Graziers, Wakefield

Essentially, a traditional pub / sports bar hybrid, found tucked away down a side street, a couple of hundred yards away from the city’s notorious Westgate. The pub’s name refers to the city’s once famous cattle market, which was just opposite until 1965, the site now being occupied by a Royal Mail sorting office. Originally dating from 1880, it has a certain Victorian solidity, enhanced by its street corner setting. For many years a Tetley tied house, it now heavily features beers from Ossett, but is not owned by them. Internally, it has an L-shaped floor plan on two levels, with a raised area to the right of the bar. The nature of the place sees a mixture of the old and the new and differing styles. On entering you are faced by an attractive curved bar in dark wood, with a substantial mirrored bar back. The area in front of the bar has bare floorboards, but the majority of floor space is carpeted. Overall, the colour scheme is based on maroon. The stained glass and latticed windows, facing George Street, may not be the originals but they have certainly survived several refurbishments down the years. Seating takes the form of several extended booth areas, alongside more traditional cast iron tables and chairs. Being a sports bar there are several overhead HD TVs, plus a large drop down screen. Walls feature sporting prints, signed shirts and other memorabilia. For outdoor drinking there is a partially covered enclosed yard to the right of the entrance. On this visit, three of the four hand pumps were in use, all featuring Ossett beers in ‘Citra’, ‘Silver King’ and ‘Blonde’. (The ‘Landlord’ had just gone off). Quality of those I tried was very good. The Graziers has had a reputation for erratic quality down the years, but based on the last two occasions I’ve called it seems to have become more consistent of late. Bar staff tend to be young, friendly and mostly on the ball and that was borne out this time. The atmosphere varies enormously, depending on what, if any, sporting event is being shown. In either case, it can get very busy at weekends. The Graziers isn’t a ‘must visit’ pub, when visiting the city, but on present form is certainly worth a punt. Real ale fans might want to consider a double-header with the adjacent Bull & Fairhouse, particularly as the beers, almost certainly, won’t be duplicated.

Popped in here whilst getting lost looking for O' Donoghues (which was literally just round the corner in the end) and wasn't expecting much, so was fairly happy to see three standard ales (Black Sheep, Landlord and Deuchars IPA, plus a real cider in Old Rosie) and even happier to find that Landlord was in good shape (£2.80p/p). The pub is a classic V shape as it sits on a tight junction corner. Whilst the outside looks scrubbed and snazzy (I assumed it'd be more like up-market winery) the interior is stuck in the 70's akin to the Black Rock, but a lot lighter inside - the old bar is quite lovely. It's clean and tidy, the solitary barmaid was busying herself polishing the brass and wood in between serving customers. There was a TV (SKY) along with the daily papers and a load of Rugby League paraphernalia - I assume this must be a Wakefield RFC hangout on match days. The toilets should be listed, they looked ancient. The old vs new contrast continues on the way to the traps, as the gents corridor walls are plastered in football clippings and Page 3 girls - very New Lad. Perhaps not exactly an essential experience but you could do worse.