'Craft Beer' bar and, given that it opened back in 1997,it certainly has a strong case. The bar has spawned several other venues in and around Leeds and has been refurbished in the last week or so, which renders my description obsolete before I've even written it. The pub has a shop conversion layout, with a long, narrow interior which has a seating area to the front and the servery mid-way into the room on the left hand wall. The room is bare boarded with bench and standard seating down the right hand side and small tables with regular chairs on the left. The walls have been decorated with some colourful French and Eastern European movie posters and opposite the bar there is a large mural listing countless different varieties of beer. There is also, for no discernable reason, a photo booth here as well. Beyond the bar, a smaller section houses a few more seats underneath some particularly garish wallpaper. Loads of flyers for various events in Leeds and across Yorkshire were piled up on a long shelf at the front of the pub, but all of this has been removed in the refurbishment in favour of wooden slats that run up the wall and across the ceiling.
There are four hand pumps on the bar and whilst my Sunday afternoon visit meant I was too late to catch the Beavertown brews that the rest of the PuG group enjoyed on Friday night, I instead got to pick from Kirkstall North Prototype, Ilkley Pale, Burton Bridge Top Dog Stout and Blue Bee Nectar Pale. I opted for the latter which was in pretty good shape, if not the most memorable beer of the weekend. The usual eclectic keg range and extensive bottled beer selection synonymous with this type of bar was in evidence. One thing that came across was the staff's enthusiasm for good beer, with one barman getting particularly excited about the recent delivery of some bottles from an American brewery I'd never heard of.
I think it was this obvious passion for their products that won me over to this place, as the bar itself isn't anything to get too excited about. This was the last pub I visited after three longs days drinking around Leeds, so I may have been a little jaded by this point, but I'd be keen to revisit the next time I'm in town.
On 17th January 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3361 recommendations about 3361 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about North Bar
Another interesting location on our PG crawl. The bar was starting to fill up quite rapidly on our arrival, so we were lucky to have arrived handy and to be served quickly. Also it was good to have a bit of space at the bar to see what to order. We managed to get a seat at the rear of the place, right next to a wall mural of the Atari Asteroids game, wow that takes me back. I went for the Beavertown Benzara and Quantum Brewing American Light. Defo worth a visit.
On 5th December 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3684 recommendations about 3684 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about North Bar
A shop conversion to a cutting edge craft beer bar,the interior is long and thin,stripped back to bare essentials with the bar towards the rear.Basic furniture,and a slightly sweaty atmosphere from a lively bunch of imbibers.As you might expect in such a hip bar,the downstairs lavs were unisex. At the bar there were more keg taps than handpumps,yet a decent selection of real ale.The Beavertown brewery beers were being showcased on my trip with around six either keg or cask.My Benzara and Smog Rocket were in good shape.
It may not suit traditionalists but I would always call in to see what ale's available and the bibulous atmosphere would encourage consumption .One for the adventurous ale drinker,on my list for a revisit.
On 23rd November 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2971 recommendations about 2971 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about North Bar
This bar has an interesting choice of beers and we chose Beavertown Smog Rocket and Kirkstall North Prototype, and I got a shock when the bar staff charged me £4.90 for my 2 halves! She then asked me how much change I wanted. She gave me some more change, but I think she was confusing cask ales with the variety of keg ales they had on offer. They do seem to go in for the more adventurous breweries and also have a variety of bottled beers, including continental in bottles and on draught.
On 23rd November 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about North Bar
A very long, narrow room with a fairly anonymous frontage, opposite the bus stops outside John Lewis. On the right: wooden bench seating, on the left some fairly small wooden tables with small wooden chairs, trying to maximise the seating opportunities in the available floor space. Some of the chairs have Vedett logos, which enhance the Belgian cafe feel of the place. On the bar are many imported beers on fonts plus four real ales on hand pumps. Toilets are downstairs.
I only stopped for a quick half on a recent circuit of the city centre, but I wouldn't mind coming back for a longer stay to try some more of the beers.
On 31st July 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 4348 recommendations about 3996 pubs]