Arcadia, Leeds

Arcadia is a pub set at the end of a nice looking shopping precinct. I was expecting a keg pub so was very surprised to find a decent pub with a good choice of real ales on the bar. Once inside the bar faces in an oblong shaped room which is split into two halfs,the seating is comfy bench type and small stools and pew seating,plus a few tall tables and chairs to the front left,the left side of the room is smaller and has bench seating and normal tables and chairs,there is also an upstairs seating area. There was a decent choice of real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Ridgeside Skylark which was a very nice well kept beer,the other bees noted were Ilkley Mary Jane,Oakells MPA,Elland Savanna,Taylor Boltmaker and Kirkstall Royal ?. The bar staff were friendly and one picked up on my accent as soon as i asked for a drink,he also said this pub is not part of the Otley road run and there were none in on my Saturday afternoon visit. I found this to be a very pleasant pub to have a drink in. Pub visited 16/7/2016

I’d not done a lot of research on this place prior to my recent visit, other than being told it was a good bet for a decent pint in Headingley, so I was surprised firstly to find a shop conversion style pub in a grim looking shopping precinct, which I was in turn surprised to find was part of the Market Town Taverns chain, who I would never have associated such a venue with. As it turns out, this is a bank, rather than shop, conversion, but don’t go expecting a spectacular, ornate interior – I’ve seen more opulent piggy banks than this former branch of Lloyds. You enter into a bare boarded room with a very short servery tucked away at the back. The space is used quite efficiently, with a good deal of seating options available, mostly banquettes and chairs. The neutral coloured walls have been livened up a bit by various enamel brewery signs and other such bits of memorabilia, but the place feels a bit gloomy, perhaps because the large front windows don’t let in as much light as you would expect due to the shade created by the covered walkway outside. There is a smaller lounge style room to the left, carpeted throughout with standard chairs and low stools, some excellent beer posters, framed pump clips and various artworks that are for sale. There is also another seating area upstairs, but I didn’t have the time to explore. On the bar, a cluster of handpulls were dispensing Taylor Landlord, Saltaire Amarillo Gold, Hawkshead Brodies Prime, Black Sheep Bitter, Ilkley Gold, Elland Demon’s Eye and Great Heck Powermouse, with Roosters Yankee having regrettably just gone off. I tried the Hawkshead which was an excellent pint in great shape. The barmaid was friendly enough and there was a good crowd in, although I suspect I missed a whole world of chaos by a matter of minutes, as hordes of students were making their way to watch the varsity rugby match as I made my way here. This was my last pub of 18 visited in and around Leeds over a two day period, so I should have been feeling a bit jaded and cynical by this point, but I really enjoyed this bar and thought the pint I had here was one of the best of my whole stay. A nice twist on the MTT pubs I’ve previously visited and I’d be keen to give this place another go, perhaps to work my way along that short but bountiful bar counter.

As Ale & Hearty says it's a good conversion by Market Town Taverns over two floors decorated in the MTT house style but with a few more travel posters than normal. The usual good staffing and ambience, a few Otley Rd Runners were in the side room but they were quite subdued, I wouldn't think this type of bar would be popular with most Runners. I tried Ilkley's Mary Hoppins and sadly was not impressed, now this could have been the pub, the beer or my palete which may have been damaged by earlier pints of Greene King, I'll trust MTTs usual standards and A&Hs endorsement on this occasion.

A former Lloyds bank in a sixties Arndale centre doesn’t exactly sound the most promising location for a bar, but that description does little justice to this cracking little watering hole owned by Market Town Taverns. Smaller and cosier than its nearby sibling (East of Arcadia) it’s still a three roomed affair, plus mezzanine, over two floors. (I understand that originally it was just the main room and mezzanine before being able to expand sideways.) Fans of the Market Town group will probably know what to expect regarding the interior. There’s the usual tongue and groove wainscoting, the plain walls covered in art prints and drinks posters and a variety of seating styles including church pews. The bar itself is surprisingly small, but still manages to squeeze eight hand pumps onto it, as well as some decent continental beers. On this visit the featured ales were: Landlord, Black Sheep Bitter, Ilkley ‘Mary Jane’, Copper Dragon ‘Golden Pippin’, Elland ‘Skydog’, Thwaites ‘Hit The North’, Durham ‘White Magic’ and Marston Moor ‘Matchlock Mild’. Quality of those I tried was very good. Service from the young team was friendly and enthusiastic, but, disappointingly, I would have been allowed to walk away from the bar with a glaringly short pint, more than once, unless I’d asked for a top up. Atmosphere wise, it was all very low key, even allowing for the fact it was late afternoon during the week. I was expecting at least a handful of students alongside the dozen or so over forties. No doubt another couple of hours would have made a big difference. I definitely hope to darken its doors at some stage in the future and have no hesitation in recommending it to others. However, for those intending to visit I would say choose your time carefully. Headingley is a major student playground and can get horrendously busy at weekends. Also the city’s two rugby clubs and the county cricket ground are close by, so it may be worth doing a bit of research on fixtures beforehand.

A Market Town Tavern