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Foley's Tap House, Leeds
Leeds
LS1 5RG
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Mr. Foley's Cask Ale House
This boozer in an impressive building has already been well described so I'll be brief.
It's not uncomfortable but finding a seat isn't easy even when it's not especially busy and as it wasn't especially busy on our visit we didn't have the service problems which some have experienced. I can understand why it's so popular as a post work drinks venue - plenty of vertical drinking and reasonably trendy.
Beers on: Wharfedale Tether, Ilkley Mary Jane, Thornbridge Seaforth, Redwillow Feckles, York Ghost and Centurion IPA. All that we tried was in good nick.
I'd certainly return but with the wide choice that Leeds offers it probably wouldn't be my first stop.
On 17th July 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Mr. Foley's Cask Ale House
A conversion from an impressive Victorian insurance building to a real ale institution,the bar is to the left of the entrance with a large area in front left uncluttered so that a large volume of drinkers can get to the bar.Up a fight of stairs is a mezzanine level with Chesterfield sofas,a further upper terrace with just a few seats and a leather sofa and a back room which was being used for a private function,with a less hectic feel.We got in around 8pm,by which time the crowd was thinning out,but the lack of aircon still led to a sweaty,beery feel internally.The impressive bar back reaching the full height of the wall behind the bar had a great display of bottles,cleverly lit and proved to be the most memorable internal feature.
Ten handpumps on the go on my visit but without as good a choice as found elsewhere on my crawl,I also noticed some BrewDog kegged beers but passed on those,in order to avoid any gaseous bolus affecting my drinking capacity.My ale from Redwillow was in good nick.
Always worth popping in the see what's on offer but maybe not the most comfortable place to base oneself for a night's drinking.
On 8th July 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2745 recommendations about 2745 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Mr. Foley's Cask Ale House
Housed in part of the former Pearl Assurance building, this split-level conversion offers a range of seating areas and plenty of interesting features both inside and out. However, the main attraction for the beer lover is the excellent range of real ales from York Brewey and guests from northern micros (e.g. Redwillow Feckless and Kirkstall Black Band Porter). Yet again, only managed a flying visit but I will certainly be back on my next trip to Leeds.
On 3rd June 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Mr. Foley's Cask Ale House
Well, a recent re-visit found the place pretty darned busy on an early Friday evening. With only two staff attempting to serve 30-odd punters at the bar (a sizeable amount of who were trying to pay by plastic) I gave up and left. Shame – JDWesque staffing levels is a pretty poor state affairs. And they need to bring in a £20 minimum spend on the cards as well.
August 2009
Large, multi-roomed and multi-floored drinking den, proclaiming “No Tetleys, John Smiths or Boddingtons”, which has apparently been recently acquired by the York Brewery. It’s a grand old building on the outside, with plenty of architectural features. The interior has more of an emphasis on comfort, with Chesterfield sofas. Eight ales available on my visit, with York and Elland predominating. Both my Porter and Guzzler were on top form. There were also some excellent foreign bottled beers in the fridge too. A couple of TVs were showing the cricket, I can imagine this place might get a bit raucous during the football. The popularity of the place can shown by the fact that at 11:45am on a weekday, it was already beginning to fill up. I really liked it here and popped back for a swift half at the end of my crawl before my train. Well-worth seeking out. Score 9.
On 1st October 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5132 recommendations about 5115 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
James Joines left this review about Mr. Foley's Cask Ale House
Fine range of beers as you would expect in a York Brewery house. Had a fine pint of WharfeBank Brewery CamFell Flame.
A bit pricey but worth a visit.
On 28th January 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 841 recommendations about 835 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about Mr. Foley's Cask Ale House
Situated opposite Leeds City Hall and Art Gallery, Mr Foley's Cask Ale House will be remembered by many in its previous incarnation as Dr Okells, when it sold beers from The Isle of Man Brewery of that name. It's now the first pub outside of York to belong to the York Brewery.
The pub is housed in a former Pearl Assurance office building. I gather that the pub is named after Patrick Foley, the founder of Pearl Assurance, although I don't recollect seeing any relevant pictures or photos to confirm this.
