Paradise Tap & Taco, Harrogate

Pub SignMan left this review about Paradise Tap & Taco

Tucked down a back street in the town centre, this is a simple craft beer bar that doubles up as a taco restaurant. You enter into a narrow room with the servery down the left-hand wall and a passage to the left that leads you to a rear seating space. The bar has a fairly conventional counter dotted with pillars clad with blackboards that list the draught beers, all fronting a very simple bar back. Further along it becomes a kitchen space, knocking out smelly tacos at quite a rate. Lots of framed pictures line the walls and a few random kegs were lying about for no reason other than there is seemingly nowhere else to keep them. A beer fridge stands near the entrance and is stuffed full of expensive bottles and cans for on or off-site consumption. The rear seating area is bare boarded and has half height tongue and groove panels on one side and painted blockwork opposite. Simple tables and chairs in three rows from front to back, fill the space, with a couple of Chesterfield sofas to the rear providing a more comfortable alternative underneath a shelving unit full of Mexican themed tat. The food is served in cardboard trays, which gives the place takeaway vibes, but despite the smell, I have to say it looked quite nice. Music was playing quite loudly and there was a decent sized crowd of mainly younger punters.
Roosters Red Rock and Beyond the Pale were clipped on the handpulls, alongside maybe half a dozen craft options on keg. I ordered a pint of Beyond the Pale, which was very clearly off, so I took it back and got a keg beer from Deya in return from a lovely barman, who agreed the Roosters was off and removed it from the bar immediately.
I felt this place was a decent enough stab at a craft beer bar, but in a town with so many similar ventures, the decision to focus on a food offering makes sense. I can't fault the service, even if their cask ale needs a bit of work, but it's not the most pub-like place out there and I'd be inclined to skip it when next in town.

Date of visit - 9th November 2024

On 20^th February 2025 - rating: 6
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