Banyan, Harrogate

Boxlike unit bar with a raised and balustraded area down one side, a counter down the other and a hotdog sales point and kitchen against the rear wall, the front is all window and door. Furnished with an obvious mix of high and low tables and chairs in hard and soft options. There is a big pull down screen above the back wall and three big screens above the counter showing news and advertising with a couple more in the front corners. There is waitress service for food orders and each table is denoted by a small blackboard. Beer wise there are three banks of chrome fonts with Blue Moon and Ilkley MJ Pale among the standard national brand dross, cask is provided by a single pull serving a very manky Wharfebank Tether Blonde on my visit. This would probably be of no matter for the clientele as it appeared to be mainly middle aged couples and gaggles of young women, it's their kind of place.

Banyan Bar page - www.arcinspirations.com

Banyan Bar page - www.arcinspirations.com

This is a new build bar that has definitely been designed with the girlies in mind. It has large windows, high leather seats, orange lighting and is very bright and airy. It has an impressive menu that tells you exactly which farm/shop etc they source their ingredients from. We were there on a Sunday lunchtime when it was pretty busy as it was fairly sunny outside. About half the people in there had sunglasses on their heads, it’s that sort of place. It does however have one handpump that serves Copper Dragon Golden Pippin AND it was a good pint as well. As the pint was good I agreed to go back in the evening as the other half loved the place. It was so packed we couldn’t even get through the door. So the verdict is, don’t go on weekend nights unless you want to play sardines but it’s actually OK for a wine bar style place at other times.