The main bar area is in front of you as you go in, but the pub is housed over several floors and is much more spacious than is immediately apparent. The mezzanine floor has a mixture of sofas and chairs and tables and has the feel, in parts, of a rather loungey gentleman's club. There's a number of TV's dotted around the place which were showing the one day cricket international between England and Australia. Although I was only half watching, as indeed were a number of other customers, the TV's were promptly switched over to the World Cup later on in the evening without as much as a by your leave.
On the real ale front, the normal York beers - Constantine, Centurions Ghost, Guzzler and Yorkshire Terrier - were all on. The Yorkshire Terrier, described as a "rich malty session bitter" - was in good form. Other beers on, inter alia, were from Saltaire, Rooster and Tring. The pub is listed in the CAMRA 2010 Good Beer Guide. There's also a good selection of foreign and bottled beers.
Do note the splendid collection of pump clips on the walls as you go to the toilets downstairs.
Live music is offered on Sunday and Monday evenings.
I imagine that the pub can get quite busy and noisy with the after work office crowd at times and you might want to avoid it at peak times, but otherwise it's worth dropping in.
On 15th October 2010
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
I L left this review about Mr. Foley's Cask Ale House
Superb range of ales. Had Nook Red on our visit. Other ales included ones from York Brewery and Saltaire Brewery amongst others. the bottled beer selection included USA micros such as Flying Dog, Anchor Steam and Brookiyn breweries. Would prefer proper tables to sofas but still well worth visiting.
On 29th August 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 287 recommendations about 284 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about Mr. Foley's Cask Ale House
Housed in a pink granite former Pearl Assurance office building opposite Leeds' magnificent City Hall, Central Library and Art Gallery complex. The ground floor houses the bar counter and provides standing room, iron and wooden stairs lead up to a mezzanine floor with a seating area of sofas, armchairs and chairs and tables, more steps lead up to another small area of chairs and tables overlooking the bar. There is also a lounge area off the mezzanine in the “Gentlemen's Club” style. Décor is European brewery enamelled signs in the manner of Market Town Taverns, and there are a couple of large screens which were showing music videos. A range of York brewery beers plus products of small and/or local breweries are dispensed from the 10 handpumps. These are complimented by a range of rarely seen kegs and European bottled beers. Beer quality is excellent and more than justifies its regular GBG entry. Customers were mainly office staff playing hooky on a wet Thursday and Roger has already told of the enthusiastic staff and the pump clip décor downstairs. Live music is on Sundays and Mondays and there are frequent beer festivals.
On 28th February 2010
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3276 recommendations about 2982 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Mr. Foley's Cask Ale House
Not a place that I would have immediately picked out for a visit but it had been recommended to me and we virtually came across it by accident looking for a different pub. Situated in a listed the building that was originally Pearl Assurance (Patrick Foley was the company’s founder) this was the first York Brewery tied premisies to open outside of York itself. The main bar area is quite small in relation to the building but a flight of stairs leads to a larger more spacious section as well as a small area of balcony seating. The 10 pumps had an excellent range of ales, mainly locally sourced, as well as plenty of irregular kes and premium lagers served up by a delightfully bubbly and knowledgeable barmaid. A trip to toilets will provide a panorama of beer clips indicating the numerous ales that have passed through (there’s a bad joke in this sentence somewhere!). The décor and ambience is a bit too formal and loungy for my tastes and parts seem a bit like a Gentlemans Club. The rap/R&B music TV didn’t really match the surroundings and I found it quite intrusive despite the fact this was mid afternoon. I’m not sure how the atmoshphere develops later in the evenings and at weekends but I am guessing it won’t be to everyone’s taste especially if you are past the first flushes of youth. If you like comfort in the form of sofas and armchairs and you don’t mind the music, you will find the place quite appealing but despite the excellent ales, I’m not sure I would use the place too regularly if I was in the area, especially at peak times.
On 26th February 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about Mr. Foley's Cask Ale House
Absolutely fantastic split level ale house in central Leeds. Very comfortable and most enjoyable for a drink.
Brilliant in every aspect, especially the choice of beers
A must!
On 11th October 2009
- rating: 10
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]