Tavern, Leeds

Having made the trip out to Horsforth to try this Market Town Taverns pub, it very nearly turned out to be a pointless journey, as the premises was still locked up when I arrived just after opening time (12:00) and remained so when I returned after a stroll around the nearby shops a good half hour later. Thankfully, just as I was about to give up, a bemused barman spotted me and unlocked the front door. The landlord was most apologetic – it appears that the one thing they forgot to do on their morning routine was to open the doors! Anyway, once inside, things improved pretty rapidly, as this is a very pleasant ale house that merited a longer visit than my schedule allowed. You enter into a smart bare boarded room, split in two by some partitioning walls, but with the servery clearly visible at the rear. There is a good deal of seating in the front half of the pub, mainly standard chairs and low stools in a bright space under the large front windows. Seating in the rear half is a bit more restricted due to the space taken up by the servery, but there’s quite a nice area to the right with mostly bench seating. The pub has been decorated with loads of pump clips, which run around walls and the structural beams, whilst there’s some pretty good brewerania around the bar area including some nice brewery posters. The genial South African landlord took time out for a chat and had some top banter with a larger group that arrived later on. I had a quick look at the menu and thought it sounded very appealing. There is a function room upstairs but I didn’t get round to checking it out. There is a fairly spectacular ale selection across the handsome row of hand pumps. On my visit, the options were Taylor Golden Best, Ilkley Mary Jane, Salamander Doll’s Eye, Okells MPA, Black Sheep Golden Sheep and Ruddy Ram, Collingham Journeyman and Treboom Yorkshire Sparkle. A tough choice for first beer of the day, but I ended up with a lovely pint of the Mary Jane. Keg stuff included Marston’s Oyster Stout, Leffe and Kaltenburg. I really like the Market Town Tavern format and this is a fine representative of the chain. The welcome (once I’d made it inside!) was warm and friendly, the beer in great shape and the ambiance ideal for those preferring to drop in for food. Well worth the journey out of town for.

A small pleasant Market Town Tavern near the bottom of the hill. The usual MTT ingredients are here, big clear windows, european beer ad's, laminate floor, counter at the back with 8 pulls serving high quality beers mainly from Yorkshire plus an interesting keg and bottle range, and good food served at limited times. It's small and low which makes it less clinical than some MTTs, there's a bistro upstairs and the toilets are downstairs. This one appeals to well heeled students, 30 somethings and the odd middle aged couple. Being small there's a bit of a foody smell and the staff were not quite as slick as in some MTTs otherwise it's head and shoulders above most places in Horsforth. I know they're not to everyones taste but I think this is another winner for Mr Fozzard and it's the only Horsforth pub in the GBG 2012.

A Market Town Tavern