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Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Pub SignMan left this review about The Starling
This is a smart and spacious café-style craft beer bar in the heart of the town centre. The pub has a split level, bare boarded interior with exposed brick and plain painted walls across two, knocked through shop units, each with their own large front windows retained. The servery is on the rear wall and has a rustic timber fronted counter lined with fairy lights, and an uninteresting bar back with a TV screen acting as the beer board. The place has a slight industrial look, with a load of exposed utilities across the ceiling, but generally gives quite a cosy feel, with comfy chairs and padded benches making for comfortable seating options in the main bar area and a lower space to the front right. There’s not been much effort made to decorate the walls beyond a uniform paint scheme, but the right-hand side boasts an impressive starling murmuration mural across the bare brick end wall, with a similar design visible on the front windows. A few shelving units displayed collections of beer bottles, and various blackboards listed upcoming events such as a pub quiz. These boards also suggest the venue has barn and beer hall events spaces, although I didn’t see any evidence of either – perhaps either the staircase or corridor to the right of the bar lead to these areas. Music was playing quietly in the background throughout our time here and there was a nice, civilised atmosphere of the sort you get in these café bars, which would no doubt appeal to a lot of punters who wouldn’t normally visit pubs.
On the bar, Taylors Landlord, Taylors & Northern Monk Northern Rising, Daleside Blonde, Kirkstall Three Swords, Amity Brew Unity, Verdant Fresh Hop and Turning Point Soul Driver made for an interesting cask range, from which I tried the Three Swords, which was in fine condition. Approximately ten craft keg lines including one lager and one cider, helped to round out a pretty comprehensive range of options which I felt was up there with some of the best Harrogate has to offer.
I thought this was a pretty decent venue which won me over with its well-kept, extensive ale range, if not so much the slightly plain, uninteresting interior and coffee shop vibes. I like that they’re doing something a bit different from the town’s slew of traditional pubs, craft beer bars and micropubs, and whilst it wouldn’t be my first choice for a revisit, it’s nevertheless a great place for some good beer and should be included on any crawl around the town centre.
Date of visit - 9th November 2024
On 24th January 2025
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Strongers . left this review about The Starling
Starling has an L-shaped bar counter that faces seating to the front that is split in two by a central wall. A couple of high tables up the left lead to a large table at the rear on the way to the toilets. On a table outside the toilets are various sizes of nappies, I recall the good old days when I used to take my nippers to the pub for so long that I ran out of nappies! Out the back is a courtyard that was busy late on a sunny Friday afternoon.
The bar counter supports six hand pumps that were drawing Wilde Child’s Delaying the Inevitable, Turning Point’s Time of the Season, Boson’s Crimple Valley, Kirkstall’s Pale Ale, Daleside’s Blonde and TT Boltmaker. Craft keg was also available, as was a pizza menu with most priced around £11. There was a decent atmosphere and the service was friendly so I’d revisit if passing.
On 28th July 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5970 recommendations about 5936 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Starling
The majority of the regulars had taken to the beer garden and to the new addition side lounge on our visit, so we pretty much had the front and rear left hand side lounge to ourselves. The front bar hosted a shiny collection of 6 chrome handpumps. The bar front was reclaimed timber with a tiled floor surround and a timber floor throughout. A screen behind the bar clearly displayed a good range of cask and draught options. Beers listed from BF below on our visit, I went for the Kirkstall Pale which was in top class condition.
On 9th July 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3645 recommendations about 3645 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Starling
Last pub of a 13 pub crawl so recollections hazy.Shop conversion with bar to the right,large table in pine to the left and a smattering of other seating options.Describing itself as an independent bar cafe kitchen the remnants of meals and uncollected glasses didn't add to the atmosphere but there was a decent ale range in Wilde Child Delaying the Inevitable,Turning Point Time of the Season Cryo Pale,Bosuns Crimple Valley,Kirkstall Pale (NBSS 3.5 I think !) Daleside Blonde and TT Boltmakers making this a very worthwhile stop on any crawl around town.
