Tite & Locke, Lancaster

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Pub SignMan left this review about Tite & Locke

Set in a in nicely restored building with a multiple room layout, this is a surprisingly large station pub, run by the local Lancaster Brewery. You enter from Platform 3, into a small bar, which was completely empty on my visit, exxept for some limited high table and stool seating and a small unmanned section of servery. Passing through the doorway at the end of the room, you reach the main bar area - a spacious room with bare floorboards, exposed brick walls and a tidy servery in the front corner, with a smart counter boasting an embossed patterned front and a simple bar back with a load of keg taps to one side. Further back a few long padded benches and a comfy banquette serve a couple of long tables, with a small, unused fireplace to one side. As you might expect, there's a lot of railway themed stuff throughout, including some luggage racks high up on the walls and a map of the Lancaster to Carlisle railway line. A door to the rear right, signed as the 'Second Class Lounge', leads into a side room with a mix of tables and chairs and some high stools, in a bare brick walled space with a bigger fireplace on the end wall. This room seemed far more popular than the bar area and I noticed another door at the far end, signposted as the 'First Class Lounge', although I didn't get around to exploring through there. Soul tunes played discretely in the background but some sort of competing soundtrack was notably coming from one of the other rooms, creating a bit of a sound clash in the main bar area.
Lancaster beers dominate the handpulls, with options available running to Black, Blonde, Amber, Red and IPA plus a guest in the shape of Seven Brothers Sunset IPA. The barman was very friendly and offered me an unprompted top-up. Unfortunately, the beer wasn't up to such standards, and my pint of Blonde ended up being a bit of a slog to get through.
It's nice that this station has a bar like this, set in an interesting old building and serving beer from a local brewery, but they need to ensure there's sufficient demand for their cask ale to justify having such a wide range. Beer quality aside, I liked this place and whilst it's not quite up to the standards of the Tap chain, it's a good station bar and well worth stopping at if you've got a wait for a train.

Date of visit - 14th January 2024

On 7^th April 2024 - rating: 7
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