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Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 13th July 2025) with Bucking Fastard
on the Pub Forum
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Brainy Pool left this review about Vocation & Co
Vocation brewery showcase and downstairs is your typical hipster bar that smells of pizza. It really lacks any atmosphere as a room but upstairs has an extra bar which is much cosier in style - sadly it was dead and seems to be primarily used for sports events or large group bookings. The roof terrace was surprisingly locked up. Great beer, but I find this kind of venue a bit tedious these days- I had to pinch myself to remember I wasn’t in Manchester’s northern quarter.
On 23rd February 2025
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1174 recommendations about 1136 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Vocation & Co
Yet another modern bar in Halifax, with both cask and keg beers. The ground floor bar feels like a cafe, but venture upstairs and the "cocktail bar" is much bigger and has a much nicer atmosphere. It also has its own beers, which at first glance seemed to be a more limited range of what they had downstairs. On a third level, there is also a roof terrace that we did not explore. Unisex toilets can be found between the ground and first floors.
The ground floor space was packed when we initially arrived. Most people were customers trying to get served. Things didn't look too promising at first, but there were plenty of staff on hand and it didn't take anywhere near as long as I'd expected to get a drink.
Vocation Bread & Butter and Heart & Soul are the regular cask ales. In addition, they also had their Naughty & Nice, Pride & Joy & a New Zealand Cold IPA in collaboration with Rye River. Keg beers were Vocation Chop & Change Centennial, Crush Hour, Hop, Skip & Juice, Life & Death, Vanishing Point, Evergreen Gem, Enchantment IPA, Death By Cherries & Salted Dark Chocolate Imperial Stout, Ilkley/Rooster's Dad Jokes, Deya Steady Rolling Man, Newbarns Eric IPA & Pastore Raspberry & Strawberry Water Beach Weisse.
I opted for the one cask beer I'd not had before which was the New Zealand Cold IPA. The name of the collaboration brewery (Rye River) put me off initially. It somehow gave me an impression it would be a rye beer, despite the IPA description. It was in fact a very enjoyable beer and certainly one of the best I tried in the town.
On 15th July 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3168 recommendations about 3166 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Vocation & Co
A modern bar kitted out in a somewhat minimalist fashion, It's about the beer though with eight handpumps and some eighteen keg taps, I stuck with cask and a Pride & Joy. The bar is decent but lacking in ambiance.
On 7th July 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2195 recommendations about 2162 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about Vocation & Co
As mentioned, this is indeed a very austere building, looking like an Art Deco bunker (apparently former cinema), though with a neat and tidy tiled façade overlooking a cobbled street and boasting a roof terrace.
Modern inside, my Bread & Butter was nice, but my first taste of a sour failed to convert me.
On 30th June 2024
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2251 recommendations about 2204 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Vocation & Co
This building was originally the town's Art Deco Cinema, Vocation have done a fantastic job with the interior which consists of a three good sized levels, ground, first floor and roof terrace, along with an area on the right hand side to get a pizza. The main bar area was finished in light grey walls with black trim contrasting here and there. The modern style banquette seating along the front and a central vertical drinking area made good use of this space, with a pale timber flooring throughout. Lots of craft beer choice, along with their cask.
The staff also didn't mind handing out some tasters of the expensive craft beers, some faces were pulled from our Pubs Galore crew when handing around the sour beer samples.
On 24th June 2024
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3702 recommendations about 3702 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Vocation & Co
Reopened in November 2022 by Vocation Brewery as Vocation & Co, adding to their small chain of pubs run by Vocation Brewery.
Fairly austere from the outside you enter into a very modern, clean and for me at bit too sterile ground-floor taproom with eight Cask pumps and 18 Keg lines.
Most other punters got served and then disappeared upstairs to where I believe there is a Roof Top Terrace bar seating up to 60 people, but we didn’t explore up here.
Six ales for our visit with four of Vocation’s own ales and then two from collabs with other brewers. I went for their Bread and Butter Ale and very good it was too.
A seasonal spritzer menu and a frozen cocktail menu was also available and this seemed to be quite effective in pulling in those not necessarily interested in the ale taps.
Another good Halifax craft beer bar and another that has a decent ale line up alongside the interesting craft ale options, but I didn’t warm to this one as much and was much more comfortable in the nearby Victorian Craft Beer Cafe and København bar.
On 22nd June 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2275 recommendations about 2131 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Vocation & Co
Owned by Vocation Brewery,the exterior is quite austere,while the interior is open plan and bright with a long bar running most of the length of the rear wall,with long bench seating opposite with dining type tables and wooden chairs.Colourful wall murals and designs mark this out as hipsterish but the welcome from behind the bar was genuine and friendly.Food options are pizze from the outlet next door,although it's all part of the same enterprise.First floor unisex loos but the lounge on the 2nd floor was not open on my Wednesday lunchtime visit.
The ale options on my trip were Vocation Bread & Butter,Heart & Soul and Naughty & Nice (NBSS4.5) with guests Five Points SBR IPA (NBSS 4)and Verdant Argal with a further pull unused.A very decent line up.Keg options totalled 24,described in a list high above the bar.
A modern bar,quite minimalist but with a beer line up which justifies the 2023 GBG entry and should be included in any ale tour of this fine town.
On 26th January 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2979 recommendations about 2979 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about Vocation & Co
The ex Lantern and the former Alexandra bottle shop and bar are now knocked into one and includes the Wonder Wheel pizza joint, be advised a whole 18” pizza is between £18 & £30, you can get a 1/6 slice for £2.75 to £4. Decor wise it’s bland or clean modern lines depending on your point of view. Lots of pine anyway. There are 6 cask and 18 keg lines, the beers are listed on a blackboard above the bar back and on a laser display screen on the opposite wall, some of course from Vocation but there’s a good choice from other brewers. The Brian Blessed mural has gone, actually the wall it was on has gone, replaced by a different but less startling paint job. Taproom and pizza on the ground floor, toilets on 1st, cocktail and beer lounge on 2nd and the roof terrace on the 3rd.
On 27th November 2022
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3659 recommendations about 3337 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about The Lantern
Dark, atmospheric bar with a music venue upstairs. Musical adverts and murals all over the walls. There's a couple of comfy seats and lots of high stools. Sadly there's also stools at the bar to attract the annoying bar blockers. 6 handpumps, all on. but I couldn't see the pumpclips because of the blockers and the list on the wall was almost illegible. Despite this I rather liked the place. Half of Roosters, the only beer I could see, was a£1.75.
12/11/2017
New bar and music venue opened on 10th November. Free entry to pub area, entrance charge to see the live bands.
On 3rd January 2020
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3303 recommendations about 3213 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Lantern
Modern bar next to Alexandra with a cellar bar vibe. 6 pulls and 8 kegs of extremely interesting beers including the cask ones, the most mainstream beer was a Paulaner Dunkel. Old board floor, modern bench seating, metal framed tables, couple of posing tables, one wall decorated with gig posters another with BRIAN BLESSED punching a tiger. There’s a piano, constant background music and books appearing to perform a structural function. I’m told there’s a roof garden but I’m not doing that during a Yorkshire autumn. Probably something to do with the Alexandra as their menu was on the tables and you can bring one of their takeaways in here to eat. Put it on your Halifax to do list.
On 29th September 2019
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3659 recommendations about 3337 pubs]