On 8th July 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2936 recommendations about 2936 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Starling
They have just about completed their extension work mentioned in the previous review but otherwise unchanged in regards to the beer range and cafe element. Not unpleasant and quite friendly, while the beer seemed in good order, but needs a bit more character. TT Boltmaker, North Brewing ESB and Kirkstall 3 Swords were on offer with others expected.
On 25th March 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3641 recommendations about 3576 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Starling
Now reopened into larger premises by knocking through to the building next door, the ground floor is twice the size of before. The counter has been turned through 90 degrees and lengthened as well as being an L shape. Six handpulls remain with mostly Yorkshire beers, the keg choice from similar sources is provided on 10 taps mounted on an horseshoe. Obviously the coffee and pizzas remain as does the mural of the mumeration of starlings. The floor level had to be raised in the old part and it still has stripped brick walls while the new part is properly plastered. Upstairs was a work in progress.
On 23rd November 2022
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3599 recommendations about 3279 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about The Starling
Called in again yesterday. The beer range has improved as has the staffing levels with 2 bar staff on this time. There are also some new tables rather than the rickety picnic style tables we had to sit at last time. Ended up having 2 in here.
12/12/2018
A multi roomed warren of a place. It looks like there's just the one room, but there are more rooms upstairs A couple of high tables to the left as you enter and some fairly rickety tables and chairs elsewhere. There's lots of dining tables and chairs upstairs and quite a few were eating, but it wasn't that busy. We had to wait to get served as there were no staff around. Eventually a guy got up from one of the barstools and said "If no-one else is coming I'd better serve you then, although I finished an hour ago". The ale choice was Windermere Pale or Roosters or Harrogate which I thought was a decent enough range. My pint was in good nick and Ms CAMRA liked her red wine. I'm not convinced about this place. We may well call in again, but with a great choice of better places in Harrogate, we may well not bother.
On 7th October 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3286 recommendations about 3196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about The Starling IBCH
Called in this 2019 Good beer Guide bar and found a selection of cask and craft ales available. We chose Half Moon Calypso which was fine.
On 12th August 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
custodian 42 left this review about The Starling IBCH
One room place with bar to the left. High tables before it on same side, standard type seating on the right side. Ten keg and six hand pumps with details on the wall behind the bar. The was an IPA @ 6.4% ABV on both the keg and hand pumps - I had it on hand pump! Decent place.
On 19th July 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Starling IBCH
March 2017
Formerly the Walrus & Carpenter which opened last year only to shut about 6 weeks later. Taken over and mildly refurbished but still with six cask and ten keg lines although the cask choice is now much better than the Marstons stuff of before. The only regulars are Black Sheep Bitter and Windermere pale otherwise the beers are always changing and in decent nick. The furnishings are the same as before although the decor has been enhanced and there's a mural of a murmeration of starlings on one wall. There's a couple of rooms upstairs one of which is extremely family friendly. The main food is pizzas from the on-site oven.
18-9-2016
A newly opened bar in a cool modern style, housed in a very deep building but the ground floor space seems strangely limited, there is more seating upstairs. The building has big clear windows and is furnished with a mix of metal square tube and pine board tables with some high bench seating and stools. Continuing the modern look there is also a board floor, with bare brick walls lights on cables, and a tile fronted counter. This has six hand pumps, although only four were in use, 10 keg taps are located on the bar back as in other trendier places. The beers were mainly mainstream casks and kegs, generally from the Marstons stable although Kirkstall was coming "next". Classy kegs Pilsner Urquell, Estrella Damm, Maisells Weisse, Mikkeller and er, Thwaites 13 Guns were on tap. Bottled beers are available from a fridge and a cage, these are more adventurous with De Molen among them, a bottle menu is there to peruse. There is a mix of clientele but tending to younger trendier end explaining the constant music.
On 18th March 2017
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3599 recommendations about 3279 pubs]