Sapphire, Leicester

Quinno _ left this review about Sapphire

Sadly the old Rutland ceased to be a good few years and is now an Indian seafood restaurant with a bar. You can just get a drink if you want, they didn’t look quizzically at me. The inside does at least look nice (the sapphire blue tiled lower servery is eye-catching) and the staff were friendly. A keg choice of Somerby Cider, Kroney and a mystery house lager. I went mystery lager which was fresh, so that’s something. Not far from the rugby and football grounds so assume they do a decent trade on matchdays.

January 2014
Doesn’t look much from the outside and situated a little off the beaten track. However this is a standard-bearer for traditional ale pubs in the city and has been for number of years. There are two bars either side of the central servery, with the main front room hosting bar billiards (and a full sized space suit) whilst the quieter back room has darts and a curved banquette. Furnishings are indeed a little worn and perhaps - dare I say it - the interior could do with a little brightening up in places as the building doesn’t really catch the light. However it’s certainly a cosy place to be and is quite vibrant most days of the week. Up to ten ales are available (look for the list at the bar, as the handpumps are spread across the pumps in both bars and I always manage to miss one) with Oakham, Grainstore and Batemans usually occupying half of the slots. There’s also an impressive range of Belgian beers in the fridge as well as a few ciders too. Decent cobs are often available behind the bar. Recent policy is that vaping is allowed in the pub. I have cause to pop by here a few times every year and the quality of the ale is uniformly excellent. Service is usually friendly and knowledgeable. Near to the stadia, so the pub gets very busy on match days. Rated 9

On 15^th August 2026 - rating: 4
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